One of the things our team at Natural Pod loves to do most is get out and meet people. We learn new ideas, build on our relationships, give back and inspire others in this important work of creating better learning environments and experiences for children. We're...

In our best moments, we sit back and watch how the learning spaces we help create inspire and delight. Like the joy of watching our own children play, while we sometimes remembering those times of fun and learning in our own young lives. This is at the heart of our...

L. (almost six years old) stood proudly at the top of the loft stairs, calling to me, “Megan! Megan! I have something to show you! This is my work.” As I moved closer, I asked, “What kind of job do you do?” “I count for people.” L. replied with certainty and...

Things have felt, well perhaps a little scattered this month, with some children moving on to kindergarten and several others going on extended summer holidays. With the small group of children remaining there has been the lovely gift of space and time to go a little...

When one of the children’s parents had a surgery, which included a short hospital stay and a few doctor’s appointments, it was only natural that this experience made it’s way into the children’s play. They began to play ‘doctor’, acting out and working through some...

M. walked towards me with a light blue play silk draped over her head. “Where M.” she stated, “Where M!” I echoed her, “Where’s M? Where is she?” She slid the silk across her face and when it fell and our eyes met, she squealed and laughed. “Again!” she demanded. M....

Building a business with purpose like Natural Pod takes a great team and great partners. It's just one of the reasons why we work with Vancity as a financing resource. We're proud to be part of the Vancity community and to have their support in helping to cultivate...

Megan Fraser shares the third story in her series about the introduction of a Natural Pod Play Loft into her child care space. Enjoy! The advent of Spring and the warmer weather have been beckoning to us to linger outside just a little bit longer (we really only come...

Early Childhood Educators of BC is pleased to present its 43rd annual conference, “Cultivating Communities of Innovative Practice” from May 1 to 3, 2014 at the Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport in Richmond, BC. Please join us for this opportunity for professional...

Megan Fraser shares her story and photo essay about the arrival of her new Natural Pod Loft and how the children in her centre are enjoying the new addition to their space. We have been listening to and noticing birds a lot on our walks lately, woodpeckers, crows,...

Megan Fraser shares her story and photo essay about the arrival of her new Natural Pod Loft and how the children in her centre enjoyed the new addition to their space. Today was the big day, the day when our new loft arrived! I decided not to tell the children that a...

Our colleagues and researchers at the University of British Columbia are seeking to better understand what makes a memorable outdoor play space. To do so we created a 2 minute online survey - would you be willing to take the survey? It’s simple, fast and hopefully...

I recently decided to add a loft to my small early learning space. A loft is a significant purchase for me, not only financially, but also in the use of space. This is a fairly permanent installment, a major commitment. So what led me here? The children that I teach...

We're delighted to let all of our natural play community members, clients, mentors, friends, family and partners know that we, along with our fellow Social Venture Institute colleagues at Eclipse Awards, have made it to the next stage of the BC Small Business Awards...

Our Natural Pod team is delighted to announce that we are attending this year's University of British Columbia 2014 Early Years Conference this week at UBC. The focus of this year's event is shaping childhood, factors that matter. Our team will be attending and...

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and happy new year! Now that many of us are getting back into our natural play work, we'd like to celebrate the arrival of our 10,000+ Facebook fan who joined us over the holidays. In appreciation for all that you do, we...

Thanks to you, we've been voted one of the top 10 green businesses in BC in the BC Small Business Awards! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Your votes helped get us this far. Our next steps are to work with the judging panel to provide deeper insights into why we think...

We're proud to be a participant in the buy local week here in British Columbia. Have you ever wondered what the benefits of buying local are? Here is a nice inforgraphic that explains the benefits of buying local, living local.

Situated in the Harlem neighbourhood of New York City, Peartree Preschool is one of the first eco preschools with a mission to provide a place where children learn the wonders of the world and teachers prepare the next generation of community leaders and citizens....

We know that open-ended natural play has tremendous benefits to the personal, social, creative, emotional and intellectual well being of the children in our care. And, we know that all these benefits aren’t easily measured or sometimes seen. To better understand the...

Our team at Natural Pod have been nominated in the Small Business BC Awards in the Green Business Category! If you love Natural Pod (...and we hope you do!) take 15 seconds and vote for us! All it takes is your email. Fast and easy! Help us win! Vote now!

New ideas, and new products just for you! Designed by our team at Natural Pod, an entirely new line of products designed while working with customers like you who want new, interesting and innovative ways to bring natural play into your education and child care...

We know that natural, open-ended natural play has tremendous benefits to the personal, social, creative, emotional and intellectual well being of the children in our care. And, we know that all these benefits aren't easily measured or sometimes seen. To better...

We are delighted again to be attending the OPEN Conference this year! The OPEN Conference was formed by a small, but passionate group of Early Childhood Educators in Victoria, British Columbia. They originally got together to share ideas about outdoor learning and...

Once a location for business travellers to rest their weary heads, today this new state-of-the-art centre offers a nurturing and caring environment that invites young children to discover, learn and simply play. Formerly the El Dorado Hotel, the Terry Tayler Early...

This past month we proudly reached a nice milestone for our natural play community on Facebook. Five thousand+ fans are now following along with our work in the natural play, furniture and toys movement. In appreciation of all of our fans, we held a small contest...

Over the last few years, we've worked hard to support and grow the community of natural play educators, child care providers, and the friends and families of young people everywhere. Our passion is supporting the personal growth of the children in our communities...

What happens when you ask children what they want to learn?  Possibly, months of dolphin discovery or a complete agricultural adaptation of the pop-smash Gangnam Style, complete with choreographed dance moves, called “Oh, Potato Style.” Last week I had the incredible...

At Natural Pod we design more than furniture, we design experiences for children. Experiences that foster engagement with and connection to nature, that encourage the development of the whole-child and integrate key learning skills. These play experiences not only...

From parenting.com Kaspar’s blocks are from a fabulous Canadian company, Natural Pod. They’re made of locally sourced wood, with a beeswax finish. (They smell yummy, too.) Kaspar usually builds block towers (and... "libraries"?) while I cook dinner in the evenings. I...

Courtesy of the Vancouver Sun When Bridgitte Alomes moved to Vancouver from Australia about 12 years ago, she began a thriving career developing marketing strategy software for various global corporations. At one point, she was the youngest director and the only...

We love to encourage children to use tables, chairs, benches for creative fort, playhouse building etc. The possibilities are endless and we want to share this joy with you. We're giving away a set of four play clips to our 3000th fan on Facebook and at the same time,...

Erica Fiendell, one of our Account Managers at Natural Pod recently attended The Wonder of Learning Exhibition and brought home these reflections from her time there about the wonder of natural play. In our world of instant gratification and often wasteful...

Pick up your copy of this season's Eco-parent magazine. We're a proud advertiser in this great Canadian Magazine. Copies on newstands now in your favourite eco-stores across Canada. EcoParent is Canada’s only national print magazine catering specifically to...