Sounds to Soil: Connecting Nature-Based Learning to the BDI-3

Sounds to Soil: Connecting Nature-Based Learning to the BDI-3

How can listening walks, nature hunts, storytelling, movement, and soil exploration strengthen the skills children need for later reading success?

In this webinar, early childhood expert Amy Reyes Amy Reyes-Hauff explores how multi-sensory experiences can create meaningful opportunities to develop oral language, vocabulary, phonological and phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge, early writing, and listening comprehension. Participants will see how playful, multisensory activities can complement explicit, systematic literacy instruction while supporting development across the five BDI-3 domains: Adaptive, Personal-Social, Communication, Motor, and Cognitive.

The session will also introduce the role of the Battelle Early Academic Survey (BEAS) in providing a focused snapshot of foundational literacy and math skills. Participants will learn how authentic observation, developmental assessment, and targeted academic assessment can work together to help educators recognize children’s strengths, identify skills requiring additional support, and determine when closer monitoring or referral may be appropriate.

Throughout the session, Amy will make an important distinction: outdoor activities can reveal meaningful literacy behaviors and provide valuable opportunities for practice, but they do not diagnose dyslexia or replace evidence-based instruction, standardized assessment, or formal evaluation.

Continuing Education Credit:
Participants who attend majority of the live session will be eligible to receive CEUs. Additional details regarding CE credit requirements and documentation will be provided during the webinar

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how sound, soil, movement, and other nature-based experiences can support foundational literacy and whole-child development.
2. Connect outdoor literacy activities to the five BDI-3 domains—Adaptive, Personal-Social, Communication, Motor, and Cognitive.
3. Identify foundational literacy skills demonstrated during outdoor learning, including oral language, vocabulary, listening comprehension, phonological and phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, letter-sound correspondence, early writing, and narrative language.
4. Plan multisensory literacy experiences that allow children to hear, say, move, see, and represent sounds and letters while complementing explicit, systematic classroom instruction.
5. Recognize observable patterns that may indicate a child needs additional literacy instruction, closer monitoring, targeted screening, or referral—without using informal activities to label or diagnose dyslexia.
6. Explain the complementary roles of the BDI-3 and BEAS, including how the BDI-3 examines whole-child development and how the BEAS provides a more focused measure of foundational literacy and math skills.
7. Document authentic observations by recording children’s exact words and actions, the prompts provided, their level of independence, and appropriate next instructional steps.
8. Distinguish among instructional observation, developmental assessment, academic assessment, and dyslexia evaluation so that information gathered outdoors is used appropriately and responsibly.

About the Speaker:

Amy Reyes-Hauff is a prominent leader in the early childhood education (ECE) landscape, dedicated to bridging developmental gaps for children across Wyoming and the United States. With over 26 years of experience in child development, leadership, and transformational change, Amy has cultivated a diverse career spanning roles as a Montessori Director, Head Start Director, Kindergarten teacher, and Administrator in state government.

Amy is a recognized expert in outdoor learning, early literacy, and the intersection of digital technology and wellness. Amy is a passionate advocate for the integration of nature into the educational experience. She is the driving force behind the "Get Wild Wyoming" initiative, a groundbreaking program that has successfully brought outdoor learning to over 300 classrooms, impacting the lives of more than 6,000 children across the state. Her philosophy centers on the belief that children thrive when they are disconnected from digital devices and reconnected with the natural world. Amy teaches that self-regulation is naturally fostered through the organic colors, shapes, sounds, and textures of the outdoors—environments that allow young learners to focus and grow without the overstimulation of modern technology. Amy’s work addresses the critical modern challenge of Digital Tech Wellness and Addiction. She provides essential guidance on emotional intelligence and the necessity of "unplugged" play to combat the rising tide of technology dependency in early childhood.

As a sought-after speaker and motivator, Amy inspires educators and parents alike to rethink the standard classroom model. She is also the author of the insightful book, "Why Did They Do That?", available on Amazon, which explores the complexities of child behavior and development. Amy continues to be a pivotal voice in the ECE space, ensuring that the next generation is grounded in literacy, emotional intelligence, and a deep, lasting connection to the world around them.