Job Description

Company Description

Wildflower Child & Family Center is a high-quality nature-based child care center in the Dayton, Ohio area. We also partner with other centers and agencies to provide high-quality nature-based programming for children. If Connection to Nature, Belonging, and Growth are important to you, this is a great opportunity! Joining our team means joining children and families as a co-learner during the most critical time of development. There is a great deal of growth potential at WCFC and we encourage you to have big aspirations while with us. We pride ourselves in being the BEST place to work!

Role Description

A Lead Nature Preschool Teacher at Wildflower Child & Family Center works with a small dedicated team to provide custom nature-based care and education. With a small child to adult ratio, in depth child observation, preparation and documentation are possible. WCFC is working to reimagine the top down ‘power over’ model of management; each teacher will also hold a specialty focus where they are able to practice leadership within the team.  The teacher in the Storyteller role is the team member that conceptualizes, plans, sources, and manages duties related to telling our story. This includes internal institutional knowledge and history, marketing (website, social media, mailings, and advertisement), to families and with children.  All team members will support in this endeavor by collecting artifacts and sharing experiences. The ideal candidate is passionate about all children having access to nature-based education and will use best practices in early childhood care and education to create connections to our natural

world for children and their teachers. All required background checks (FBI, BCII) must be cleared and candidates must have reliable transportation. The state of Ohio also requires a physician signed medical statement and maintenance of an OCCRRA account. The candidate must be ready to hike in the rain with 16 kiddos in tow, delight in having their hands in the soil, enjoy building forts, be outdoors in the winter, and be ready to paint or have a parent conversation as the day unfolds!

Physical & Environmental Demands

• Must be out in all types of weather, every day of the year, unless thunder and lightning or extreme temperatures. In case of extreme weather, classes will meet indoors.
• Staff is responsible for dressing for comfort, safety, and ease of movement in the outdoors in all seasons of Ohio weather.
• To ensure student safety, candidates must be able to lift 40 pounds, sit on the floor, crawl, bend, squat, and move with children on a variety of terrain and conditions.

Ideal Qualifications

• Clear all required background checks, FBI, BCII 
• Some specialized coursework in childcare, early childhood education and/or
• the health sector. (i.e., CDA, Associates, BS or MA in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Nursing, Psychology, Nutrition, Emergency Services, etc.)
• 5 or more years working with preschool aged children.
• Experience working with children outdoors in varied seasons.
• CPL 4 or higher in OCCRRA

Minimum requirements

• A high school diploma
• Clear all required background checks, FBI, BCII
• 2 years Experience working with children
• Some experience with outdoor education OR a personal connection with
• nature with an excitement to learn and grow in learning about nature.

Characteristics for a successful team member:

• Comfortable working with co-workers, children, and families with different racial backgrounds, socio-economic levels, gender identity, sexual orientation, abilities, and communication styles.
• Understanding that assisting children in the care of themselves is integral to good early childhood education. This includes assisting with toileting, personal care, dressing themselves (out of wet and muddy clothing as well as teaching them to be independent with outerwear each day), resting, and through self-regulation.
• A continuous growth mindset and willingness to progress in the early childhood profession.
• Understanding of co-teaching OR willingness to learn this style of teaching.
• Proactive work ethic as well as good self-regulation skills.
• Readily and positively shares ideas for improvement and approaches, creative problem-solving with a

collaborative approach to change and learning.

Staff Supports

• 3-5 hours of regularly scheduled plan time is allotted each week, in addition to breaks and lunch.
• Discounted child care
• Health benefits for full time year round employees
• Paid Time Off, federal holidays, spring and winter breaks
• Paid professional development, both cost of classes and hours spent in courses.
• Intentional boundaries on work time and personal time.
• Established yearly and monthly cycles to enhance staff wellness and capacity.
• Yearly gear allowance and access to staff gear library.
• Use of center technology including communication devices, and laptops.

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