I am a early childhood educator and owner of Under the Ginkgo Tree. I began my Family Child Care program in 1986, and the journey has taken me on a trail of college degrees and program re-invention. As the landscape of early childhood changes, so does our program and intentions. I am currently in my 8th year as a certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom, which changed our focus and intentionality to authentic, unplanned learning by following the lead of the children. This can provide the most meaningful and memorable learning experiences. As a family childcare provider and early educator, I remind colleagues to not loose sight of their own passion while jumping through all the hoops on this new ECE landscape. When we return to our passion and bring it into our classrooms, the learning and joy return to our own lives and those of our students. The discovery of providing loose parts play to our classroom, has ignited a deep learning environment that creates divergent thinking!