Nature-based Preschool in a Public School project fully funded!

"Nature-based Preschool in a Public School

My students need these items to enhance and document their learning during the implementation of our nature-based preschool program.

My Students

"Look, it's an iridescent beetle" shouts one of my students as we comb the woods looking for insects. Our preschool program spends part of each week outside, in the woods and fields. They are expected to observe closely, ask questions and demonstrate the ability to solve problems.

Preschool-aged children can and do extraordinary things in nature.

They respect and admire the natural world and find that they have a place there as well as the living organisms they encounter. The students engage in loose parts play, working together and communicating their excitement regardless of their differences. Boys and girls from a variety of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds find common ground in the woods. They like to move, explore, discuss and record their findings through art, literature, engineering and technology. I love watching children move confidently over trails and into the wooded areas, where they work carefully to overturn a log and record the number of centipedes they discover. There is no end to the lessons our natural world has to offer.

My Project

A nature-based preschool within a public school is an opportunity to provide children with regular habits of active play. Research supports that outdoor play which is frequent and in natural settings develops life-long conservation values. Nature play is a "life-force" that was once the center of children's physical, social, emotional, creative and intellectual development.

These materials will go to out into the natural environment outside of the classroom.

We will use the compasses to find our way, the microscopes to marvel at the life we find and the binoculars to view from afar. The ipad will be used to record our discoveries and treasures."

Our classroom is the welcome recipient of some incredible field equipment thanks to several generous donations through donorschoose.org.  We will be receiving compasses, field microscopes and binoculars to use during our outdoor nature play.  There is also a new ipad on the way so that we can take better photographs and maybe even videos to document our learning.  Thanks so much to a parent for guiding me through this process and helping us reach a successful outcome!-Martha Davis