Category: Children Need Nature
Environmental Art at Nature Preschool
November 20, 2015By Rebecca Dhondt, Sassafras Lead Teacher
When people think of a preschool experience, art almost always comes to mind. Children need art, not only for the development of their creativity, but as a support for growing cognitive, social, and motor abilities.
All high quality preschool programs incorporate art daily. Walking into a typical classroom, parents will see evidence of painting, gluing and sculpture. Hopefully there will be a well-developed art center with various supplies that are easily accessible to the children. Also, completed works of art will be clearly labeled and prominently displayed around the room and in the halls.…
Seed Counting
October 28, 2015By Shannon Wise, Nature Preschool Manager
Seeds – the beginning of something, the signal of a cycle continuing, a start. With the season of fall upon us, the Schuylkill Center forest has been filled with seeds covering the ground and showing up amongst the trees. For me these seeds symbolize the start of a new school year, the continued pattern of growth and learning for a new set of Sycamores, Sweet Gums, and Sassafras. It is the planting of knowledge and questions for teachers and children here at Nature Preschool.
What happens at the start of each year defines the…
The Start of the Year at Nature Preschool: Discovery Walls
September 30, 2015By Shannon Wise, Nature Preschool Manager
The Discovery Wall
As you scan the walls in each Nature Preschool classroom, you will find our Discovery Wall. It is a space filled with photographs of animals, plants, or natural objects along with categorization labels. This blend of play, experience, and science tells a story much deeper than what you encounter at first sight.
Being outdoors and exploring in nature is the heart and soul of our Nature Preschool. Each and every day the children travel the trails, open to the possibilities of the environment. It could be a multi-colored leaf, a wiggly…
Nature Preschool loves Earth Day
April 30, 2015By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
At Nature Preschool, our children are immersed in outdoor experiences daily, connecting them to their surroundings and the Schuylkill Center in a meaningful way. At events like Naturepalooza, the children show their expanding knowledge and the bonds created through open-ended exploration. Learning through play and touching, feeling, smelling, tasting, and hearing is what these children do best and it brings joy and happiness in many ways. Just look at the smiles! Below, some highlights from Earth Day and Naturepalooza with our preschool.
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="266289,266284,266285,266286,266287,266288"]
Children Need Nature is…
Open-ended learning in nature
March 31, 2015By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
Crack, splash, plop, and snap – followed by sounds of children laughing as they explore the melting ice at Polliwog Pond. “Look at this piece, I can see through it!” Next up, “I’m selling ice. Who wants a piece?” as an ice display is quickly assembled. A group of nearby preschoolers responds, “I do. I do.” Then, the adventures begin as the children carefully select the perfectly shaped piece of ice for their next escapade. A natural material provides inspiration and imagination amongst the children. (more…)
Winterfest with Nature Preschool: Winter, Stars, & Nature Crafts
December 18, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
Stars are a practical and magical symbol for children and adults alike. They are a mystery of the sky, full of gas, providing us with light, and are still something that we don’t yet fully understand. They are a symbol of hope, something to wish upon, or a picture to represent many holiday celebrations this time of year. With the dawn of the winter season upon us and the upcoming winter solstice, Schuylkill Center just held its annual Winterfest, a star themed family event welcoming Schuylkill Center Nature Preschool…
All About Apples
October 24, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
The beginning of the year at preschool means apples! For most preschools, this is also the case, but at Schuylkill Center Nature Preschool, an interest in apples developed from enjoying apples snacks to the preschoolers’ observations along the trails. Playing and exploring outside led to a deeper association with apples.
As both classes walked along various trails (getting to know our outdoor community), they started classifying the types of trees with their teachers’ help, by looking at the shape of the leaves, the bark, and branches. Inspired by the…
Nature Preschool, Community-Building, and Responsibility Rocks!
September 24, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Lead Teacher
The first few weeks of Nature Preschool have started off with a busy buzz and hum as the two classrooms, Sweet Gum and Sycamore, have filled with children, conversations, artwork, lunch boxes, water bottles, and more. It may seem silly but every September I am reminded how the beginning of the year reinvigorates teachers and classrooms as new personalities come together to build a community. It is loud (as it should be), it is busy (many moving bodies), it is messy (children’s hands at work), it is full of…
Searching, Soaring, and Sifting with Summer Camp
August 5, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Preschool Manager and Lead Teacher
“Look, Miss Shannon, when I turn it over, I found green. What do you think that is?”
“This piece is shiny, it must be polished.”
“I can see the sparkles…it’s the schist!”
As the Preschool Summer Campers dispersed among tables filled with rocks, minerals, magnifying glasses, dishes, paintbrushes, and water, they immediately began to inquire and connected their questioning and observations with the visit from a preschool science expert on rocks. One little boy brushed both sides of his rock and was amazed as he turned it over to see the split…
Why does Nature Preschool love nature?
June 30, 2014
By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
At the end of our first year of Nature Preschool, the teachers, Shannon, Rebecca, and Nicole asked the children to share why they loved nature. The result? This delightful video:
http://youtu.be/Ok7T9_GCFD0
Children Need Nature is a monthly blog column from our Nature Preschool program. Read more posts here.
