Blog originally posted on June 23, 2016 The other day I had the pleasure of visiting the Nature Explore Classrooms at the Warren Village Learning Center in Denver, Colorado, for the first time in almost a year. Separated by the main walkway to the school are two distinct spaces, one for infants and toddlers, the…
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Long before he retired in 1986, science teacher Thomas Rider started a “nature study area” next to one of the two adjacent schools that are the Alexander, New York public school system. Back then, children routinely spent more time in nature than is typical today. Yet over the years, as nature’s role in children’s lives…
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For over fifty years, the Hope Center of Denver, Colorado, has provided early education and meals to special-needs and at-risk children, largely from minority communities. The story of the Hope Center and its Nature Explore Classroom inspired this 2015 blog post. Yet it deserves another; for its heart. Hope recently hosted two back-to-back Nature Explore…
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We’ve met Chris Whitmire in past blog posts (here, and here). She’s the Principal of the Early Learning Center, a private school for young children located at Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana. This NAEYC-accredited school is only five years old. I thought of talking with Chris for this blog post because she has been…
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No Need for Words Imagine finding yourself in a new school in the middle of a large urban area consisting largely of small houses and small businesses. You go outside with the other children to see a “playground” that’s completely different from any you’ve seen before. Instead of swings and slides there are plants, trees,…
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Steady rainfall prevented me from seeing and playing with children in their outdoor classroom at East Los Angeles Fourth Street Early Education Center. During my recent tour of the indoor classrooms with Josefina Navarro, the Principal, a young girl spontaneously approached us with the gift of a tiny flower. Natural materials, many brought in from…
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Some faith-based schools have found their Nature Explore Classroom to be an excellent environment for exploring religious values and traditions. In the Nursery School at Temple Shalom in Newton, Massachusetts, teachers and children make Jewish spirituality visible through projects in the outdoor classroom, and indoors. Although the projects are based on Jewish traditions, the values…
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“We feel that our children get plenty of opportunities for virtual screen time outside of our school. Here, we focus on giving them real experiences; with real materials, real people, real ideas and real places.” —Chris Whitmire The Early Learning Center (ELC) of the Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana is a progressive, Christian…
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Last week we had a glimpse of how we can work with children outdoors, through the eyes of David and Frances Hawkins. An adult and a child are both interested in the subject of the child’s exploration. The adult has developed (or renewed) her ability to “mess about” playfully herself. The child has the freedom…
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We in the Nature Explore family don’t need a study to tell us that nature has many positive benefits for our physical, mental and spiritual health. We feel these benefits in ourselves, and see them in the children who play in our outdoor classrooms. Yet if nature is so good for our health, why aren’t…
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