Our New Outdoor Classroom

By Deena Tarleton

 

If you have passed by the preschool classroom recently and found it empty, you might not find the kids in specials, but rather “working diligently” in our new outdoor classroom.    This classroom is intended for all students, but preschool has launched it’s early use and developed their first play theme, CAMPING.

We consulted with experts from the Nature Explorer group and received recommendations for various areas.  The water play center is a big hit.  Students experiment with the flow of water as they fill the top areas and watch the water flow through aquaducts down to the “muddy” area.  Often dams are improvised to check the flow.  The play takes considerable cooperation and creative experimentation.

This is only one area.  There is a center for art, for constructing with log and wood pieces, for gathering as a group, and we are in the process of developing others.  Eventually there will be space for a small theater area with a grassy knoll for the audience.  We are anticipating the creative poems and writing that may come from this idllyic place of contemplation.  The possibilities are only limited by the imagination.

Next time you are on campus walk back behind the Preschool/Kindergarten playground and take a look. You might even wish that you were a kid again!