Nature’s bounty was on display this week as we visited the Pearlstone Retreat Center and farm. From harvesting potatoes to discovering how goats are milked, the children experienced what fall is like on a farm. The children continued their investigations of seeds and fall food through play with wheat dough and acorns, while some classes made… Read more »
It is a daunting task to justify the value of nature-based learning despite the enormous body of research to substantiate it. When stacked up against other early childhood education (ECE) programs, how does nature-based learning measure up? Is it really as valuable as other ECE programs? Challenging Educational Norms | Since establishing The Nature Preschool… Read more »
Fuzzy chicks, mud puddles, and tiny seeds were the name of the game this week. Colorful signs of spring were explored through rainbow collaged books, plant-based dye-making (think raspberries making vibrant pink dye), and dyed rice rainbows. We began all kinds of seedlings (peppers, squash, arugula, tomatoes) in the greenhouse and in the cold frame.… Read more »
It was a short week with the Thanksgiving and Hanukkah holidays, but we still took time to express our gratitude for each other and the natural community. Children wrote and dictated things they are grateful for onto wallpaper hearts and hung them on our tree of thanks. We also made bird feeders outside using apples,… Read more »
As the autumn sunlight dwindles, we turn our thoughts to the night. Students explore how nocturnal animals are adpated to life under the cover of darkness. The resident opossum made a guest appearance in our classroom, too! We held our annual fall harvest campfire to celebrate the season and put our own senses to the test during a moonlit… Read more »
What is a community? What jobs do people and animals do in a community? Children learned all about communities at Irvine Nature Center – on the trails, in the classroom, and with jobs that special people do at our Center. Children loved meeting the grounds crew and seeing the amazing tools they use to care… Read more »
Our students are back for another wonderful year at The Nature Preschool! This week was all about making friends and learning the trail. See what we were up to!
This Week’s Adventures: We explored how people and animals communicate. Our focus was on body language, vocalizations and speech. Favorite Activities: We loved having visits from bilingual parents that shared Urdu and Hindi language with us. We also enjoyed practicing new ways to greet one another in many other… Read more »
[slideshow] This Week’s Adventures: We celebrated American Education Week by inviting parents out to be our Trail Buddies! We learned about being kind and reflected on ways to show gratitude. Favorite Activities: We loved sewing heart pillows and piling pillow cases full of leaves for our sit-upons. We wrote “Kk” for kindness and shared things we do to… Read more »
This Week’s Adventures:Fall is full of healthy foods, many of which we tasted this week. We learned the importance of eating healthy foods to keep our bodies strong! Favorite Activities: The children cut vegetables and added them to our pot as we made vegetable soup. Yum! We made a huge mural by painting ears of… Read more »
