Children gravitate to different environments for their creative play. Some children love to read, work on art projects, or play inside quietly. Still others are drawn to our outdoor classroom, where they spend the entire day outside, climbing, building, and exploring.
Our large nature-rich playground features open spaces for play and natural plant life for discovery. It supports many kinds of exploration, cooperation, creativity, and problem solving for kids. And better yet, it expands their imaginations and invites everyone into new spaces to have fun together!
- The playground includes climbing structures and construction materials for young builders
- The children encounter plenty of “loose parts” to support their ideas for dramatic play.
- The children interact playfully with natural objects and media: they splash in water, they squish through mud puddles, they make fairy rings from tree stumps.
- We play outside every day, in every kind of weather.
The outdoor classroom also creates a safe space for children to learn to self-regulate around safety and risk-taking. Children assess their own risk while being monitored by adults. That way, they can learn the difference between safe and dangerous exploration.
When we offer children a chance to experience safe physical risk-taking, they learn first-hand where their bodies begin and end. They also learn what they are capable of, and we see their confidence blossom.
