We explore our outdoor classroom daily. The cycles of the garden, seasons and science of plants and animals help guide our focus. The bugs that we find in the garden could start us talking about what a garden needs to be healthy other than just water, sun and soil. We can investigate how plants grow, dig in the dirt, eat berries and play with the outside sensory table. Running and rolling in the grassy areas makes getting exercise effortless. Reading, playing and exploring outside is a wonderful source of questions, projects and activities all year long.

We enjoy nature walks to see what's going on in the neighborhood and observe seasonal changes. Patton Square Park is a short walk from our school, and provides an opportunity to tell stories and sing songs along the way. Once we are there the wonderful play structure is great for climbing and shaded fields offers us the possibility of running and large games.

We compost our kitchen scraps and turn them into nutritious soil for our garden. The compost makes our plants, vegetables and flowers healthy and happy. We love to harvest seasonal fruits and vegetables to share for lunch and snack.

Our outdoor classroom space is a certified by the National Wilflife Federation as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

The requirements to certification include providing food, water and cover for wildlife, along with providing space for them to raise their young.

The NWF also looks for those who maintain their yard using green approaches such as using mulch, composting, reducing chemicals (we use none) and reducing grass in the yard. These are all steps to help make our outdoor classroom a better space for everyone!