Nature Preschool Open House November 6
October 27, 2014
PHILADELPHIA � The Schuylkill Center invites parents, children, and community members to a Nature Preschool open house on Thursday, November 6, at 6:30 pm. Nature Preschool, the first of its kind of Pennsylvania, is an innovative program that immerses children ages 3-5 in nature at the Schuylkill Center in Roxborough.
The program, now in its second year, offers nature-based learning, with classrooms that open into 365 acres of fields and forests. Through direct engagement with nature, children develop essential problem-solving and motor skills while preparing for primary school.
In an age when children spend precious few hours outside, yet more and more research shows the critical link between early childhood development and exposure to nature, getting kids outside is both crucial, and often difficult. Study after study demonstrates the risks of what has been called "Nature Deficit Disorder," yet it can be hard for urban parents to find a way for their children to get the nature-time they need. Nature Preschool offers a solution to too much screen time: daily learning in nature. Regular and sustained time in nature has profound long-term impacts on children, from lower anxiety and hyper-activity, to improved mood, focus, and emotional resilience. Whether it�s collecting apples, searching for praying mantises in the meadows, or making leaf-art, each day at Nature Preschool holds new discoveries for the children.
Nature Preschool has a child-centered curriculum covering language, math, and science concepts as well as art, music, and movement, integrated with environmental education. A flexible schedule can meet any family�s needs, with morning and afternoon sessions and full- or partial-week enrollment.
In November, interested families are invited to an open house to meet the preschool staff, learn about the program, and get a look at what the children experience each day. The open house, from 6:30 � 7:30 pm on Thursday, November 6, welcomes all families and community members to learn more about Nature Preschool at the Schuylkill Center.
