I visited preschool the other day, curious to see what is happening at the Naperville Park District’s new nature preschool program, Toadstools & Pollywogs. How do the children like it? How is it different from other early childhood classes? What are the students learning about nature?

It was a beautiful spring day. As the children arrived, they hung up their tote bags and headed outdoors for free play for the first half hour. The teachers, Kristen and Majel, told me that on other days, they take the children on nature walks during their outdoor time. The children love both walks and free play, and are eager to go out in all seasons. Jumping in huge piles of leaves, sliding down the snowy slope near the classroom building, observing changes in the river, playing traditional childhood games, such as hopscotch, using magnifying glasses to catch a close-up view of budding leaves, and simply running through the fields—all are favorite activities at Toadstools & Pollywogs.

 An old-fashioned game of hopscotch.

 Running for joy on a spring day

Toadstools & Pollywogs meets at Knoch Knolls Park at 336 Knoch Knolls Road in the Wigwam, a small building near the entrance of the park. Knoch Knolls Park provides over 200 acres of natural areas, including the West Branch of the DuPage River, a creek, woodlands, fields, prairie, and trails. According to the teachers, the children never tire of exploring the park.  Even watching the dump trucks come and go during construction of the new bicycle trail or observing players arrive for a game of Frisbee golf fascinates them.

View of the Wigwam from the nearby creek

   Watching the dump truck

 In addition to bringing children outdoors to experience nature, the preschool brings nature inside the classroom. The children planted grass, chives, and several varieties of beans that are now growing in raised indoor garden beds in the classroom. One boy proudly counted all of the bean plants. Other children showed me the tiny frogs living in the aquarium.

Counting the bean plants

The teachers often engage the children in special nature-related projects that also help develop traditional kindergarten readiness. This past winter the children made necklaces of cereal and dried fruit for the outdoor animals, and later identified footprints of animals who had tasted these treats. A future project is to decorate a clay pot that will serve as a bird bath and a bird feeder.Over the course of the year the children learn good habits that promote sustainable living, such as recycling, bringing their own re-usable plates, cups, and spoons for snacks, and using both sides of each piece of paper when possible. These practices also carry over to the preschool families. For example, the teachers said that families often will take nature walks on the weekends, with the children leading the way. The preschool provides a magazine rack at the front door where parents and teachers can exchange magazines instead of just tossing them.

According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, children spend an average of 6 hours a day in front of the computer or television and only 4 minutes a day in unstructured outdoor play. Toadstools & Pollywogs Preschool is changing that. Seeing the smiles radiating from the children as they ran and played outside is proof enough to me that bringing children and nature together is a wonderful thing.

For more information, check these links:

To register for the 2010-2011 Toadstools & Pollywogs Preschool Program, click here

For ideas and supplies for gardening with children, check KidsGardening

For recycling and composting education, visit SCARCE

The Green Earth Institute at the Conservation Foundation, located across the street from Knoch Knolls Park, offers community supported agriculture and educational programs for children. The annual Green Earth Fair will be held on May 2, 2010.

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