Abington Friends School

Our Nature Explore Classroom is part of an ongoing story. Perhaps what we love best is how our outdoor spaces have inspired closer community connections and fostered a love of outdoor learning and play.

Our first event of the school year is hosted on the Redbud Playground, our Nature Explore Classroom. In this space new families are welcomed by returning families and returning students engage new students in play and exploration, helping them to acclimate to a new space and to take ownership of that space.

Few in our community have not enjoyed a pot full of “soup” made from fresh water, leaves, seed pods and dirt. Others prefer a plate of mud cookies. The fine and gross motor skills developed by balancing on logs, carefully picking up the tiniest of plant life, and when exploring the thriving community of Bess beetles.

Families have been deeply invested in helping to keep our outdoor classroom a vibrant play and learning space. Faculty, staff and students have all helped to build new play structures, to plant new flowers and bushes, and to support the care and keeping of our Nature Explore Classroom. The community ownership and investment is truly a joy to experience.