Browns Family Childcare, LLC

“Instead of sitting in a classroom teaching children about our natural world, why not just take them outside and show them” -Lindsey Brown

At Brown’s Family Childcare, LLC, I strive to get my students outside daily in all weather and seasons. I believe that children should experience the changes in our environment that come with all seasons and weather. Children’s innate curiosities ignite when they are exposed to opportunities to experience and explore the natural environment around them.

Our outdoor classroom provides a space for children to explore, observe and engage with all of their senses and experience wildlife such as insects, woodland animals, birds and worms as well as flower and vegetable gardens that attract pollinators. Children can choose a variety of activities, such as, relaxing with a good book, journaling their observations, collect, sort and classify natural items, balance and walk on log stumps or create an amazing one of a kind piece of artwork.

Our outdoor classroom got some updates during the 2023-2024 seasons, including an outdoor art easel, a classroom vegetable garden, ramps and balls, and an outdoor scale.

My students worked diligently on our classroom garden as they prepared, planted, watered, weeded, harvested the garden and helped prepare meals and snacks with the fresh fruits and vegetables. Our garden space included flowers to attract beneficial insects and help deter pests. This year, our garden will be rainbow themed. We are growing rainbow carrots, rainbow swiss chard and all the colors of the rainbow will be incorporated into our sensory garden.

Our daily walks have turned into excursions that we look forward to and provide many learning opportunities, such as learning about different cloud formations, insect and plant names and the identification of tracks that animals left in the snow or mud.

Our goal for this calendar year is to get 1000 hours outside. My goal is to instill the love of nature into the lives of my students by providing them with the freedom to explore our outdoor world and experience everything it has to offer while teaching them to care for it and use it to help boost their mental health by digging in the dirt, sitting in the sun, sifting through water and baring their feet to the earth.