Giving Tree School

 

Nestled on a sloping, natural landscape bordering conservation land, the Giving Tree Outdoor Classroom is a vibrant haven teeming with wildlife. This unique setting offers children an immersive sensory experience, where they can engage in bird identification, year-round environmental observations, and enchanting nature walks.

At Giving Tree School, we’ve always prioritized integrating natural elements from our surroundings into our Outdoor Classroom. Native plants create a lush border around the Swing Area, while locally sourced rocks frame our Sand Area and form stepping stones in the Movement and Music Area, seamlessly blending play spaces with the natural landscape.

Majestic white pines and maple trees cast their protective canopy over the Outdoor Classroom, providing year-round shade and a sense of wonder. Each spring, our young learners eagerly plant seeds in raised garden beds, later savoring the fruits of their labor during snack time. A fallen tree in the Log and Straw Area sparks imagination, transforming into everything from a train to a spaceship to a whale, as children hone their gross motor skills through climbing and jumping.

In 2017, we added the crown jewel of our outdoor space – the Tree House. This rustic shelter, built with locally sourced black locust trunks and adorned with a living roof, serves as a sanctuary for outdoor learning in all weather conditions. Nearby, children delight in exploring the principles of gravity and water flow, watching as liquid cascades from a large trough through a wooden channel down the hill to a basin below.

The roots of our outdoor classroom run deep, with the original structures designed and built in 1976 through a collaborative effort of parents, a youth group, and a landscape architect. This spirit of community involvement continues today, with generous monetary donations and bi-annual “Work Bee Days” keeping our outdoor space thriving. Our active parent community, including alumni, forms the backbone of our seven-member Board of Directors, the school’s governing body.

Community events such as Work Bees, potlucks, and Soup & Sled nights foster a strong sense of belonging and provide opportunities for parental input and knowledge sharing. Families choose Giving Tree for their children’s preschool experience largely due to our unwavering commitment to providing ample outdoor playtime in natural environments.

As we continue our partnership with Nature Explore, Giving Tree School remains dedicated to nurturing young learners, providing exceptional early education, and instilling a lifelong love for the great outdoors. Our Outdoor Classroom stands as a testament to the power of nature in fostering growth, creativity, and
wonder in the hearts and minds of our youngest explorers.