Gretchen’s House Child Care Center’s
Oak Valley
Infant & Toddler Playground
Our center was built in 1998. The owner of our organization, Gretchen Preston was a certified playground inspector and she used that knowledge along with her love of nature and the outdoors when planning for the outdoor spaces. Over the years, our commitment to children spending quality time outdoors and to their exploration of the outdoor environment has been a hallmark of Gretchen’s House-Oak Valley.
Our infant/toddler outdoor classroom is designed to meet children at their developmental levels. Our outdoor spaces are filled with trees that provide natural shade and we have sunshades installed for some areas without trees. Our sand area has a table for children to work on and two water tables are nearby for water or water and sand exploration. Elevations include steps and hills allowing children to learn to navigate differences. On the hills children are often observed rolling or running down them alone or with a group of friends.
We have barrels and a raised bed for planting and our designated children’s garden is maintained by the children and their teachers. You will also find many planting boxes and barrels throughout our outdoor spaces. Children are involved in planning, planting, weeding and watering. The garden provides vegetables and fruit for the classrooms and for children to share with their families. Flowers from the gardens are enjoyed both indoors and outdoors.
During summer months, you might see children playing under a soaker hose suspended between trees. During winter months, children are building snow forts, sledding, exploring snow and icicles. Recently, we have added more tree stumps, branches and logs, many donated by our families. Wood picnic tables can be found throughout the spaces, used for mealtimes and small group activities. Wooden glider swings are where you often find a teacher with a group of children, singing and telling stories to each other. Children have push/pull wagons to move things around the outdoor classroom.
Our focus on curriculum happening outdoors is beneficial to our children and staff. It lowers stress levels and allows exploration and learning that is self-driven and powerful. Making sure that children and teachers have the materials they need and that are readily available has been important to our success. Wooden storage shelves and cabinets provide us with those tools.