The Nature Explore Classroom at
Kids Country Stow
Kids Country Stow allows children to explore the wonders of the natural world and to learn to appreciate and care for natural resources.
The Ohio Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights is a guide to enable children and adults of Ohio to develop healthy, active lifestyles by spending more time outdoors. At Kids Country, these rights are exercised each day!
The outdoor environment here at Kids Country in Stow is very unique in that it has fully grown, mature trees that we have incorporated into the design of our outdoor classroom. We have incorporated these trees into the environment for natural shade and have built sandboxes around these great trees. The first thing you will notice when you walk out onto our playground is the vast amount of space we have. We have over 2 acres of land dedicated to our playground and this gives us a unique opportunity to not only incorporate all of the requirements of the Nature Explore certification but also to allow the children to make them their own. When we built our Mud Kitchen we wanted the children to feel like they were in a real kitchen. We built it huge so multiple children could work there at the same time and still have space to “cook” their own mud pies.
As you walk out onto our outdoor playground you can’t but help to notice the impressive pergola entrance feature. It’s twice the size of a normal pergola and is covered with vines and shrubs that have been growing for years. This natural and inviting entrance way leads out into a large open space where your eyes focus on the amount of space that our children have to play. You will instantly feel the urge to ride a bike along the massive bike path and stop at the sandbox with the huge tree in the middle of it and dig in the sand. The building area is so enticing because there are such a variety of materials to build with, such as; wooden tree cookies, wooden unit blocks and various sizes of tree stumps.
Our outdoor classroom could not have become a reality without the help our families and the dedication of our teachers. Without them, none of this would have been possible. We have created this unique and inviting space for the children and everything we have done has been intentionally put into our outdoor classroom for the development of the children.
Joni Weiglin, Director
