Rachael’s Daycare
IN THE MOMENT
That is what a nature explorer playground is all about!
Child: “A snake, a snake, I see a snake. Mrs. Rachael I found a snake!”
Children all come running over.
Mrs. Rachael: “That’s so cool, what a great find!”
Child: “Can I touch it?”
Mrs. Rachael: “First let’s look at it. What colors do you see?”
Children: “Brown, black!”
Mrs. Rachael: “It has a stripe. What color is the stripe?”
Children: “Yellow?”
Mrs. Rachael: “Do you see the way its colors match and blend in with the rocks and dirt? That is called camouflage, it is trying to find a safe place to hide. Remember to use quiet voices around it, animals get scared of loud noises.”
Children: “Can I touch it now?”
With assistance soft touch and conversation continues.
We talked about how snakes use their stomach muscles to slither along the ground because they don’t have arms and legs. Experienced the wet & smell that the snake puts out when it touches you and that protective purpose. Discussed what snakes eat. Where they live. And more. Later the cat found it after we had moved on. So we rescued it and sent it to the back field. Then we learned about what type of animals eat snakes and what type of animals, cats play with and eat.
IN THE MOMENT LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES are the best, because the child already has their entire focus on what they have found. There is no trying to convince them that they should be interested in what you are trying to teach. Nature is CHILD-LEAD LEARNING. An outdoor environment holds so many more opportunities and things for children to become interested in, in comparison to an indoor environment. Nature is always transitioning through MIRACULOUS CHANGES. From sunshine to clouds, from raindrops to rainbows, from wind to snow, from cold to hot. Seeing all the CREATURES and how they act and what they do. The bird eating its seeds, bees pollinating vegetable flowers, chickens clucking & roosters crowing, potato bugs hiding under logs, lady bugs crawling around, a praying mantis hanging from a leaf, grasshoppers flying, moths fluttering around, and feeding the rabbits lettuce. HANDS-ON INTERACTIONS leave life long impressions in a child’s mind. The more a child can interact using their senses; sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste, with learning the more they will remember. That’s why I love having our outdoor handwashing sink!
Our Nature Explore Playground, Rachael’s Daycare Outdoor Wonderland is all the children’s favorite place to be!
