The Nature Explore Classroom at

As St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School celebrated its 40th year in 2019, we reflected on our rich past while imagining our exciting future. Through ongoing work to improve upon our program, uphold excellence in early childhood education, honor the specific gifts and needs of each child we serve, and build upon their natural curiosity, the Head of School, Page Race, along with the full engagement of the Board of Trustees, enthusiastically desired to improve upon and expand our outdoor learning and fellowship opportunities.

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School partnered with Nature Explore, to develop a comprehensive design plan to maximize the potential of our outdoor learning environments, resulting in our Exploring Nature Expanding Community project campaign. Despite the disruption of the pandemic, we were able to remain committed to the ENEC project leading us to the completion of the third and final phase of the project in 2025.

This project re-configured our playground area and developed the adjacent unutilized space into our outdoor classroom. Children now have opportunity to build with loose parts, engage with musical instruments, create natural art, climb, balance and investigate. In addition, nutrition, food sources and stewardship are introduced and explored by our students through gardening activities. Modifications were also made to the front entrance and approach to our school building, positively impacting the entire entry experience and fellowship opportunities for our families, guests and students.

The importance of connection with nature and experiential learning is at the forefront of our focus on our outdoor learning opportunities. As Maria Montessori said, “When children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength.” Our goal is to maximize the amount of time our students spend in nature, encourage exploration, increase movement opportunities, support problem solving, nurture social/emotional learning, foster an appreciation for healthy, active lifestyles and extend the natural curiosity of our children.

Approaching our outdoor learning environments and opportunities with intentionality enhances the cognitive, social, emotional, spiritual and motor development of our young learners. It is our hope to provide foundational experiences that will root a lifetime love of learning and connection with nature for all the children we serve.

Address

8134 Mesa Drive
Austin, TX 78759