Sunflower Preschool
At Sunflower Preschool, we take pride in connecting young children to nature and their inherent sense of wonder! Our Outdoor Classroom is busy and vibrant, with happy, engaged, curious, and kind children exploring the multi-sensory and stimulating environment, while the Teachers work to support the children in their discovery, passion, and nurture their interests and curiosity!
An extension of our outdoor classroom is our Berm, which is the front yard of Sunflower. The berm was created in the Spring of 1992 and has grown immensely since then! It was created as a hands-on, living, environmental, outdoor classroom for the children at Sunflower. The different components of the berm are used as classroom tools throughout the year.
The rocks are used for geology, examples of erosion, shaped by rain — and show different aspects of rock formations. For example, river rock is round and smooth from continuous river flow, sandstone on cactus hill shows signs of rain weathering, and lichen-covered rocks show how plants and their roots can break down any rock over time.
The insects and bugs are not controlled by us, other than intentional planting of certain species of native plants to attract them. We never use pesticides and believe in teaching children about the importance of organic gardening. The plants and insects interrelate and thrive together and are used for countless sciences demonstrations. Children have observed ants ‘farming’ aphids on plants, dragonflies hunting, butterflies and bees pollinating, spider webs under rocks, and more.
They are exposed to an extremely complex microcosm of the vast local ecosystem. In fact, the children learn an appreciation for native plants, and glean an understanding of the importance and interdependence of species. We are also a certified Wildlife Habitat and have many bird nesting boxes and a bird bath. Birds stop to eat berries and insects on the berm.
We also use the berm to harvest plants and herbs, such as rose hips for tea, and Russian Sage, Yarrow, and more for dried flower arrangements. The children are involved with harvesting and creating.
We believe that children learn best in an environment in which they are free to explore during long blocks of uninterrupted free time. At Sunflower, the children enjoy connecting to and exploring the various outdoor areas of our Nature Explore Classroom! We look forward to continuing to enhance and expand areas in which children are connecting to nature and their inherent sense of wonder. We are happy to be part of the Nature Explore community, and continue to be in awe and appreciation of working with children during these impactful and important years of growth and development!
