Tommie Lane Preschool

When my father-in-law passed away August 2013, my preschool parents wanted an outdoor space to be created in his honor. Not only did the parents raise money but they advertised our venture on Facebook and we raised enough to make our new mud kitchen area.

We spent hours on Pinterest searching for ideas. We knew we wanted running water and plenty of work space. One parent donated a sink and a friend donated his time to make the countertop and table. This area is a work in progress. We are still working on making the sink work with running water, but in the meantime a hose works just as well. This area has become a favorite area to cook and create concoctions.

We collect natural materials such as flowers from the garden, black berries, pine cones, pine needles, leaves, sand and mud. Some days the kids make “soup” and some days they just love to make messes.

We have a surprising addition to our outdoor classroom…a blackberry bush! Thinking it was just an annoying weed, we kept chopping it down. The “weed” was more persistent and stubborn than my husband and I. We let it grow and to our surprise it grew blackberries! The kids use them in Ed’s Kitchen to make “recipes”. I cannot wait until they turn black and we can make blackberry cobbler!

Professional development this year included attending Magical Spaces in Outdoor Places, the Early Childhood Summit and The Wonderful Earth Worm.

Karen Grandfield, Owner/Director Tommie Lane Preschool