University Presbyterian Children’s Center
Annually, University Presbyterian Children’s Center seeks input from the families about the classrooms and program through an Annual Feedback Form with open-ended questions.
In the spring of 2023 in response to the question on “what do you like best about the program,” several families referenced the outdoor classrooms as evident in this sample of a few of the comments:
“Nature involved and outdoor play setting”
“The sense of community, the teachers and staff and the nature based curriculum”
“Nature involved as recommended by our pediatrician because of the nature-based education and outdoor play”
“The outdoor space….it’s a magical place!”
In order to provide the families with a chance to fully experience the Explorers’ Backyard once again since the pandemic, the school resumed the annual tradition of the Family Socials in the fall of 2023. For the socials all the families from the three preschool classes that utilize the Explorers’ Backyard joined together on a Saturday morning with the staff to spend time getting to know one another, work together to plant the gardens for the fall and explore the outdoor classroom with their child and other families. The time at the social gave the families as much a chance to socialize as to hands-on, minds-on, and hearts-on experience the play-based, nature focus learning that the program promotes in both the indoor learning centers and the activity areas of the Explorers’ Backyard Outdoor Classroom every day.