Kid's COrner Opens Certified Nature Explore Classroom
Oct 01, 2008 - 15:06:22 CDT
Nebraska City, Neb. (Sept. 23, 2008) – Kid’s Corner Preschool in Fredericktown, Mo., announced the opening of its new certified Nature Explore Classroom.
The Kid’s Corner Preschool’s Certified Nature Explore Classroom is the third to be constructed in Missouri, and is the first to be built at a child-care center in Missouri. The first Nature Explore Classroom is located in the Arbor Day Farm® Tree Adventure™ attraction, the Arbor Day Foundation’s interactive conservation venue in Nebraska City, Neb. Certified Nature Explore Classrooms are also located at the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Shaw Nature Reserve in St. Louis, MO as well as in many other settings throughout the country.
Nature Explore Classrooms are part of the Nature Explore Program, a collaborative project of the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation.
Developed in response to the growing disconnect between children and nature, Certified Nature Explore Classrooms are designed to help fill the void by educating young children using research-based principles for integrating nature into their daily learning.
These Classrooms offer interactive elements – including climbing structures, musical instruments made of natural materials, wooden blocks, small waterways, and natural materials for building and creating art – that give children important and inspiring nature experiences. While connecting children with nature, such unstructured play and activities are shown to enhance concentration, develop creativity and problem-solving, relieve stress, and improve skills in many areas.
Outdoor classrooms that are designed according to principles described in the Dimensions Foundation’s Learning With Nature Idea Book are eligible to become certified Nature Explore Classrooms.
The Kid’s Corner Preschool’s Nature Explore Classroom is located at 400 S. Chamber Drive in Fredericktown. In the new Classroom, children can create visual masterpieces in a nature art area, climb and crawl on structures, build with natural materials, and practice their balance, agility, and creativity in areas designed for music and movement.
“The Nature Explore Classroom is the ideal tool to provide children with meaningful connections to nature,” said Kim Clauser, owner/director of the Kid’s Corner Preschool. “One of the best aspects of the classroom is that it gives children a positive hands-on experience with nature and the outdoors in a structured setting.”
“The Kid’s Corner Preschool has taken an important leadership role in a profoundly needed initiative to connect young children with nature, setting a wonderful example for education centers across the country,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Everyone at the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation appreciate the commitment Kid’s Corner Preschool has made to the Nature Explore program and the role that nature plays in the lives of young children.”
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The Kid’s Corner Preschool’s Certified Nature Explore Classroom is the third to be constructed in Missouri, and is the first to be built at a child-care center in Missouri. The first Nature Explore Classroom is located in the Arbor Day Farm® Tree Adventure™ attraction, the Arbor Day Foundation’s interactive conservation venue in Nebraska City, Neb. Certified Nature Explore Classrooms are also located at the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Shaw Nature Reserve in St. Louis, MO as well as in many other settings throughout the country.
Nature Explore Classrooms are part of the Nature Explore Program, a collaborative project of the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation.
Developed in response to the growing disconnect between children and nature, Certified Nature Explore Classrooms are designed to help fill the void by educating young children using research-based principles for integrating nature into their daily learning.
These Classrooms offer interactive elements – including climbing structures, musical instruments made of natural materials, wooden blocks, small waterways, and natural materials for building and creating art – that give children important and inspiring nature experiences. While connecting children with nature, such unstructured play and activities are shown to enhance concentration, develop creativity and problem-solving, relieve stress, and improve skills in many areas.
Outdoor classrooms that are designed according to principles described in the Dimensions Foundation’s Learning With Nature Idea Book are eligible to become certified Nature Explore Classrooms.
The Kid’s Corner Preschool’s Nature Explore Classroom is located at 400 S. Chamber Drive in Fredericktown. In the new Classroom, children can create visual masterpieces in a nature art area, climb and crawl on structures, build with natural materials, and practice their balance, agility, and creativity in areas designed for music and movement.
“The Nature Explore Classroom is the ideal tool to provide children with meaningful connections to nature,” said Kim Clauser, owner/director of the Kid’s Corner Preschool. “One of the best aspects of the classroom is that it gives children a positive hands-on experience with nature and the outdoors in a structured setting.”
“The Kid’s Corner Preschool has taken an important leadership role in a profoundly needed initiative to connect young children with nature, setting a wonderful example for education centers across the country,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Everyone at the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation appreciate the commitment Kid’s Corner Preschool has made to the Nature Explore program and the role that nature plays in the lives of young children.”