 Lakeshore’s Nature Explore® Classroom Earns Certification Connecting children to nature has powerful educational, developmental and behavioral benefits—like encouraging observation and problem solving skills, nurturing a concern for the environment and fighting the effects of childhood obesity through physical activity. One of Lakeshore’s most exciting projects in a long time is our new outdoor Nature Explore® Classroom at Kids & Company, our on-site preschool for employees’ children. It is the third California classroom and the 25th in the nation to be fully certified by the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation—and we couldn’t be more excited or proud of their accomplishment! 
The Story of Our Outdoor Classroom
Phase 1: The Planning Process When we learned about the Nature Explore® Classroom concept, we were eager to integrate it at our school. Developed by the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) and the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, Nature Explore® Classrooms represent a nationwide effort to transform preschools into natural settings that promote active outdoor learning that makes nature an integral part of children’s daily experience. Especially relevant for urban learning environments, Nature Explore® Classrooms promise to enhance a child’s imagination and learning skills through the sights, textures and beauty of nature. Once the classroom is up and running, we hope other schools will see its many benefits and use it as a model for their own curricula. The initial process involved conducting a detailed survey of the available space; drawing up detailed plans for the classroom, as shown below; and presenting the plan to all the parents of the children in our preschool. When everyone saw the plans and pictures of other Nature Explore® Classrooms, they became very enthusiastic about the transformation of our school! Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Phase 2: Ribbon Cutting On August 22, 2008, we had an informal ribbon-cutting ceremony and planting party to celebrate the kickoff of the Nature Explore® Classroom. Dozens of excited children, moms and dads brought organic soil and flowers to plant in new planters that represent the first step of this great enterprise. Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Phase 3: Building The initial building phase involved the complete redesign and reconstruction of the sandbox area—which is now a cool, shaded spot where children can play even on the sunniest days. Then, we worked on and completed an outdoor Messy Materials Area, where the children could interact with each other and create one-of-a-kind constructions from various items. We also created a boat-shaped Messy Materials Area specific for toddlers. And this past fall, we added a new fence made from bamboo. The fence will serve to add privacy for the kids and add a natural color and look to the classroom environment. Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Phase 4: What We’ve Seen The Nature Explore® Classroom has already begun to open the children’s eyes to new things. They have discovered that pumpkins come in many sizes and are heavy; tree branches break and you can’t fix them; and pinecones exist. The teachers’ biggest role in the Nature Explore® Classroom has been to trust children in their play. They are, after all, playing with large tree branches and picking up bricks and heavy stones! The teachers are also taking the children on nature walks to collect materials for the Messy Materials Area. The walks help the children build their vocabulary, learn to respect the space around them and learn to solve problems. We couldn’t be more pleased with the opportunity to have this area for children to play! Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Phase 5: Finishing Touches We created three separate play areas: a gathering area, a dramatic play space and a block-building area. The gathering area is a place where children can read books, listen to teachers retell a favorite story, or get together for a circle-time activity. Already, our dramatic play space has been turned into a “backyard bbq” and a “bear cave.” Natural bricks and stones were added to our block building area. We also created a music Area. With the use of some donated logs and wood chips (for ground covering), we were able to establish a Music & Movement Area under one of our large trees. Finally, we established a garden area in the center of our bike path. We used “river rock” ground covering, which adds a wonderful texture to the environment. Our goal for the next few months is to establish a fruit and vegetable garden for children to enjoy. We have planted irises all around our new garden. Over time, the plants will provide a nice pathway around the bike area. Click on the images below to enlarge. 
We’re certified! On August 20, 2009, we received official word that our classroom has been certified by the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation. Our classroom is the third Nature Explore® Classroom to be certified in California and the 25th in the nation. To celebrate our certification, Kids & Company threw an outdoor classroom party! Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Springtime at Kids & Company’s Nature Explore® Classroom We can’t believe it’s already spring at Kids & Company! It’s been a busy few months here, and we’re making great progress on our new garden. So far, the children have planted a variety of fruits and vegetables including lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, carrots…even watermelons that we can enjoy during the hot summer months. Planting this garden has really added a new dimension to the learning process, and we couldn’t be happier about that. Our friends at Grounds for Play have been kind enough to donate a new playhouse (made entirely of Trex®, a composite material of recycled plastic and recovered wood fibers) as well as a new giant marimba that the children just love to play! We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Grounds for Play for their great support. We have a number of things planned for the coming months at Kids & Company, and we’ll keep you posted about the children’s growing appreciation of and respect for the natural world. Please be sure to check out our latest photos! Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Summer Fun…In and Out of the Sun This summer is shaping up into something really special. We just added a gazebo to our Nature Explore® Classroom…and the toddlers love it! Not only does the gazebo protect our little ones from sunlight, it provides the perfect amount of shade for new plants and vegetables. Right now, we’re growing mint, basil, lemon cucumbers and begonias. Plus, the addition of these plants and vegetables has attracted some new residents that the children are fascinated by—butterflies! These beautiful creatures really put the children in the mood to explore and discover their surroundings. In other news, our very own Elena Otto traveled to Nebraska this past July for the Nature Explore® Symposium held at the Arbor Day Farm. While there, she met with the enthusiastic directors of 40 outdoor classrooms from around the country. The highlight of the symposium was reviewing case-study research that concludes the Nature Explore® Classroom successfully promotes math and literacy skills, social skills, creative representation, visual-spatial skills and more. All we can say is hurrah for outdoor classrooms! Finally, our implementation of the Be Choosy Be Healthy® Activity Kit is in full swing. Developed by Dr. Linda Carson and Lakeshore’s product development team, the activities in this kit really get the kids moving and thinking about food and physical activity. We even had an on-site training from Choosy himself! Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Fall Fun at the Nature Explore® Classroom  Among other exciting changes, we’ve replanted our ever-popular shoe garden along the perimeter of the Toddler Area, and we’ve also planted new grass in the playground. Also, because the children enjoy digging so much, we’ve converted the Toddler Messy Materials Area into a digger’s dream—a big sandbox for all to enjoy! Making the most of the learning opportunities presented by having a Nature Explore® Classroom, our three-year-olds are conducting a scientific experiment! They’ve planted carrots in our planter beds and in plastic bottles filled with water to determine which method will produce carrots faster! In other news around the garden, our four-year-olds are amazed by the growth of their first watermelon as it grows bigger each day. They’ve also planted Japanese eggplant (and they can’t wait for it to sprout)! Autumn has been a very creative time here at Kids & Company. The children recently decorated four large wooden wall frames for displaying photographs of our outdoor classroom. (They even used all-natural materials—old coffee grounds and recycled tea bags—to stain the frames.) Our five-year-olds had a wonderful time completing another woodworking project as well—a beautiful American flag. The kids hammered the pieces together and painted the stars & stripes all by themselves. Soon, we’ll be mounting the flag outside where we say the Pledge of Allegiance each morning. Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Spring Trike-A-Thon This spring, our Nature Explore® Classroom was the site of a very special Trike-A-Thon. Kids & Company sponsored this exciting, action-packed event to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In the weeks leading up to the Trike-A-Thon, parents helped children get sponsorships from friends, family members and coworkers. When the big day finally arrived, children donned their safety helmets, hopped on their bikes & trikes, and then used pedal power to ride laps around the course—while several of the older kids teamed up to count and tally the laps. In the end, the children raised over $1,300 to help children battling cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Along the way, they also learned about safety and physical fitness…and experienced the power and joy that comes with volunteering to help others in their community! Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Creating Streams A moving waterway courses through the rocks…young engineers build bridges across the stream…and wild animals suddenly appear at the watering hole to enjoy their new habitat! Yes, it’s just another day at our Nature Explore® Classroom. Recently, our five-year-olds spent an afternoon excavating our rock garden. First, they created their own meandering streambed by reshaping the rocks to form a long trench. Next, they used a water hose to start the current—and then added pinecones and moved more rocks to change the flow and direction of the water. The children also brought in building blocks to construct bridges that spanned the waterway, and then added dramatic play animals to complete their landscape! As children worked and played, they expanded their problem solving skills, developed their vocabulary and enjoyed invaluable, hands-on experience with a variety of science concepts. For example, children learned firsthand about the properties of water and discovered how landforms and water work together in nature to create such features as pools, streams, dams and waterfalls. Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Maintaining the Playground The children at Kids & Company are responsible for maintaining the playground, which helps children build leadership skills and develop a sense of community. Our Messy Materials Area was recently in need of some wood chips, so our four- and five-year-olds got to work! With a lot of muscle, ingenuity, teamwork and a little bit of help from a tricycle, the children were able to transport the bags of wood chips to their final destination. Then, the kids grabbed their garden tools to rake and smooth the chips to create a nice, even covering for their play space. Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Outdoor Classroom Continues to Grow and Change As we transition from summer to fall, our Nature Explore® Classroom changes with the seasons. In preparation for the cooler weather, the teachers and children have been busy transplanting plants and putting in new seeds for the winter harvest. They’re no longer making tomato salads or enjoying the bumper crop of eggplants they saw this year, but they’re still growing some warm-weather vegetables—such as green beans—thanks to our lingering California sunshine. Meanwhile, the cold-weather veggies are just beginning to sprout—as radish and carrot seedlings make their way up through the soil. In addition to the veggies, we’ve also been enjoying flowers. The children planted sunflowers this year—which grew to over seven feet tall! Some of the older students used the flowers to explore measurement concepts, comparing their heights to these beautiful living towers. Recently, the classroom also welcomed the addition of some very special donations. Jack Roy, the father of one of our former students, had to cut down a large Chinese Elm tree on his property. Instead of turning the logs into yard waste or firewood, Jack decided to donate the logs to the children. Before he brought them in, Jack made the logs kid-friendly by removing rough edges and carving the logs into natural steps, chairs and level platforms. This was no easy task, as many of the logs were more than two feet wide! The children couldn’t be more pleased with this new addition to the playground. There are so many logs that we have also placed some in our Messy Materials area and sandbox. The children especially enjoy using the logs for climbing and jumping—developing their motor skills as they play. Click on the images below to enlarge. 
Infant/Toddler Playground Under Construction An exciting transformation is taking place at our infant/toddler playground that will bring little ones even closer to nature! The completely remodeled outdoor space will feature many natural elements that are developmentally appropriate for tots, including a garden area with low, accessible beds and a gated fence to ensure safe, supervised exploration. Beneath the children’s shade awning, a brand-new wooden deck is being installed, complete with extra-large planters that will allow even more greenery to grow. To increase the natural feel of the space and give little ones a flat area to crawl and play, flooring made of red cedar rings will also be installed on either side of the deck. Stay tuned for more details and photographs! Click on the images below to enlarge. 
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