The teachers lovingly craft thematic experiences for the children; setting up the environment and lesson plans to enhance the active learning, while paying special attention to the social/emotional needs of a toddler. The teachers provide materials and opportunities enabling the children to work with their hands and minds on developmentally appropriate lessons related to that theme. For example, during a dinosaur unit, the children may paint dinosaurs, create them out of playdough, build block houses for the play dinosaurs, share books about prehistoric times, sing dinosaur songs, and stomp like dinosaurs during outdoor play. Our teachers guide the group of individuals through various activities with care and attention to each toddler’s needs. At the same time, the teachers use their unique lenses to monitor the basic needs of our youngest of learners, from eating habits and toilet learning, to sleep requirements, and their overall general physical development. With consistent, nurturing, and trusting relationships between the teachers and each child, the Toddler Rooms are spaces for children to happily grow and develop in their home away from home.

The preschool children thrive with more autonomy in the classroom, therefore the teachers craft the environment and daily lesson plans to enhance opportunities for each child to develop their individual cognitive and social/emotional abilities. As with our toddler classroom, the preschool teachers provide an integrated thematic curriculum utilizing all aspects of the day. By threading the learning opportunities through the meals, circle times, play experiences, projects, STEAM explorations, and outdoor play, each theme encourages every child to learn at their own pace, guided by their different interests and levels of abilities. For our older learners and those who are developmentally ready and interested, we offer an additional layer of Pre-Kindergarten readiness to our curriculum. This layer is in addition to the other projects and learning opportunities offered and is individually crafted to meet the needs of each child. The expanded opportunities are both embedded in the daily learning areas and presented as extra activities for the child to engage in. The teachers work with each child to scaffold their developmental skill sets and help present new ideas, concepts, and abilities.

The main goal of Nature Nuts’ School-Year Programs is to engage your children (Grades K-3rd) in meaningful interactions with nature. We aim to support whole child development while creating memories, having fun, and building a foundation for stewardship and love for the natural world.