Have you ever wondered why some children love the outdoors and others are cautious, even nervous when it comes to being in nature? It might be rooted in their experiences. As with all humans, we gravitate to what we are comfortable with and children are no exception.

Often called “nature” or “forest” schools in the United States, the early childhood outdoor education style was inspired by European forest kindergartens. For children who participate in these types of schools, their classroom is outside and they typically spend 75 to 80% of their day outdoors. The activities are child lead and focus on exploration, learning and PLAY.

At the Ferncliff Nature Preschool the children are resilient and they love being in nature. They learn, they explore, they grow, and they play. Fallen trees turn into spaceships, mud provides a beautiful tool for art, of course fairy houses are discovered in the forest and everyone has a nature name. Bagworm Moth, Gray Tree Frog, Spotted Skunk, Gray Squirrel, Cricket, Bison and Hummingbird are among the recent participants at the Ferncliff Nature Preschool along with teachers Ms. Elk and Ms. Black Bear.

Rachel Parker, aka Crawdad, is the Ferncliff Nature Preschool Director and says, “Forest kindergarten focuses on developing children’s root skills. Those skills that are foundational to the rest of our successes in life. The ability to work as a team, to cooperate. The ability to self-start and create something from nothing. The ability to self-regulate our emotional state. All of this work is done through free play in the forest with highly qualified staff there to guide the way.”

While it is one thing to say being in nature is good for children, research also confirms it. David Sobel, education faculty at Antioch University New England and author of multiple books on childhood and nature says, “What everybody wants to see are kids that are more centered, more self-directed, more emotionally stable, more physically active, and know how to take initiative. If we have a more nature-balanced education, those are the things we’re going to see in kids.”.

While Ferncliff was established in 1937, the school was launched in 2016 as Arkansas’ first early childhood program that follows the forest kindergarten model, where children are immersed in the natural environment that surrounds the school. Enrollment tours are currently being scheduled for parents and children to visit the Nature Preschool.

Tours can be scheduled here. To learn more about the Nature School please follow this link to the preschool site on the Ferncliff web page.