After a year of planning, fundraising and collaborating, CWC has finally launched it’s newest program. Preschool Preservers is a field trip based program offering hands on, play based educational experiences for local three and four year old students on our public nature preserves. The program aims to connect children to the outdoors in meaningful ways during the critical developmental stages of their lives. The hope is that today’s Preschool Preservers participants will become tomorrows environmental stewards.
Programs will be based around student led discovery, exploration of habitats, immersion in natural settings and free play. The lead educator for this program is CWC staff member Alexis Hansen, who has two years of experience working directly with preschool aged children and six years of experience in nature education. “Getting these kids outside in a fun and active way is going to have more impact on their relationship to nature than we can measure” says Hansen of the benefits of the program.
Programs will generally run an hour and be held at one of our local public preserves. Lessons will include a variety of nature based content that can be tailored to fit a class’s curriculum or current subjects. The program was created using resources like Growing Up Wild from Nature Watch, Sharing Nature by Joseph Cornell and the Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Prekindergarten from the Michigan State Board of Education. The program costs $50 per class, with scholarships available for schools without financial means to attend the program.
Interested preschool teachers can reach out to alexis@cwc-mi.org for more information or to schedule a field trip
