Hopping Along: How Nature Preschool Prepares Children for Elementary School

By: Hope Olson, Forest Kindergarten teacher, BOPN admissions coordinator, and nature enthusiast with a degree in Environmental Studies and Biology, as well as a minor in Outdoor Studies whose lively classroom presence instills these loves to all children in her care.

In the eyes of a dog walker or a cyclist in the Arboretum, a group of kids playing within a circle of orange cones may not appear to be an educational or developmentally beneficial experience, yet those children are developing in countless ways. When we think of Kindergarten or First Grade readiness, we often think of basic number and letter recognition, a child’s ability to write and read simple words, their ability to draw a detailed person, or even how to correctly hold a crayon or pencil.

Each of these skills is indeed a developmental step in a child’s education, but they are only a fraction of a child’s readiness for school.

As written in Lens on Outdoor Learning,

“To be effective learners, [children] must know how best to approach a task, break it down into manageable pieces, and anticipate what is coming next,” (Banning & Sullivan, 2).

At BOPN, children consistently turn to variations of fort building, an activity that requires the children to communicate the plan, process, and purpose for the structure. This favorite step-by-step activity engages the children in developing their readiness to learn.

The process of becoming an effective learner (one’s readiness to learn) “…naturally evolves and is strengthened within the contents of children’s experiences in the outdoors,” (Banning & Sullivan, 2). With change all around them in an outdoor setting, our children are approaching the living world, constantly questioning, analyzing, and wondering. They notice seasonal changes, question why some trees’ leaves are growing back while other trees remain bare, compare snowflake shapes, notice birds returning in spring, wonder what animal an owl may have eaten from the bones found in a pellet, and compare different yellow flowers by counting their petals.

The skills and strategies that children develop and practice in an outdoor setting “…are transferable and applicable to all learning and to all environments,” this includes a more traditional school setting for your soon-to-be Kindergartener or First Grader (Banning & Sullivan, 2). From critical thinking to social-emotional learning to gross and fine motor skills, children naturally follow developmentally appropriate steps while in an outdoor classroom.

Below I break down some of the many parts of a child’s readiness, detailing a few of the many ways that these skills and learning aptitudes are developed at BOPN.

Social Emotional Learning

Social-emotional learning is a daily practice with BOPN students. Learning with peers in an outdoor environment, their self-awareness is heightened, their self-control is tested and strengthened, and their interpersonal skills are developed. Free play and self-directed play guide BOPN’s program, encouraging children to engage in group play and sharing of materials as well as ideas. They are compelled to communicate with each other to ensure that they are happy and enjoying their time together which includes communicating about their emotions, needs, and wants in games, activities, or material sharing.

A simple example of peer communication occurs when the children find their way to a puddle area.

Some children choose to walk far around the puddle, others run and slash through the middle, and some want to stand in the puddle without getting soaked. The children have learned to move their bodies into the appropriate spaces with timing that allows their puddle interaction to occur in the way they wish. This non-verbal communication is paired with announcements of “I don’t want to be slashed, please!” and “Look out! I’m coming through!” Through these experiences of communication and togetherness, the children practice self-regulation.

They learn to communicate in ways that their peers will respond to and in ways that they feel heard, while also feeling free to move on to another activity or space in the day’s outdoor classroom. These skills of negotiation, flexibility, collaboration, and patience develop naturally in our outdoor setting.

Another important aspect of social-emotional learning with children is to establish and maintain positive relationships with their peers as well as their teachers. I continually witness my BOPN students running through the Arboretum to get to our drop-off spot, sharing the happiest of smiles and hugs with teachers and peers, and then waiting at the border of our outdoor classroom to greet the next arrivals. From communication to collaboration, from self-regulation to relationship building, the development of these social-emotional skills allows children to build a strong base to cope with the everyday challenges of life.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are developed through predictable activities such as drawing with markers and crayons as well as watercolor painting with small brushes. Water coloring for my BOPN students often involves holding a paintbrush in one hand and a stick (their canvas) in the other hand. We also include provocation tarps with lacing tools, clay, differently shaped hole punchers, as well as tweezers which can be used to gather materials from our outdoor classroom or engage in a more structured activity of moving pompoms to simulate pollination.

The children’s fine motor skills also develop through daily tasks such as clipping and unclipping their backpack straps and zipping and unzipping their coats and backpacks. Each of these activities and tasks physically prime the children for their future writing needs. Former teacher Tanja Mcilroy’s research suggests that teaching preschoolers to formally write too early will do more harm than good.

Children best learn to write when they are developmentally ready in the years following preschool. Although they will begin experimenting with letter shapes and short words, developing a child’s fine motor skills is what is most important in their readiness to formally write.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is a skill that naturally develops in children who learn outdoors. In an ever-changing seasonal adventure-spot, the outdoor classroom exposes children to endless opportunities to question, analyze, evaluate, wonder, and imagine. These curiosities regard their bodies, thoughts, and feelings, as well as the environment around them.

While hiking one afternoon in late March, my class came across a dead robin on the side of the trail. We calmly walked to the robin and formed a wide circle around the bird. After a quiet moment of reflection, the children took turns sharing their hypotheses about what may have happened to this robin. Through conversation, we narrowed down the possible causes of death. I helped the children talk through the life cycle of the robin and how it would give back to the earth in its new stage of decomposition. The children respectfully gave the bird space as they shared a word of gratitude before we continued on with our hike.

Through BOPN’s self-directed approach to learning, the children have control over what they focus on, learn about, and think about; they are thinking critically in every step of their independent day while also being prompted by teachers (and peers) to question and consider possibilities.

Regarding “reading readiness,” the ability to think critically is correlated to better reading comprehension skills as children are better able to understand what they read. Developing critical thinking skills at a young age also benefits the individual as they learn to think for themselves and question the world.

Independence and Self Care

Independence and self-care are skills children need to feel confident and capable. When a child can take initiative for their needs, they soon learn that they can also take initiative for their learning and discovery.

Self-care is practiced daily at BOPN when children are responsible for dressing and undressing themselves depending on their body temperature. They also have control over when they eat and how much they eat, which helps them learn to listen to their bodies and care for their needs.

With this independence comes the skill of being comfortable asking for help when needed. My BOPN students know to “ask three then me.” This means that when I’m not available, the child asks three peers for help before coming back to ask me or another grownup for a hand. This simple guideline encourages children to try to help themselves, to then communicate a need to a peer, and to then seek help from an adult if needed. There comes a point in the year when the children are capable of zipping their coats, clipping backpack clips, and opening snacks independently or a peer notices another struggling and offers to help before being asked.

Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills are second nature to most children learning in an outdoor setting. Taking daily hikes, walking on uneven terrain, climbing hills, balancing on logs and large rocks, running and rolling down hills, and lifting heavy branches to build forts- these movements all shape children’s gross motor skills. They will be more than ready to climb stairs at school and partake in sports teams. Many of these gross motor skills, like running down a hill or jumping off a large rock, also require cognitive growth as the child must assess the situation and think about the best and safest choice.

The child learns about their own risk-taking abilities and desires as well as how to judge a situation. Developing a child’s gross motor skills also correlates with “better social behavior and “executive function,” or ability to pay attention, follow directions and stay on task later in the school year,” (Preschoolers' Motor Skill Development Connected to School Readiness).

Building gross motor skills in an outdoor setting beautifully lends itself to developing self-regulation, persisting through difficult situations, and a child’s ability to focus on a task, all aspects of executive functioning and school readiness.

Developing and Following Routines

Developing and following routines is a standard aspect of Kindergarten and First Grade programs. Although our BOPN children are not in a typical classroom setting, we keep a consistent daily schedule for them. Drop-off and pick-up occur at the same spot each day. Once every child arrives, we circle as a group to share in greetings and a daily lesson or share. We then hike to our adventure spot to have snack before play and provocations begin. We end our day with a closing circle of gratitude before hiking back to our pickup spot to meet our grownups.

Each of these transitions is accompanied by a countdown song. Our program is widely based on free play and self-directed play, yet this daily schedule allows for children’s needs to be met. The changing of seasons and adventure spot allows for just the right amount of change and new discovery each day.

It is also beneficial for the children to be in a frequently changing environment, while still maintaining a routine, to help them build adaptability and resilience in a semi-controlled setting.

For children who are developmentally craving more structured number and letter recognition, and basic writing and reading skills, we provide the materials and support to meet their interests. That said, free play and self-directed play guide our program and allow the children to engage with their interests and guide their learning at their own levels.

Through this approach, children have authority over their learning environment and can learn where their interests and passions lie. Active learning through exploration and sensory experiences is encouraged daily in our outdoor setting; our children are constantly asking questions and developing hypotheses about the world around them. Socialization and interaction occur naturally among our children who are exploring the adventure spot, the provocation tarp materials, and creating imaginative games together. They learn best through their curiosities, passions, and imaginations; they learn best when they are engaged and enjoying the activity.

In addition to these specific areas of development, children are learning to love learning at BOPN. They are guiding their own education and discovering their passions and interests. Children are capable and dependable when it comes to their knowledge and instincts on how to learn. My role as a BOPN teacher is to provide the materials, resources, and support for your child to succeed, but they are the leaders in learning.

When the time comes for your child to transition into Kindergarten or First Grade you should be confident about their readiness and ability to succeed after their time in nature preschool. Your child has been exposed to classroom dynamics, learned through a daily routine, developed their fine motor and gross motor skills, experienced daily practice in social-emotional learning, spent ample time building their independence and self-care abilities, and has thought critically about a wide range of topics.

Our BOPN children carry their love for nature as well as an endless list of academic and interpersonal skills with them into their next learning adventure!

References

Banning, Wendy, and Ginny Sullivan. Lens on Outdoor Learning. Redleaf Press, 2011.

“Critical Thinking for Reading Comprehension.” The Critical Thinking Co., https://www.criticalthinking.com/critical-thinking-for-reading-comprehension.html#:~:text=In%20simple%2C%20understandable%20terms%2C%20.

Galuski, Tracy. “Ready or Not Kindergarten, Here We Come!” School Readiness, NAEYC, https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/kindergarten-here-we-come.

Mcilroy, Tanja. “Learning to Write: The Correct Way to Teach Kids. .” Empowered Parents, 9 Nov. 2022, https://empoweredparents.co/why-you-should-not-teach-your-preschooler-to-write/.

“Preschoolers' Motor Skill Development Connected to School Readiness.” Newsroom, Oregon State University , 12 Oct. 2016, https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2016/oct/preschoolers%E2%80%99-motor-skill-development-connected-school-readiness.