Our Many Outdoor Classrooms
by Priscilla Woyke

Imagine your child attending school where there are 20 or 30 different classrooms, each filled with exciting educational materials waiting to be discovered. Well, this is true for all children who attend the Beginner's Nature Program Preschool at the New Canaan Nature Center.

What are these classrooms? They are the diverse habitats located on our 40-acre campus. Children can see the wonderful diversity of life in the natural world and have hands-on experiences as the exhibits in these classrooms change with the seasons.

Lets talk about some of these "classrooms" that our children are currently exploring during these winter months. Children at the BNP learn that many animals sleep during winter months and that some, like woodchucks and chipmunks, burrow deep in the ground and hibernate. They can observe the absence of our resident chipmunks, and also see how, on warm days, they sometimes reappear to eat stored food. During our daily trail walks children are encouraged to peek under logs and stone walls for telltale signs of sleeping animals that were active earlier in the fall.

Some local animals remain active in the winter. On snowy or muddy days, the children discover signs of active animals such as deer, skunks, rabbits or raccoons. They enjoy searching for these animal tracks and comparing them to their own footprints.

Children in our preschool also observe changes in plant life. They comment on the fact that some trees lose their leaves during the winter and others stay green all year round. The children's excitement naturally leads to a discussion of the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees. Moving from the forest habitats to our ponds, children are curious about how water freezes and what lives under the ice.

In the winter, the children also learn about how the weather changes habitats. Our fall mud puddles have now become exciting places to slide on. Instead of rolling down "silly hill" (behind the greenhouse), our children are gliding down on saucer sleds. And, of course, during snowy days, we make lots of snowmen and snow angels.

At the Nature Center, preschool children don't stay inside because of "bad" weather. Winter is just one more exciting opportunity to explore our natural world. The children are learning about hibernation, winter weather, and changes in vegetation and how animals survive in a harsh environment.

Just imagine all the new "classrooms" that will blossom in the spring. In the forest we will find purple skunk cabbage poking up before the snow has melted. There will be buds on the trees and, of course, the sap will be rising in our sugar maple trees. Our children will get to taste the delicious maple syrup being made in our sugar shed.

In the fields and the wetlands, vernal pools will appear, bringing along the wonderful sounds of spring peepers. Grasses and wildflowers will become alive and the brown fields of winter will become green.

In our pond habitats, children eagerly watch for tadpoles, which will turn into frogs in the summer. Reptiles, such as turtles and snakes, will emerge to bask in the sunlight on warm spring days. As migrant birds return we listen for their new sounds and look for their nests.

I cannot imagine any museum having the rich diversity of ever-changing exhibits that exist in the Nature Center's 40 acres of ponds, fields, wetlands, orchards, and forests. We at the BNP are lucky to have these exciting "classrooms" in which to experience the awe and wonder of the natural world.

For information about openings in the NCNC preschool and Nurturing Nature, contact Beth Skudder at 966-9577, ext 16.