Teaching Academic Skills while Building Love and Respect for the Natural World
by Priscilla Woyke, Director of Early Childhood Development

Philosophically segregating academic learning from play in early childhood education oversimplifies current debate among teachers, according to the National Association of Young Children. In its professional journal for educators, Young Children, author Gaye Gronlund noted that academic learning is playful and exploratory in the best preschools nationwide. "Research shows that young children learn best through manipulation of materials and hands-on experiences, planned by knowledgeable teachers. To parents, this learning may look like play, but it is play with a purpose," she said.

The New Canaan Nature Center's Director of Early Childhood Education, Priscilla Woyke, in an article published this winter in Young Children, explained how her teachers integrate all aspects of academic learning into a unique, age-appropriate curriculum centered on the environment. Using the Nature Center's Beginner's Nature Program preschool as the benchmark, "Hopping Frogs and Trail Walks" details how educators can use the outdoors as a unique laboratory to teach children how to use all of their senses in the pursuit of academic skill development, while building a sense of wonder and respect for the natural world.

Mrs. Woyke says her work mirrors that of noted educator Ruth Wilson, whose belief that environmental education should begin in the earliest years was based on a pair of premises. "Positive interaction with the natural world is an important part of healthy child development, and such interactions enhance learning and quality of live over the span of one's lifetime," Mrs. Woyke observed. Moreover, she commented, "children must develop a sense of respect and caring for the natural environment during their first few years of life or be at risk for never developing such attitudes."

Mrs. Woyke described in her article how BNP children use all of their senses as they observe their environment on daily outdoor walks, collect natural objects that have fallen to the ground, then bring their collections back into the classroom to be used for art, science, math or music experiences. Children may use small magnifying glasses to get a closer look at objects on their daily "field trip," or take along a clipboard to make notes and drawings. The BNP's child-centered, inquiry-based learning model embeds the development of language, literacy, math and scientific observation skills into its nature-focused curriculum, as young children sort, classify, count, compare, and examine the objects they collect, she said.

"We integrate environmental education into our curriculum, not as a separate subject but as an essential element in art, music, math, language and literacy, dramatic play, and other curriculum areas. This nature-based curriculum supports children's learning of social, emotional, cognitive, creative, and physical skills," Mrs. Woyke remarked. A developmentally-appropriate classroom activity such as simple block play, for example, incorporates social development of negotiation and problem-solving skills, math understanding of geometry and scientific concepts of balance and weight, she commented.

"Using play to build success does not mean the curriculum is not academic. It means it is what's best for three-, four- and five-year-old children," Ms. Gronlund emphasized in her article. Children this age are "wigglers and doers," she explained, noting that early childhood teachers need to work with, not against this developmental style.

Mrs. Woyke has been Director of Early Childhood Education at the Nature Center since 1997. She has been an educator for nearly 40 years, and has been an Adjunct Instructor in Early Childhood Education at Norwalk Community College for the past ten years. She is also a frequent and popular presenter at local and regional and national staff development conferences for teachers. Mrs. Woyke holds an M.S.Ed. from Bank Street College of Education in New York and a B.S. from the University of Vermont. She is a board member of the Connecticut Association for the Education of Young Children, and is past president of the Mid-Fairfield Association for the Education of Young Children.

"The entire Nature Center community is extremely proud that Priscilla has been published in the Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children," commented Catharine Sturgess, Executive Director of the New Canaan Nature Center. "Her article introduces more than 100,000 members of this premiere professional organization for early childhood education and daycare to the value of connecting young children and nature, and she offers her readers a wealth of suggestions for integrating environmental education into the classroom.

"This organization's recognition of Priscilla's expertise and leadership in the field of early childhood education is most gratifying and highlights the quality of both the preschool staff and program that we have here at the New Canaan Nature Center. We are delighted to have this forum through which to communicate the significance of environmental education and the positive outcomes of hands-on experiences with the natural world. Our orientation towards active learning works well with all types of learning styles, and direct experience with the outdoors encourages the natural curiosity, need to be active and sense of wonder of so many small children," she said.

The Beginner's Nature Program, which was founded at the New Canaan Nature Center in 1967, offers preschool programs for 3-, 4- and 5-year old children. It is fully licensed under Connecticut Day Care regulations and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

For information about openings in the Beginner's Nature Program preschool and Nurturing Nature, contact Mrs. Woyke at 966-9577, ext 16.