OUR OUTDOOR
LEARNING CENTER
We believe it’s vitally important to give young children creative, out-of-the-classroom, healthy environments to grow and learn in – that also include fresh air and sunshine! Our outdoor learning center provides space that children need, to fully practice their gross motor skills.
With large areas and room for movement such as running,riding tricycles - children have the opportunity to creatively express themselves. We also have a built-in stage, a mud kitchen, and a hand water pump, as well as natural elements incorporated into the space.
We also believe that it’s vitally important for children to get messy, dirty, and fully engaged in their play! Our outdoor learning center has a free-flowing sensory area, child-initiated water access, as well as a long-running patch of grass supporting a child’s need to learn, hands-on in a bigger space with sunshine and open air.
Our philosophy of child-initiated learning through play, will be consistent with our outdoor space. We routinely rotate learning skills, activities, and sections, just as we do inside our classroom. We use the outdoor learning center year-round, so parents are encouraged to dress their kids in weather appropriate clothing before drop-off. We know it gets cold, but experiencing all of the elements in their natural form, how to dress for them, and how to play in them, is another way to learn important skills.
Supporting our program means that children in our community will have an opportunity to learn while being in a safe environment where they are free to be themselves. Stop by and see us in action!
HOW IT ALL CAME TO BE
BEFORE
AFTER
This process took A LOT of TEAM work, but luckily, that's something we specialize in. Our outdoor space became a reality with the blood, sweat, and tears from grants, donations, local businesses, as well as community and parent support and volunteer work. The bulk of this hard work came from our Director and Founder, Teacher Joy Robertson as well as Advisory Board Member and Grant Writer Marriah Thornock and Advisory Board Member Shana Anders. Together, they were able to pull grants, donations, and support to make this dream a reality. Our community couldn't be more excited!
Our outdoor learning center started with a major grant from Home Depot in the amount of $12,000, as well as a grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Washington for $2,500, a fundraiser from the Wenatchee Follies Guild for $7,500 as well as $2,000 in additional parent donations. We had multiple parent and community work days, as well as over 30 Home Depot employees with over one hundred volunteer hours, all working hard to help, literally, build our dream.
Take a look at our before and after photos, we're proud of our community, local businesses, parents, supporters, and volunteers. We're proud of what we can accomplish when we work together as a TEAM.