Ms. Mary's Nature Preschool

08/20/2026

🐛🦋 Insect Investigation Camp was a success! 🐝🐞

We had such a fun week exploring the tiny creatures that share our outdoor classroom with us! 🌿🔎

Throughout the week, we enjoyed insect-themed stories and songs, hands-on activities, crafts, and lots of time simply exploring and playing in nature. One of our favorite adventures was heading out on a bug hunt with our magnifying glasses! We discovered butterflies and caterpillars, spiders, ants, crickets, cicada shells, and more. There is always something exciting to find when we slow down and take a closer look! 🐜🕷️🦗

Our little artists stayed busy, too! 🎨 We painted egg-carton caterpillars, created beautiful coffee-filter butterflies by watching the colors blend with water, and painted our own ladybug and bumblebee rocks to take home. 🐞🐝

Of course, there was plenty of imaginative play along the way—especially lots of little butterflies fluttering around our outdoor classroom in their butterfly wings! 🦋

Each child also went home with their very own bug collector and magnifying glass so they can continue their insect investigations at home. 🔎🌿

A week filled with curiosity, creativity, exploration, and lots of outdoor fun—that's a wrap on Insect Investigation Camp! 🐛🦋🐝

08/13/2026

🏴‍☠️ That’s a Wrap on Pirates Ahoy Camp! 🏴‍☠️

What a fun week of pirate adventures at Ms. Mary’s Nature Preschool! Our little pirates spent the week exploring, creating, moving, imagining, and learning together in our outdoor classroom. ⚓️🌿

Throughout the week we…

🏴‍☠️ Painted our very own treasure chests
🔭 Created pirate telescopes
🗺️ Made treasure maps and practiced following directions and positional words
☠️ Discovered our silly pirate names
💎 Explored gems, coins, treasure maps, and pirate-themed sensory activities
🦈 Played games, including some pretty enthusiastic sharks chasing everyone around!
🌿 Went on a nature treasure hunt
🧣 Used scarves for pirate-themed stretching, movement, and lots of imaginative play
📚 Enjoyed pirate stories and other read-alouds throughout the week

And, of course, we saved one of our biggest adventures for the last day — our Pirate Treasure Hunt! 🗺️ The children listened carefully to clues, worked together to figure out where each one was leading them, and eventually discovered the hidden treasure! Each pirate got to choose special treasures to put inside the treasure chest they had painted earlier in the week. 🪙💎

There was so much learning tucked into all of that pirate fun — creativity, science, early literacy, listening skills, problem-solving, movement, teamwork, and LOTS of imaginative play.

Thank you to all of our little pirates for such a wonderful week!
🏴‍☠️⚓️💛

05/14/2026

Sometimes the biggest excitement comes from the simplest moments. 🐢
Today’s highlight was spotting this little painted turtle and stopping to admire it for a while. Childhood wonder at its finest. 💚

05/05/2026

I'm honored to be recognized! Thank you Holly Comegys.

Shoutout to Ms. Mary at Ms. Mary's Nature Preschool:

"We are so thankful for Ms. Mary. 💛 She creates such a warm, loving environment where preschoolers can truly thrive—whether they’re learning inside or exploring outdoors. Every day is filled with thoughtful crafts, hands-on activities, and opportunities for little minds to grow, create, and discover.

"Her patience, creativity, and genuine care make such a lasting impact on the children (and their families!). It’s clear she puts her heart into everything she does, and it does not go unnoticed.

"Thank you, Ms. Mary, for making learning so joyful and meaningful! 🌿✨" - Holly & Weston

It’s National Teacher Appreciation, a chance to recognize the educators making a difference in our students’ lives every day.

Delaware’s 2025–2028 Education Strategic Plan calls for strong teaching, stronger instructional support, and a focus on educator workforce growth and retention. Celebrating great teachers is part of that work. Help us show appreciation for the amazing teachers in your lives by sending shoutouts to [email protected].

Please include:
* Name and school of the teacher you want to celebrate
* Message you would like to share
* Optional: Short videos, photos, or student drawings

05/05/2026

Nature truly is the best teacher 🌿

Our outdoor classroom is full of curiosity, creativity, and imagination.

From little hands drawing their masterpieces, to quiet moments spent flipping through books in the fresh air… from dinosaur adventures and butterfly dress-up, to bird watching with binoculars and building big ideas with outdoor blocks — every moment was guided by exploration.

When children are given the space to wonder, create, and discover, learning happens naturally 💚

04/29/2026

We’ve been noticing lots of toads hopping through our space, and our friends have been so excited to observe them up close—watching them move, following along beside them, and even gently holding them with such care. 🐸

I love how these small moments turn into so much learning with questions like:
“I wonder where it sleeps?”
“I wonder what it eats?”
“I wonder where it goes at night?"

It’s a beautiful reminder that nature doesn’t need to be planned or scheduled to teach—it simply invites curiosity. And when we slow down enough to notice, even the smallest creatures can open the door to big wonder 💚

04/17/2026

Today’s adventure took us on a bug hunt! 🐞🔍

With magnifying glasses in hand, these curious explorers carefully peeked under a tree stump to discover who might be living beneath. The excitement of finding tiny creatures in their natural homes never gets old! 🌿

Learning through nature, one tiny discovery at a time. 💚

04/15/2026

☀️ Outdoor Classroom Days 🌿

The past few days have been all about soaking up this beautiful weather and "living our best life" outside!

From balancing on logs and digging in the dirt, to mud kitchen play, bug hunts, and exploring nature’s treasures—these little ones have been busy learning, playing, and discovering together. 🐞💛

03/22/2026

"Before children speak, they sing.
Before they write, they paint.
As soon as they stand, they dance.
Art is the basis of human expression."
-Phylicia Rashad

03/19/2026

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can give children isn’t more—it’s less.
Less screen time, less pressure… and more space to play, explore, and connect 🌿
That’s the beauty of a nature-based preschool environment.