ODC Early Childhood Network

"There's no way that we can help children to learn to love and preserve this planet if we don't give them direct experiences with the miracles and blessings of nature." 🐸

The best classrooms don’t have four walls. They have towering trees, fresh air and endless opportunities for adventures and new discoveries!🌲🔎

Cooking with students helps develop lifelong skills by preparing and following a recipe to create a snack together. Students help wash, stir, pour, and taste while also building confidence and independence. Cooking benefits students through:

🥝 Early Math Skills (measuring and counting)

🍉 Science Learning (mixing, changes and textures)

🥕 Communication and Cooperation

🍓 Healthy Eating Habits

The joy on the students faces say it all as they proudly help make the food "all by themselves" is priceless! ❤️ Share below what your child's favorite thing to help you make at home? ⬇️

💚 "We must teach our children to smell the earth, to taste the rain, to touch the wind, to see things grow, to see the sun rise and night fall - to care." 💚

Check out what the White Tailed Deer Class came across on one of their recent hikes! 👀 🐇 They stopped and took time to share what they noticed about the rabbit. They quietly observed, and shared what they noticed about the rabbit. Moments like this remind us how much we can learn when we slow down and really pay attention to the world all around us. 💚

Research shows that spending time in and around natural waterways can reduce stress, improve mental wellbeing, and encourage physical activity.

Whether you kayak a river, paddle a lake, skip rocks, cool off in a creek, cast a fishing line, or simply take a walk along the shoreline, every moment spent near water is an opportunity to reconnect with nature!

Students in the Mallard class at Gentex Discovery Preschool brought along field guides and set off on an adventure! They found a cozy spot to stop and explore! They found different wildflowers and matched them to the ones on their field guide. They even watched and got a close view of a group of Turkeys that walked past! 🦃

Students in the Chipmunk Class waded into the creek for an adventure! 💦 Here’s how Creek Play helps children grow:

💚 Gross Motor Skills: Squatting down to grab rocks, high steps through water, climbing the muddy bank all build leg and core strength.

💚 Balance and Coordination: Uneven rocks and squishy sand mean little feet are constantly adjusting which helps with coordination and stabilizing muscles.

💚 Fine Motor Skills: Picking up tiny rocks, squishing sand and dripping water all help grow those tiny finger movements for writing, etc.

💚 Full-Body Sensory Input: Cold water, smooth rocks, squishy mud/sand, the sound of flowing water hit all the senses at once!

💚 Building Cognitive Skills: Asking questions like “Why does this stick float but the rock sinks?” or “Where does the water go?” all help with building early science skills.

💚 Language Skills: Exploring in the creek helps build new vocabulary with words like: splash, slippery, minnow, ripple…watch vocab take off after a morning at the creek!