Discovery Park Nature Kids
A Nature Based Preschool Program for Kids 3-5 years

Nature Kids Application » Application Form OPEN HOUSE Nature Kids Open House will be February 7, 2009 from 10-11am. An informational meeting will follow from 11-12:30 pm.

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Situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, Discovery Park offers spectacular view of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mountain ranges. The park includes two miles of protected tidal beaches as well as open meadow lands, sea cliffs, forest groves, active sand dunes, thickets, streams, and ponds. We visit the different areas of the park throughout the seasons in order to encourage discovery of the outside world and our place within it.
"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."
--Aristotle

Program

Children develop their creative arts abilities in a variety of ways. We make an art or craft project and do a movement activity each day, and look for inspiration in nature as we explore outside. We believe that all children are artists and encourage self-expression through visual arts, song, movement, and dance.

Math is taught using resources such as blocks, sorting materials, and cooking activities. These resources are used for learning about classifying, patterns, sequences, adding, and subtracting. Math is also incorporated in the time we spend outdoors, using nature as the basis for learning about math.

Children investigate science in conjunction with creative arts and math with an emphasis on nature and ecology. Discovery Park itself serves as our living classroom to learn about science, whether through observing different types of weather or gaining an understanding of the life cycle of a tree by planting seeds and walking through the forest. Science is nature based and hands on.

Language arts are emphasized through all areas of preschool. Children are encouraged to tell stories, sing songs, listen to books, create their own books, act in plays, practice new words, and create their own silly words.

Finally, Nature Kids is a play based preschool. Creativity, imagination, and respect for others and the world around us are important aspects of the program. Children are encouraged to learn at their own pace through active play and discovery time. We recognize and celebrate the ever changing world of the preschooler in all areas of Nature Kids.
"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."--Dorothy Parker

Fees for 2009-2010 are:

Session 1 Tuition:
September-December 2009
9:15am-12:45pm or 11am-2:30pm
M-F $2065
MWF $1248
TTH $814

Session 2 Tuition:
January–May 2010
9:15am-12:45pm or 11am-2:30pm
M-F $2645
MWF $1580
TTH $1070
Payment Plans are available and limited scholarships are available

Contact Information:

Natalie Fuller, Nature Kids Director
Erika Peterson, Nature Kids Assistant Director
(206) 386-4273

Philosophy

Nature Kids Preschool provides an enriching, fun, child-centered program for children ages three to five. Our goal is to nurture the emotional, social, physical, and academic growth of children by providing hands-on experiences in the classroom and outdoors. These experiences all take place within a loving, creative, and respectful environment.

We use an experiential approach to learning, with a variety of materials for children to see and touch both in the classroom and outdoors. We engage all parts of a child's development through activities such as science experiments, arts and crafts, music, movement, and stories.

Nature Kids uses a thematic approach to learning. Each week we focus on a different theme in order to explore the world around us and develop an emerging awareness of our ever-changing environment. The aspects of learning that we focus on are: creative arts, science, math, language, and movement. For example, when learning about habitats, children might paint a habitat for a bird in the art area, observe ants at work building their nest in the science and math areas, read and make a book about a habitat in the language arts area, and act out what an animal needs for a healthy habitat in the movement area. Songs, stories, and games are incorporated into each day to explore the week's theme.

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