Environmental Activities in Preschool
by LC, Preschool Team Leader
St. Martin’s-in-the-Field has a vibrant preschool program, serving children from age 3 through pre-kindergarten in half- and full-day sessions. St. Martin’s was founded as a preschool in 1957, and its reputation is well-respected in Severna Park. The preschool curriculum has grown in environmental awareness over the years, in concert with greater knowledge about the Earth and about young children’s developmental stages.
Our goals in preschool environmental education are to enable the child to play outdoors, experiencing nature through the senses; to become alert to a clean, healthy, and waste-conscious school environment; and to care for and observe animals and plants. Preschool teachers lay the foundations for later environmental learning, with a particular knowledge of kindergarten, elementary, and middle school interdisciplinary environmental learning at St. Martin’s.
We celebrate each day in St. Martin’s preschool classrooms as Earth Day through quotidian and seasonal activities . Here are some examples.
by LC, Preschool Team Leader
St. Martin’s-in-the-Field has a vibrant preschool program, serving children from age 3 through pre-kindergarten in half- and full-day sessions. St. Martin’s was founded as a preschool in 1957, and its reputation is well-respected in Severna Park. The preschool curriculum has grown in environmental awareness over the years, in concert with greater knowledge about the Earth and about young children’s developmental stages.
Our goals in preschool environmental education are to enable the child to play outdoors, experiencing nature through the senses; to become alert to a clean, healthy, and waste-conscious school environment; and to care for and observe animals and plants. Preschool teachers lay the foundations for later environmental learning, with a particular knowledge of kindergarten, elementary, and middle school interdisciplinary environmental learning at St. Martin’s.
We celebrate each day in St. Martin’s preschool classrooms as Earth Day through quotidian and seasonal activities . Here are some examples.
- We discuss how and where our paper comes from.
- We recycle paper and plastic in the classrooms.
- We talk about our planet Earth and why we should keep it clean.
- We do not litter.
- We take nature and listening walks to better appreciate our immediate outdoor environment.
- Children who eat lunch in school are encouraged to use sustainable containers, napkins, forks and spoons, as well as healthy lunches and snacks.
- We grow butterflies, observe and record their life cycle, and set them free.
- We explore ant farms for a better understanding of ant behavior.
- We plant flowers from seed and replant them outside.
- We pick up trash around the school grounds.