Building Futures, One Seed at a Time

Outdoor Play Environment, Gathering Garden and Room layouts shall be developmentally appropriate and an interactive extension, scaled to fit the size of the children in the classroom and their ability.  The areas shall be easily accessible and inclusive to promote all children, accommodating their developmental needs as much as possible, yet challenging and engaging.  There shall be defined areas of play in sections, large group, and individual play areas.  The materials and activities provided shall keep children’s interest, avoid conflict, and entice them to use open-ended problem-solving skills while promoting the main objectives, as stated in the Educational Policy.  All daily routines are learning opportunities and experiences with connections that form lasting relationship understandings.  Teachers are responsible for providing and maintaining the materials, learning tools, engaging natural phenomena and open ended materials.  The activities shall be posted for parents and guardians to examine weekly and will allow input and participation to consider ideas.

 The following enrichment themes have been created: Dramatic Play, Fine Motor/Gross Motor, Geography, Social Studies, Literacy Language Arts, Self-Sufficiency, Life Skills and Competencies, Science and Math, Manipulatives, Outdoor/Natural Awareness and Art/Writing Center.  

  Nature is a universal language that, not only is tangible, but all humans can identify with in a profound way.  Using nature and the outdoors will support Autonomy and promote connections with purpose and prepare them for School & their purpose.  Delayed Outcomes will promote patience, willingness to make mistakes, confidence to keep trying, build stamina, and critical thinking skills, all important attributes of a productive adult.  Studies show a strong beginning can build solid relationships making us better stewards, parents, employees, mentors and friends later in life. 

The role of the center will be to experience rather than celebrate holidays and culturally specific designated days. Celebrating traditions and rites of passages are important and bring young and old together forming relationships and creating lifetime memories.  Teaching will be inclusive of many traditions and cultures, and more specifically, reflect and respect the individual “family culture” of the enrolled children.  All teaching will emphasize the history and uniqueness, including special needs, of each family unit’s culture and the greater idea that all of us have something to share.

Teaching techniques used will be appropriate to the age and learning styles of the children. Activities that constitute appropriate learning include listening to oral stories and books, listening to / dancing to /singing songs, language arts experiences and immersion, working with art materials and creative expression, appreciating artwork of diverse cultures, making, and tasting different foods, growing, and identifying native plants and animals, dramatic play props, games, and celebrations. Schedules will be flexible and daily routines will incorporate traditions such as Try It Tuesday, (exploring new meals and Farm to Table recipes). Other Examples are, Friday Show and Share a Book.   Children’s work will be displayed as any other projects are displayed throughout the year. Materials and activities will be presented as part of the daily curriculum maintaining daily routine. Changes to lesson planning or menus reflecting cultural and family celebrations will be posted for parents to view the day of changes and during orientation.  Terri’s Treehouse will celebrate seasons, stages in life, accomplishments, traditional holidays from around the world, reflections of community gatherings and historic events.  Any activity that dramatically deviates from each child’s normal routine will be avoided.

As with any activity available to children, the material will be developmentally appropriate and children will have a choice as to whether to participate and, to what extent. Parents will have prior access to all lesson plans, so they are aware of what is being presented to their children.  Families are encouraged to share their “family cultures” within the classroom including discussing or displaying each families’ dynamic culture along with their heritage.

The making of gifts will be included when it is developmentally appropriate. Through the making and giving of gifts, children learn to see beyond themselves. Gift making activities will be a regular activity and children can choose from age-appropriate designs chosen by the teachers.  Some gifts will be created from our very own Gathering Garden, with children designing appropriate garden beds and planning all year.

Specific Traditions, Events or Holidays may be planned. These events may extend from the Center into the community to develop a relationship with a broader Northwoods population. These activities shall be optional for Center families and occasionally family members will be invited to participate. Information will be shared in the parent newsletter, online, parent board or via teacher to family’s communication etc. Photographs, with permission, will be utilized to collect, share, and reflect experiences to our students and their families through our monthly newsletter.

Our Gathering Garden, in which the outdoor learning experience is at the forefront, has been integrated the sites curriculum for several years.  The Center intentionally has been expanding integration methods under the E.C.E, Waldorf Style,  Farm to Table and  Project Learning Tree approach. In addition, we will do so while maintaining NAEYC Accreditation Program ID #291769 ‘representing the highest mark in quality early childhood education’.  This space is 100’ by 100’ with focus areas in all developmental regions of infant to school age. 

  The grounds has various Green Schoolyard/Playscapes for each age group, that focus on learning while playing and interacting outside classroom walls. We aspire towards an outdoor classroom that reflects the lives and heritage of the families, and staff, in this community.  One that cultivates inclusion, sustainability, responsibility and self-growth extending from, observation, interaction and activation. When the outdoors is an extension to the learning and developing process, children can interact free from the stagnant and constraint walls of a classroom.  This extension would be in addition indoor amenities that meet all the NAEYC requirements for environment.

This area provides a sanctuary for children to become a steward of their wellbeing through the guidance of trained educators, having fresh air movement, space to play, all while engaging in various stimuli, students exhibit a higher focus level and are fully engaged in various learning objectives.  Research shows that students with more outdoor play score higher test scores later in life and better self-regulation skills to support a higher quality of life.  In addition outdoor space also creates a container for higher immunity.  Even in our own history we developed Outdoor Education as a method to protect against disease.  Further more there is much positive research showing that children in a multi-age setting develop key components to critical thinking positive social skills and higher retained creative thinking capabilities; i.e. measurements to intelligence in later years 12-age-mixed-play-iii-play-is-more.

Many interesting findings have come from other countries where student curriculum focuses on unstructured learning and mostly outdoors for the formative years plus. The Finnish model has proven these children are benefitting from this play based environment at an early age, according to studies and statistics from Finland Education Facts & Finish Statistics.

  By converting our current playgrounds, it is our hope to create a more natural learning, when offering this, we also have the opportunity to safely and flexibly enroll more students in a manner to further support them in experiencing engaging activities.  IN addition students that don’t excel in a typical academic setting are given the opportunity to have alternative self-directed learning results are incredible and lasting. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/freedom-learn/201709/another-example-less-teaching-leading-more-learning.   Studies show delaying formal education by even one year decrease hyperactivity by 73% and the effects to persist by the age of 11.  The earlier we open these pathways, the easier it will be for individuals to benefit from these natural developmental connections and each other. We feel by offering a more multisensory and safe participation option, we can develop relationships that encourage strong connections interacting within our environment, thus inspiring curiosity, and viability at an earlier age.    

Investments to this alternative school choice would serve more families out of reach in a conventional school setting and wouldn’t be very high compared to developing from scratch a new school choice option.  The funds requested in this proposal will enable our team to greatly enhance the Treehouse Program, providing us also with the opportunity to serve the population of the early years on the same premise,  while avoiding raising childcare costs during this trying time and maintaining family affordability, this extension will open up the ability to increase our services, under the same overhead, while leveraging existing resources.  For example, we currently have a vacant classroom, available 8.5 hours a day that can be transformed into a hub for external utilization within the two months of proposed effort. 

1. Professional Development and Growth:

• Self-Assessment: Staff members can use reflective journals to document their professional growth.
• Peer Observations: Colleagues can observe each other's teaching practices and provide feedback.
• Formal Evaluations: Regular performance evaluations can assess staff's competence, commitment, and alignment with the curriculum's philosophy.
• Professional Development Plans: Individualized plans can track staff's ongoing learning and skill development.

2. Curriculum Implementation:

• Curriculum Mapping: Assess how well staff align their lesson plans with the curriculum's goals and objectives.
• Observation of Teaching Practices: Observe staff's use of experiential learning, inquiry-based approaches, and community partnerships.
• Assessment of Student Work: Review student portfolios to evaluate staff's ability to differentiate instruction and support student learning.

3. Community Engagement:

• Parent and Community Feedback: Gather feedback through surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
• Documentation of Community Partnerships: Track the frequency and quality of community collaborations.
• Assessment of Community Impact: Evaluate the positive influence of the program on the community.

1. Self-Actualization and Well-Being:

• Observation: Observe students' engagement, curiosity, and creativity in various learning contexts.
• Student Self-Assessment: Encourage students to reflect on their learning and growth.
• Anecdotal Records: Document specific instances of student learning, problem-solving, and social interactions.

2. Academic Achievement:

• Portfolio Assessment: Review student portfolios to track their progress in literacy, numeracy, and other subject areas.
• Standardized Assessments: Use standardized tests to measure student achievement in specific skills. But to the minimum of state standards.
• Performance-Based Assessments: Assess students' ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world situations.

3. Social-Emotional Development:

• Observation: Observe students' interactions with peers and adults.
• Self-Regulation Scales: Use rating scales to assess students' ability to manage their emotions and behaviors.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences: Discuss students' social-emotional development with parents.

By combining these assessment methods, we will gain a comprehensive understanding of both staff and student performance, identify areas of strength and weakness, and make informed decisions to improve the program.