Young children have an innate curiosity about the natural world and at Snails & Turkey Tails we support, and build on, that curiosity through full on nature immersion experiences. Nature provides a stimulating environment for exploration, encourages imaginative play, and offers sensory rich experiences with sights, sounds, and textures that are often new and exciting. In our opinion, nature is the original, and best, playground where children can discover and learn about the world around them; contributing to a sense of wonder and connection to their surroundings.
Studies show that nature-based education benefits children’s development and the environment, with increases shown in prosocial development, physical activity, and language development along with greater respect for nature. Nature-based preschools are powerful programs that fuse early childhood and environmental education to develop a child’s lifelong connection with the natural world.
While no two days are ever the same, we do follow a daily rhythm that provides a sense of structure and calm for students. We begin the day with a MORNING CIRCLE where everyone has a chance to settle and connect. This is a time for greetings, an introduction to the day's topic and a story. Next, children explore and engage in NATURE PLAY which is an unstructured time for connection with the land and environment. This time is a major component of our program. Children can be found exploring in pairs or groups and sometimes individually. Since this period is often filled with running and climbing, we take a break for SNACK. At Snails & Turkey Tails we love BUILDING, MAKING & CREATING and each day includes time for a creative activity. Sometimes we work together to build a den or collect objects and sometimes students follow a guided lesson to craft a nature-inspired project. Every day also includes a short HIKE and sometimes we bring our LUNCH along for a picnic. Depending on the location we may hike to a grove of climbing trees, search for a picnic table beside a creek or hideout in a tree fort. After lunch students have more time for NATURE PLAY and if everyone is interested we'll play a game. Finally, we gather together for our GOODBYE CIRCLE where we take time to recap our day and share our discoveries and review what we've learned.
Classes are offered daily. Choose from a 1-5 day weekly schedule. Ours is an intimate group, with just 8 children. School year classes are booked on a monthly basis. Join us for one month or attend every month. Our school year classes run from mid August - May and in June, July and early August we offer weekly summer camps!
Snails & Turkey Tails