About
Birdsong Outdoor School is a play-based open-air preschool program where children spend their day in a nature-inspired backyard doing free play, cooking, gardening, circle time, music, movement, stories, puppet shows, art, and lunch packed from home. The program also includes field trips to local nature preserves or parks, where children have a picnic lunch during the outing. Each day follows a set rhythm that includes greeting, free play, optional snack and cooking or gardening, circle time, lunch, art, more free play, and a closing circle with parents or caregivers.
• Ages: 3–6 years old
• Schedule: Families choose 2, 3, or 4 days per week, Monday–Thursday, 9:30 AM–1:30 PM, generally following a 10‑month calendar from mid-August through mid-June
• Price: Tuition for 2023–2024: 2 days/week = $525 per month; 3 days/week = $770 per month; 4 days/week = $1025 per month
Birdsong Outdoor School is a licensed small family child care home with one teacher and is licensed for a maximum of 6 preschool-aged children per day, or 7 if one kindergarten-aged child enrolls. The program runs outside in all weather in a nature-inspired backyard and offers almost weekly field trips to local nature preserves or parks, with parents or caregivers dropping off and picking up at field trip locations that are shared at least a month in advance. Birdsong generally follows the Sunnyvale School District calendar and runs for 10 months per year from mid-August through mid-June, and it continues to accept children during the school year as space becomes available.
Teacher, Director, and Owner Elizabeth Binkley started Birdsong Outdoor School in 2019. She is a State Licensed Family Childcare Provider (License #434415532), insured, and holds a preschool teacher permit at the Site Supervisor level through the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Her education includes a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Davis with high honors, a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and college coursework in Child Studies, including Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Curriculum Development, Health, Safety and Nutrition, Student Teaching Practicum, and other courses. She is certified in Pediatric CPR and First Aid, is a Licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California, and has owned and operated a water resources consulting engineering business for over 20 years.
Elizabeth has completed Mindfulness Fundamentals and Mindful Educator Essentials courses through Mindful Schools and coursework in Positive Parenting. Her experience includes over 10 years of volunteer farm, garden, and wilderness tour guiding for young children at Hidden Villa, volunteering with Environmental Volunteers and the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, and over 100 hours of elementary school classroom volunteering. Birdsong’s stated focus is on development of the whole child, with emphasis on social and emotional development, kindergarten readiness skills, and connecting with nature, and its pedagogy is described as rooted in scientifically proven developmentally appropriate practice, with children learning through hands-on free play within a predictable daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythm. The program states that Teacher Elizabeth provides respectful guidance in a warm and nurturing environment, builds a relationship with each child, celebrates the diversity of Silicon Valley, welcomes all, and enjoys learning about and experiencing different cultures.
Birdsong Outdoor School shares quotes that reflect its approach, including “The best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky” by Margaret McMillan and “Play is the highest form of research” by Albert Einstein.
Last updated June 5, 2026.
• Ages: 3–6 years old
• Schedule: Families choose 2, 3, or 4 days per week, Monday–Thursday, 9:30 AM–1:30 PM, generally following a 10‑month calendar from mid-August through mid-June
• Price: Tuition for 2023–2024: 2 days/week = $525 per month; 3 days/week = $770 per month; 4 days/week = $1025 per month
Birdsong Outdoor School is a licensed small family child care home with one teacher and is licensed for a maximum of 6 preschool-aged children per day, or 7 if one kindergarten-aged child enrolls. The program runs outside in all weather in a nature-inspired backyard and offers almost weekly field trips to local nature preserves or parks, with parents or caregivers dropping off and picking up at field trip locations that are shared at least a month in advance. Birdsong generally follows the Sunnyvale School District calendar and runs for 10 months per year from mid-August through mid-June, and it continues to accept children during the school year as space becomes available.
Teacher, Director, and Owner Elizabeth Binkley started Birdsong Outdoor School in 2019. She is a State Licensed Family Childcare Provider (License #434415532), insured, and holds a preschool teacher permit at the Site Supervisor level through the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Her education includes a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Davis with high honors, a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and college coursework in Child Studies, including Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Curriculum Development, Health, Safety and Nutrition, Student Teaching Practicum, and other courses. She is certified in Pediatric CPR and First Aid, is a Licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California, and has owned and operated a water resources consulting engineering business for over 20 years.
Elizabeth has completed Mindfulness Fundamentals and Mindful Educator Essentials courses through Mindful Schools and coursework in Positive Parenting. Her experience includes over 10 years of volunteer farm, garden, and wilderness tour guiding for young children at Hidden Villa, volunteering with Environmental Volunteers and the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, and over 100 hours of elementary school classroom volunteering. Birdsong’s stated focus is on development of the whole child, with emphasis on social and emotional development, kindergarten readiness skills, and connecting with nature, and its pedagogy is described as rooted in scientifically proven developmentally appropriate practice, with children learning through hands-on free play within a predictable daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythm. The program states that Teacher Elizabeth provides respectful guidance in a warm and nurturing environment, builds a relationship with each child, celebrates the diversity of Silicon Valley, welcomes all, and enjoys learning about and experiencing different cultures.
Birdsong Outdoor School shares quotes that reflect its approach, including “The best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky” by Margaret McMillan and “Play is the highest form of research” by Albert Einstein.
Last updated June 5, 2026.
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