Author: Mary Robertson

by Mary Robertson / February 26, 2013

In Discovering Nature with Young Children, Ingrid Chalufour and Karen Worth list 3 things to keep in mind when discussing how to be a good naturalist. 1)      “Stay safe (such as what can be touched, what should be avoided)” Child safety is always the first priority! 2)      “Keep animals and plants safe” Be careful not […]

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by Mary Robertson / February 19, 2013

We are working on putting several new products up on our website.  One of our new products for the natural preschool playground is the Obstacle Course which we have designed using all natural materials – Logs, Stepping Stumps, Stepping Boulders, and Tree Cookies.  By arranging these natural materials through the outdoor preschool playground, you can […]

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by Mary Robertson / February 12, 2013

Valentine’s Day is this Thursday. I know it’s still mid February, but my mind is heading towards the springtime and flowers.  Valentine’s Day, when many of us will be thinking flowers for gifts, is a good time to start planning some preschool flower gardens. Growing flowers on the natural preschool playground is a wonderful activity […]

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by Mary Robertson / February 5, 2013

We are working on putting several new products up on our website. I will be introducing some of these new products here on our blog.  One of our new products for the natural preschool playground is the Log Fort.  We wanted to create a natural outdoor playhouse, so we decided to use vertical logs to […]

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by Mary Robertson / January 29, 2013

This Saturday is Groundhog Day and people across the country will be waiting to see if winter will be sticking around a little longer or if warm weather is on the way.  In preschool, this holiday is a good time to explore with shadows.  On the preschool outdoor playground, children can already observe the shadows […]

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by Mary Robertson / January 23, 2013

At many preschools, art is an indoor activity… a messy indoor activity.  Some mess in preschool is a good thing, but when you have an art project that could cause a lot of mess, why not bring the project outdoors? We suggest taking art projects outdoors to the preschool outdoor playground.  When exploring with art […]

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by Mary Robertson / January 15, 2013

In Cultivating Outdoor Classrooms, Eric Nelson describes 7 “Silent Emergencies” that young children face today.  The 7 he listed are: Lack of exercise Preoccupation with electronic media Perception of outdoors as an unsafe place to play Isolation from and fear of nature Lack of engagement in and connection to the world, including nature Reductive approaches […]

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by Mary Robertson / January 8, 2013

It’s a brand new year!  We have the whole of 2013 ahead of us.  That’s a whole year of new opportunities for outdoor play on the preschool playground!   We would like to help create some new outdoor play opportunities by designing new play equipment for preschoolers. What new preschool play equipment would you like us […]

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by Mary Robertson / December 25, 2012

We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season full of family and friends. Thank you so much for allowing The Adventurous Child to be a part of your lives this year. We look forward to serving you and your preschool playground in 2013! Learn more about us and our outdoor learning equipment.  We will be […]

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by Mary Robertson / December 18, 2012

1.  Pine Cone Christmas Trees – Collect pine cones from the preschool playground and place them with the small end up.  Paint the pine cone green and glue colorful puff balls on as ornaments. 2.  Holiday Wreath – Collect snips of pine tree twigs and pine cones from the children’s outdoor play area and put […]

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by Mary Robertson / December 11, 2012

As we continue through the month of December, we can feel the seasons changing from fall to winter.  In preschool, where weather is always an interesting topic of study, it’s a great time to observe the changing weather.  And why observe the changing weather from inside the classroom (where hands-on preschoolers can only look out […]

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by Mary Robertson / December 4, 2012

Inside the preschool classroom, teachers often assign classroom helpers to assist in the daily activities of the classroom.  Such jobs may include line leader, line caboose, breakfast helper, lunch helper, snack helper, toy detective, meteorologist, electrician (to turn the lights on or off), and so on. We often have jobs indoors, so why not use […]

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