Natureschool
Learning in God’s Creation 🌿
Childhood is meant to be full of wonder. At Providence Outdoors, our classroom is the forest, the meadow, and the lakeside trail, where every day invites discovery, play, and growth. Children spend their mornings exploring God’s creation with caring mentors, building friendships, and developing confidence as they learn through movement, stories, and hands-on experiences.
At a glance:
- Preschool for ages 3–6 (potty-trained)
- Half-day program: 8:00 AM–12:00 PM
- Options: 2 days, 3 days or 5 days
- 1:5 mentor-to-child ratio for close guidance
- Montessori-inspired, faith-rooted, and nature-driven
Who This Program is For 🌟
Providence Outdoors is designed for preschoolers who are ready to thrive in a nature-based learning environment. Parents who typically want their children in a forest school setting:
✅ Believe the outdoors is a powerful place for growth. Children will explore God’s creation with its blessings and natural risks, including animals, insects, sunlight, and uneven ground. Families should provide proper clothing and appropriate protection so children can learn safely.
✅ Understand that supervised “risky play” is part of outdoor learning. Running, climbing, swinging, digging, and exploring build resilience, confidence, and joy under the guidance of trained mentors.
✅ Value the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual growth that comes from time spent outdoors, helping children discover who God created them to be.
✅ Has a child who is potty trained and ready to engage with peers, or is open to helping their child grow in independence and social-emotional skills.
✅ Recognize that some children thrive outdoors in unique ways. Our smaller 1:5 mentor-to-child ratio supports all learners, including those with ADHD, autism, and other neurodiverse strengths.
This program is a wonderful fit for families who treasure time outdoors, desire a close-knit and faith-rooted community, and seek a preschool experience where children learn in God’s creation while building strong academic foundations and whole-child growth.
What a Day Looks Like ☀️
At Providence, we craft a customized, interdisciplinary program of study designed to meet each child’s unique needs and learning pace.
A sample daily schedule:
- Arrival & Greeting (8:00–8:15): Families check in, children can start their free play.
- Free Exploration and Play (8:15–8:30): Children can climb on rocks, chase butterflies or each other, listen to birdsongs, anything to inspire their imaginations!
- Prayer Circle (8:30–8:45): Giving thanks and centering our hearts toward being open to what God has for us to learn today.
- Outdoor Training (8:45–9:00): Games for students to help them learn how to quickly listen to teachers in an outdoor setting and learning outdoor skills such as how to identify what is allowed to be touched and common plants in the area.
- Nature Exploration (9:00–9:45): Walks through the forest, lakeside discoveries, or meadow play. Season-lead learning with flexibility built in for child-led findings, from counting acorns to noticing how leaves change colors.
- Snack & Story (9:45–10:15): After washing off the morning’s discoveries from our hands, children get their packed snacks to eat together and listen to a biblical story.
- Small Group Learning (10:15–11:15): Montessori-inspired activities such as tracing letters in sand, building with sticks, or storytelling with puppets. Literacy, math, science, and spiritual foundations are nurtured through play and hands-on discovery.
- Play & Projects (11:15–11:45): Building forts, balancing on logs, or playing games that teach teamwork and problem-solving.
- Closing Circle Time (11:45–12:00): Children gather to share discoveries, give thanks, and close with a joyful song or prayer.”
Our Approach – How We Teach and Why
We believe preschool should prepare children not just for kindergarten, but for life. At Providence Outdoors, children are gently introduced to prayer, worship songs, and gratitude for creation, helping them see that God’s world is good and that they are a beloved part of it.
Guided by Montessori principles, our mentors encourage independence, confidence, and responsibility through choice, movement, and hands-on materials. The natural world itself becomes a teacher, as seasonal changes offer endless opportunities to learn about science, stewardship, and God’s design in creation.
Alongside these experiences, we nurture the whole child by balancing early literacy and math foundations with social-emotional growth, problem-solving, empathy, and creativity.
Benefits of Outdoor Learnings
- Nurtures the whole child—mind, body, and spirit ³ ⁴
- Sparks imagination and creativity through all senses ³
- Strengthens academic performance and environmental knowledge ⁴
- Builds confidence, happiness, and overall joy ¹ ³ ⁴
- Improves mental health, self-concept, and well-being ¹ ² ³ ⁴
- Supports physical health and motor skills ¹ ⁴ while lowering obesity risk ²
- Benefits both children and teachers with greater wellness ³
- Encourages supervised “risky play” like climbing and exploring ¹ ²
- Develops self-regulation, calmness, and discipline ¹ ³ ⁴
- Strengthens teamwork, communication, and perseverance ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵
- Increases attention, concentration, and focus ³
- Lessens ADHD symptoms and improves outcomes for learners ¹
- Helps neurodiverse and/or children with special needs thrive with resilience and success ⁴ ⁵
Tuition & Schedule
Providence Outdoors offers a half-day preschool program from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, September through June (Starting January 2026).
- 2 days/week: Monthly: $400, Yearly (10 months): $4,000
- 3 days/week: Monthly: $550, Yearly (10 months): $5,550
- 5 days/week: Monthly: $800, Yearly (10 months): $8,000
Take the Next Step ✨
Providence Outdoors is more than a preschool. It’s a community where children grow through nature, play, and discovery, while learning to see God’s hand in the world around them. Get on our mailing list to stay updated about enrollment and events:
Research Citations
1. Cooper. Nature and Outdoors Learning Environment: The Forgotten Resource in Early Childhood Education. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education.
2. Gilchrist et al. 2016. Exploring schools' use of natural spaces. Geographies of Children and Young People.
3. Kiviranta, et al. 2024. Outdoor learning in early childhood education: exploring benefits and challenges. Educational Research.
4. Mann et al. 2022. Getting Out of the Classroom and Into Nature: A Systematic Review of Nature-Specific Outdoor Learning on School Children's Learning and Development. Frontiers in Public Health.
5. Ruiz-Gallardo et al. 2013. Garden-based Learning: An Experience with "At Risk" Secondary Education Students. The Journal of Environmental Education.