STEM
Science. Technology. Engineering. Math.
We are always hands-on, fluid, mobile, and flexible. We integrate STEM throughout the day, everyday.
Science
Science is everywhere at Lake Nixon! Life is found in the ground, in the creek, and in the trees. Our classroom encourages wonder, curiosity and creating one’s own hypothesis. Nurturing a child’s inner sense of natural curiosity is the beauty of the outdoor preschool experience.
Technology
These days the struggle is often too much technology for kids. At Lake Nixon, our technology looks less like screen time and more like a pair of binoculars, a magnifying glass, or a compass.
Engineering
Engineering provides students the opportunity to use critical thinking skills to work with the new challenges in front of them. From building bridges, creating boats out of tree limbs, erecting towers of rocks, outdoor environments provide endless opportunities to work mental puzzles and test hypotheses.
Math
Mathematics outdoors is about learning in hands-on ways. We encourage preschoolers to think about math in their natural environment. We begin learning numbers by counting rocks, leaves, and birds but mathematical thinking also includes recognizing patterns in nature, sorting shapes and sizes, solving puzzles, addition, subtraction, even division. These lessons that are delivered in simple, natural ways.
