The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NATURE’S CLASSROOM
Cleveland Metroparks to open 2nd Nature Preschool in North Chagrin Reservation
“Immersing children in nature at an early age can help promote a lifelong connection to our natural world.” — Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian M. Zimmerman
A regional institution is continuing to take education outside of the typical settings.
In September, Cleveland Metroparks will be opening its second Nature Preschool in North Chagrin Reservation.
Comprised of 2,189 acres and spanning areas in Cuyahoga and Lake counties, North Chagrin Reservation is located in Gates Mills, Mayfield Village and Willoughby Hills.
According to Director of Outdoor
Experiences Mary Rouse, the first Cleveland Metroparks Nature Preschool opened in Rocky River Reservation in 2018.
“Due to its success and its alignment with our educational mission, we wanted to expand opportunities for families to participate,” Rouse said.
“North Chagrin Reservation and its Nature Center
offer great opportunities for children to interact with the natural world. In addition, North Chagrin Reservation had space available for us to renovate to build the preschool classroom. It also provides us a great opportunity to serve the community on the east side of the Cleveland metropolitan area.
“For our entire 102-plus-year history, we have been focused on the core pillars of education, recreation and conservation. We know that it’s important to connect children to nature at a young age and the first preschool was an opportunity to help make those connections over an extended period of time through a statelicensed early childhood education program.”
The school will offer three sections:
• 3 days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. ($3,069 per child)
• 3 days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. ($3,069 per child)
• 2 days, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. ($2,046 per child)
For 2020, a total of 36 students can be enrolled, with 12 children in each section.
“We will have two teachers for each class for a ratio of six students for every one teacher,” Rouse added. “This is significantly better than the state requirement of 12 to one.
“The school at Rocky River Nature Center has been at capacity with a waiting list since it opened and we anticipate a similar demand for the Nature Preschool at North Chagrin Nature Center.”
To be qualified, enrollees must be 3 years of age before Aug. 1 and pottytrained before the start of the school year.
According to the Metroparks, the program combines early childhood education with immersive outdoor experiences. T
he nine-month, naturebased curriculum meets the needs of the whole child, develops an appreciation of the natural world and provides skills and concepts that build kindergarten-readiness.
“There are a few other preschool programs in Northeast Ohio that incorporate some of the aspects of a nature preschool in their curriculum, but we are the only nature-based preschool run by a public sector organization,” Rouse said, adding the Sears-Swetland Family Foundation, a local private foundation, made a generous donation to help launch the Rocky River Preschool.
“With their leadership and the additional support of several individual donors and foundations, we were able to expand the program to North Chagrin Reservation this year. The programs are self-sustaining.”
Both preschools will operate using the same curriculum and methods, differing slightly due to their respective indoor and outdoor classroom locations.
While the park system is open to the idea of establishing another preschool in the future, there are no plans to do so currently.
Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian M. Zimmerman acknowledged the system is very excited to offer a second Nature Preschool in North Chagrin Reservation.
“Immersing children in nature at an early age can help promote a lifelong connection to our natural world,” he said.
Registration for 20202021 year is now open until all the spots are filled. Following that, people can still sign up for a waitlist, Metroparks officials confirmed.
For more information, call 440-7346660 or visit www.clevelandmetroparks.com.