Enrichments

As we introduce gardening, we will explore our environment and talk about how to use our knowledge of weather, bugs, air, and soil to help get our school gardens started. Learning, though not always visible is always happening! School gardens promote lifelong healthy habits and connect children to the natural world.

The lessons are inquiry-based, rather than the ‘right’ answers. Our enrichments will take us out into the community for hands-on learning and connection. Scotts Miracle-Gro has teamed up with the Smithsonian to connect art with the outdoors. Gardening and art are aspects of this enrichment. It will touch on many areas of our curriculum, including math, language, literacy, and science. Did you know that gardeners are great at sorting and putting things into categories? We want to create spaces where our children can explore, have fun, and figure out the best way to help our plants grow.

In 2021, Country Day School became the first Early Childhood GreenSchool Program in the United States as certified by Project Learning Tree (PLT).

PLT’s GreenSchool certification recognizes the efforts of teachers and students to make their school a greener and healthier place. The Country Day School has taken significant steps to enhance and fully utilize its school grounds, reduce energy use, conserve water, recycle, reduce waste, and improve air quality, among other projects. Certification also recognizes the school’s strong commitment to taking students outdoors to learn and engage in environmental and sustainability education.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, CDS increased outdoor classroom instruction and use of the school’s varied outdoor spaces. Under the guidance of PLT, enhanced environmental education was incorporated into school program curriculums for 2020-2021 and the following school years.

Each age level program at Country Day School focuses on a part of the environmental education curriculum throughout the school year. By the time CDS students reach kindergarten, they will have been exposed to all areas in depth.

• Twos focus on Waste & Recycling
• Threes focus on Water
• Fours focus on School Site & Energy
• Kindergarten focus on Environmental Quality