Year-Round Outdoor Classrooms

Kinderberry Hill Nature Explore Certified Outdoor Classrooms allow children to have safe, ready-made access to green spaces and engagement with nature. Research shows that daily contact with nature provides many benefits to children: increases physical activity, improves self-discipline, reduces stress, enhances cognitive abilities, and supports problem-solving. Our outdoor classrooms offer opportunities for exploration, discovery, collaboration, and wonder! …

Nature

Research is showing that children need connections with the natural world as a regular part of their healthy growth and development.

Learning

Our outdoor classrooms offer ample opportunities for science investigations, engineering, collaboration, creativity, and more.

Play

Children are naturally drawn to active play outdoors: it allows them to explore their environment, develop muscle strength and coordination, and gain self-confidence.

Nature Explore Certified Outdoor Classrooms

Nature Explore Certification is a national initiative that recognizes organizations committed to providing high-quality, nature-based outdoor classrooms. Achieving this certification involves creating a thoughtfully designed outdoor space that incorporates research-based, field-tested design principles to connect children with nature. These spaces are dynamic environments where children can engage in play and learning, fostering exploration, discovery, and creativity.

Research indicates that regular interaction with nature enhances children’s physical activity, self-discipline, stress reduction, cognitive abilities, and problem-solving skills. By providing a Certified Nature Explore Classroom, Kinderberry Hill demonstrates a commitment to these developmental benefits, offering children a unique environment that supports their growth and fosters a connection with the natural world.

Experience Outdoor Learning

The Outdoor Classroom For All Ages

The Outdoor Classroom

Our outdoor classrooms are Nature Explore certified curriculums that involve unique and varied techniques for developing and advancing social and emotional skills in children at all stages in early childhood. Sara Reichstadt walks us through the foundations of the Outdoor Classroom and explains how Kinderberry Hill’s Reggio Emilia approach to childhood development demonstrates our commitment to excellence.

Key Features of the Outdoor Classroom

Garden

A child-friendly, hands-on space where children plant, nurture, and harvest flowers, fruits, and vegetables—fostering a love for nature, growth, and sustainability.

Stage & Music Area

Featuring instruments like chimes, drums, and xylophones made from natural and recycled materials, this space invites exploration of sound, rhythm, and performance.

Building Area

With blocks and loose parts like spools, shells, and wood rounds, this area encourages problem-solving, math, creativity, and social-emotional growth.

Art Area

An open-air studio with easels and natural materials where children express themselves through painting, drawing, and crafting inspired by fresh air and imagination.

Messy Materials

Large loose parts like logs and planks let children build forts, bridges, obstacle courses, and more—promoting teamwork and creativity.

Gathering Area

A special space for children to connect, share stories, reflect on the day, and enjoy time together as a community.

Benefits of an Outdoor Classroom for Early Childhood:

Physical Development

Encourages gross motor skills through activities like climbing, running, and balancing.

Cognitive Growth

Hands-on learning in nature fosters curiosity, problem-solving, and exploration.

Social & Emotional Development

Outdoor play promotes teamwork, communication, and emotional resilience.

Connection with Nature

Enhances environmental awareness and appreciation for the natural world.

Sensory Engagement

Outdoor settings provide diverse sensory experiences through sight, sound, touch, and smell.

Active Learning, No Matter
the Weather

Our large indoor play areas ensure children can stay active, engaged, and learning — even when weather keeps us inside. These spacious environments support movement, exploration, and play in a safe and enriching setting.

The Kinderberry Experience

Tailored for Every Age

Infants

Toddler

Preschool

Pre-kindergarten

Sensory Play

Herb gardens, breeze chimes, and soft textures like grass and sand stimulate baby senses.

Tummy Time & Movement

Blankets, play mats, and grassy areas invite crawling, rolling, and beginner steps.

Music & Motion

Outdoor instruments and baby swings delight and engage.

Nature Walks

Gentle stroller rides offer sights, sounds, and fresh-air discoveries.

Creative Play

Nature art with petals, leaves, and mud.

Messy Materials

Digging, scooping, and hauling with sand, dirt, and dump trucks.

Gardening

Hearty toddler-friendly plants invite picking, digging, and pretend play.

Construction & Climbing

Logs, planks, and push toys develop coordination and creativity.

Gross Motor Play

Balance beams, tunnels, and scooters strengthen growing bodies.

Gathering Spaces

Community time for songs, stories, and group reflection.

Outdoor Music Jam

Chimes, drums, and xylophones for collaborative rhythm play.

Scavenger Hunts

Search-and-find adventures with leaves, bugs, and treasures.

Group Gardening

Tending garden beds and watching nature change with the seasons.

STEM in Action

Build and test small structures in the building area.

Nature Journals

Document discoveries through drawing or writing.

Environmental Care

Practice composting and cleanup to care for their world.

Imaginative Play

Create campsites, markets, and adventures with themed props.

Big Body Play

Obstacle courses, hopscotch, and bike tracks promote strength and coordination.

Explore Our Curriculum

Reggio Emilia

Inspired by Reggio Emilia, we see children as capable, curious learners and support creativity and collaboration through project-based, child-led experiences.

Outdoor
Classrooms

Our Outdoor Classroom extends learning beyond four walls into nature-rich environments. Children explore, discover, and stay active while building confidence and a connection to the natural world.

STEAM Wonder Lab

Our STEAM Wonder Lab sparks curiosity through hands-on exploration in science, technology, engineering, art, and math, building critical thinking through creative, discovery-based learning.

Spanish Wonder Lab

The Spanish Wonder Lab introduces a new language through immersive, play-based learning, using songs, stories, and conversation to build vocabulary and cultural awareness.

Sing & Sign
Wonder Lab

Sing & Sign uses music and simple sign language to build early communication, encourage self-expression, and support language development.

Reggio Emilia-Inspired Curriculum

Our outdoor classrooms are a natural extension of Kinderberry Hill’s Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum—where children’s interests, questions, and discoveries guide the learning experience.

Rooted in the belief that children are capable, curious learners, the Reggio Emilia approach values hands-on exploration, creativity, and connection to the world around them. Outdoor spaces offer the perfect environment for this kind of meaningful, child-led learning.

We really appreciate that our kids are exploring nature and the outdoors, getting plenty of fresh air and exercise, learning so much, and having lots of fun every day. The kids love the outdoor classrooms and play areas.

–Kinderberry Hill Woodbury Family

Questions About Outdoor Classrooms

How often do children use the outdoor classroom at Kinderberry Hill?

Kinderberry Hill children use the outdoor classroom daily, weather permitting. It’s an essential part of our curriculum—not just for play, but for hands-on learning, exploration, and creativity.

Test cta?

What happens in bad weather?

At Kinderberry Hill, we embrace outdoor learning in many types of weather, with proper clothing and preparation. However, during extreme conditions (heavy rain, storms, or very cold days), children enjoy similar learning experiences indoors with natural materials and open-ended activities.

Test

How do outdoor activities support my child’s learning and development?

Kinderberry Hill outdoor classrooms encourage physical movement, problem-solving, collaboration, creativity, and exploration of the natural world. These experiences are deeply connected to early childhood development and reinforce our Reggio Emilia-inspired approach to child-led learning.