Preschool aged students have a new outdoor learning space at the Dr. Reginald Mayo Early Childhood School in New Haven.
The United Way of Greater New Haven partnered with Dimeo Construction to build raised flower beds and a fence to create a safe outdoor classroom. The idea to create this space came about during the pandemic.
“I saw this wonderful space and thought, gee, this is such an opportunity to, you know, create another learning space for children. So during the pandemic, it became more of a priority because it was best that children be outside. And so we started working with the United Way,” said Monique Brunson, the principal at Dr. Reginald Mayo Early Childhood School.
Moving forward, the plan is to bring the children outside as much as possible to let them garden, read a book, eat lunch and make art, according to Brunson.
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“The way that young learners learn is through play so being outside in a playful environment creates the kind of learning environment that we want for our children,” said Brunson.
“They’re going to get to dig. What three and four-year-old doesn’t love to get dirty and dig? But also, it’s a chance for them to learn about where their food comes from,” said Jennifer Health, the president and CEO of United Way of Greater New Haven.
