“We love being able to offer free nature preschool classes to children who live in Caroline County,” said Adkins Assistant Director Jenny Houghton. “Preschool is the perfect age to encourage imaginative outdoor play, and thanks to PNC, we’ll be able to provide our littlest explorers with hands-on nature fun and give back to the community at the same time.”
This is the third year that the Acorn Academy Nature Preschool at Adkins Arboretum has been awarded a grant from the PNC Foundation, which receives it principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. During the first year, funding allowed the Arboretum to offer one session of nature preschool programs per season at no cost to residents of Caroline County. These popular programs for children ages 3 to 5 engage children with nature and serve as an introduction to the outdoors, wildlife and conservation while also providing school-readiness skills. Subsequent grants have allowed the Arboretum to expand its preschool offerings to two sessions per season.
Environmental education has been linked to improved academic achievement and encourages stewardship, pride and ownership. Adkins Arboretum’s Acorn Academy Nature Preschool puts students on the path toward cultivating a meaningful awareness of the human-environmental connection and instills basic tenets of critical thinking and investigation skills.
Ten-week fall Acorn Academy Nature Preschool programs are held on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 10 to 11:15 a.m. beginning Sept. 11. Registration is underway at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0. Space is limited to 15 students per class.
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Adkins Arboretum