ABOUT OUR CLASSES...

PUDDLESTOMPERS’ classes engage children in nature discovery. Our integrated curriculum develops a range of skills such as observation, classification, color/number identification, and life-skills. Parent/caregiver involvement is fun, reinforces the child’s connection, and allows for the opportunity to extend activities into the home.

Each class is organized around a seasonally relevant concept, occurrence, or a natural element. Activities include some combination of hands-on exploration, games, songs and crafts. We end each class with a snack and story related to the day’s theme. Sample class themes and hands-on activities include:

The Meadow Habitat: What lives and feeds here? Catch chirping crickets and jumpy grasshoppers. Look for hawks flying high above.

Mammals of New England: Where do they live and what do they eat? How do they prepare for winter? Some travel away. Some go to sleep. Some remain active. Let’s look for signs of animal activity in all seasons. Find tracks, droppings and burrows.

Seed Dispersal: How does nature make sure that new baby plants will not compete with their parents for sunlight and water? Discover how seeds spread themselves about. Find and sort samples.

The Forest Floor: Search the leaf litter for millipedes, sow bugs and salamanders.

Age Groupings

Seedlings (2 year olds with adult)

Woolly Bears (4 & 5 year olds with adult)

Nature Bugs (3 year olds with adult)

Outdoor Explorers (5-7 years, drop-off)

Weekly classes for (2-5 yr-olds) are 55 minutes long; For Outdoor Explorers (5-7s), class length varies from 60-90 minutes depending on the amount of daylight..
Through all four seasons, PUDDLESTOMPERS' classes engage children in nature discovery through hands-on activities, music, movement and stories. For younger children, parent/caregiver involvement is fun, reinforces the child's connection, and allows for the opportunity to extend activities into the home. Backpack babies are welcome to accompany their older siblings.

CLASS LOCATIONS AND DIRECTIONS

PUDDLESTOMPERS uses publicly owned lands in the towns of Wellesley, Needham, Newton, Arlington, and Sudbury in the Greater Boston area. Each location is easily accessible and together they offer a wide spectrum of natural habitats and settings. During one week we might explore life on the floor of a forest, the next week might take us to a stream or a pond. In some towns, we meet at one single location, whereas in other towns we will rotate locations. In each of our program locations, we have access to an indoor facility in the event of severe weather.