Outdoor play and learning through nature will be a focus of the Milford Childhood Learning Center.
The new childcare center planned in Milford is expected to open in the coming months, and its play yard will incorporate different methods of learning for youngsters.
The center will be at 520 S. A St., next to Bellwood Mennonite Church.
“We really wanted to make this a space that parents were excited about,” said Kylie Schildt, MCLC program director.
Schildt and the MCLC Board of Directors worked with the Nebraska Nursery and Landscapers Association and the Nebraska Arborists Association, both based in Milford, to map out the nature-based play area.
“There are so many people in this industry that have a passion for their communities and getting kids in nature, so this partnership was a ‘natural’ fit,” Schildt said.
The area will include features like a magnet wall, sensory garden, water table, tree slice patio and a looping trike path. Each area will help children develop their large motor skills in different ways.
“We tried to strategically carve out space for manipulatives like large building blocks, dirt and sand pits, and water play as well as dramatic play with the playhouses, structures and slides and then integrating outdoor curriculum like the garden beds,” Schildt said.
Sheila Schrader of Schrader Landscape Design assisted with the plans for the space, and MCLC also consulted experts on early childhood from the University of Nebraska Extension.
“When young children spend time daily in high-quality, well-designed, nature-based outdoor spaces, the benefits are clear: improved physical health and social-emotional development, better cognitive skills, and increased affinity for the outdoors,” said Katie Krause, early childhood Extension educator. “The earlier in life that children experience these benefits, the better their developmental trajectory.”
Krause works with Extension’s Early Childhood Health Outdoors program, a partnership with the National Wildlife Federation.
Krause said naturalizing outdoor spaces gives children the chance to engage with plants and animals through self-motivated play, both informally and with teacher-directed activities.
While Extension did not work on the plan for MCLC’s play area, it did provide the organization with the fundamentals for developing an engaging space.
“Great outdoor learning environments aren’t created overnight,” Krause said. “The vision for the outdoor space, as well as much of the implementation, must come from the program and community. Those sites who have teachers, families and other community members that are fully invested in this work are able to create wonderful, sustainable outdoor environments.”
She said such spaces work best when created incrementally, starting with some main features and then growing.
“We encourage programs to also add some elements slowly, over time,” she said. “We want these spaces to really reflect the children and adults who are utilizing them.”
Schildt said MCLC learned a lot about the foundations of outdoor play during the planning process.
“The most fascinating thing I learned through this project was the priority of the looping trike path,” Schildt said. “Daily use of large climbing structures lead to kids learning the structure and then eventually manipulating it in ways beyond its intended use, putting themselves and other kids at risk. Trikes and bikes are a great way for kids to refine a lifetime skill of riding a bike without putting others at risk, while also diverting the fall-height risks, and is a great way for them to expend a lot of energy – a huge win before nap time.”
MCLC is still fundraising for the facility, focusing first on the interior aspects of the building to become licensed and operational.
So far, it has raised $971,415, about half of its $1.9 million goal.
“We hope that we can get to the point of fully executing this plan with the help of community support through donations,” Schildt said.
Donations may be made at www.MilfordChildhood.com/donate.
