A Boxerwood Education Begins in Early Childhood
excerpts from the Winter, 2007, Newsleaf  -- Bonnie Bernstein

   Young children learn “naturally,” through outdoor play and discovery. Leaping into a pile of colorful leaves, following a deer’s tracks, spying frogs camouflaged in the algae, standing in the shadow of a tall tree - the opportunities for learning are countless and never-ending.

   Boxerwood has long provided open spaces and secret, whimsical hideaways for preschool adventurers. What young visitor has not thrilled at the chance to run through the meadow or play in that gnarled haven known as “The Eye”? Now we are designing education programs as well as places to spark the wonder and curiosity of these very young learners in the Rockbridge community.

   To acquaint ourselves with area Head Start programs and public and private preschools, Boxerwood staff and volunteers brought a late-winter outreach program to 215 children in 17 preschool classrooms at 10 different locations around the county. As “Winter Detectives,” kids and teachers braved the cold to explore nature in the vicinity of their own schoolyards. The hour-long visit included story reading, a nature walk in search of signs of animal life (tracks, nests, tree cavities, broken nutshells), and a chance to make tracks back inside the classroom using rubber stamps and homemade slippers with animal track treads. Participants were encouraged to visit Boxerwood in the spring to for more nature detecting activities.

   Teacher outdoor education is also a focus of the Dale Waller initiative. When Montessori teachers requested a fall in-service program, Boxerwood delivered “Down and Dirty” ideas for digging in the playground. County Head Start teachers met at Boxerwood in January for an orientation to the garden in preparation for future visits. And area teachers will be invited to participate in a PlayTrail demonstration project led by KB—planting a long, winding willow tunnel!

   Boxerwood's new early childhood program is named for Dale Waller, mother of board member Ross Waller. Mrs. Waller was a Maryland educator who was committed to children and nature. After her death in June 2006, Ross and his wife, Ann, an active Boxerwood volunteer, funded the Dale Waller Early Childhood in Nature program in her memory, ensuring that Dale's grandchildren, and other young children throughout Lexington and Rockbridge County, would have regular opportunities to explore and play in  Boxerwood's unique wilderness environment, and to develop lifelong connections with the natural world.