I recently visited Dodge Nature Preschool in West St. Paul for the Nature-Based Preschool National Conference. As one of the oldest nature-based preschool their beautiful property was the perfect host for this conference. The preschool is a part of the 110-acre Dodge Nature Center which provides a unique landscape for the preschoolers to explore. They have 6 ponds, a 40-acre Model Farm, a bee apiary, multiple gardens, an orchard, a raptor habitat, and miles and miles of trail to explore. We spent 2 days exploring and still only saw a fraction of the property. Naturalists from the Nature Center are an integral part of the staff at the preschool, providing lessons and support for the children on a regular basis giving the children a well rounded, nature-based experience.

The preschool building is tucked into the forest that edges the property and serves as the perfect gateway to the property. When you enter, through the adult or child sized door, you enter a beautiful family lobby that welcomes families to sit, talk, and become involved with the workings of the preschool. Off to the side there is a storage area for all the outdoor gear that allows for children to experience nature, no matter the weather.

Off the lobby lay the three classrooms as well as a large room for gathering, large scale building, and indoor physical play. The classroom each have their own bathroom, kitchenette with an oven for cooking projects, plumbed in water table, and large loft to add creativity and extra square footage to the space. The main classroom space also opens to a smaller room lined with windows to take advantage of all the light and greenery outside. These smaller rooms were my favorite part of the classrooms because of the cozy and inviting feeling they gave off. It was interesting to see how the teachers used them differently, block area in one and art in another.

The neutral colors, natural light, and simple natural materials gave the classrooms a clean, inviting, and creativity-invoking ambiance. Even as adults we were tempted into engaging with these materials and exploring all the different areas of the rooms. Since the school is very inspired by the philosophy of Reggio-Emilia, the shelves are set up as provocations, or invitations, to play and create. Some provocations they had set up on the tables included cutting fresh herbs and plants with scissors, play-dough with sticks and stones, and exploring wildflowers using scientific tools.

While you could easily spend hours being engaged in the beautiful indoor spaces, the children at Dodge spend at least half of their time in the outdoors. Each classroom has their own door leading out to the play space specifically for the preschool. This is a a very large fenced in area that includes a patio, large sand play area, children’s garden, log cabin, parachute fort, swings, slides built into the hillside, a garden, chicken coop, and loose part building area under the ginormous willow tree. There is also, of course, lots of open green space, trees for climbing, and a small cedar patch providing the perfect hide-out.

Just outside the fence lies the children’s true classroom, the wilderness of Dodge Nature Center. Over the last 20 years teachers and children have carved out many pit stops along the trail that serve as outdoor classrooms. Just a short walk outside the fenced area is “Challenge Hill” which is a steep, dirt covered hill with a hand-line running down from the large tree at the top. There is also a open space with slack lines, rope swings, and loose parts for creating. Also further down the trail, near a bog, is the “Fairy Houses” where children build large structures using fallen trees. Children also regularly visit and work in the 40-acre Model Farm that is only a short walk from the preschool campus. Here there are goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, and cows.

All of this is only a short 10 minute drive from the capital of Minnesota, St. Paul, which is a fairly large metropolitan city. Dodge Nature Preschool allows children to form a meaningful relationship with nature that they may not otherwise experience living in a large city. The value this school brings to the community it serves, as well as to the nature-based preschool community, is remarkable. We are lucky to have this example of a high-quality, nature -based preschool like this here in Minnesota!

If you would like to learn more about Dodge Nature School, visit their website here.

Dodge Nature Center is also open to the public so they invite you to visit the property yourself and “Nourish your need for nature”! Find out more here.