Colorado lawmakers were about to pass a bill that would allow outdoor preschools — sometimes called forest schools — to be recognized with state child care licenses adapted to their format.
Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.
Advocates say the great outdoors is an ideal classroom, giving young children the chance to move freely, learn about the natural world, and assess risks and solve problems in a way indoor classrooms don’t allow. They say licensing will open the programs to a wider swath of families by unlocking public dollars available through Colorado’s universal preschool and child care subsidy programs.
In the meantime, advocates are celebrating the creation of a clear, state-approved pathway for outdoor preschools. He began pushing for state recognition for outdoor preschools more than a decade ago, when he worked for what was then Colorado’s Office of Early Childhood and is now the Department of Early Childhood.In 2020 Hebard founded Denver Forest School, an outdoor school that serves more than two-dozen children ages 2 to 7 at Bluff Lake Nature Center on the city’s eastern edge.
In Washington, which began licensing outdoor preschools in 2019, 17 such programs are licensed. Together, they have space for about 330 children, and 57 children enrolled in them receive state child care subsidies, according to a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Although some parents worry their kids will end up miserable in bad weather — with cold hands or wet feet — outdoor educators say with the right gear and planning, that rarely happens.
Who Heads The Colorado Collective For Nature-Base Carin Rosa Director Of The Licensing Division Colorado Department Of Early Childhood Colorado General Assembly Colorado State Legislature Denver Forest School Gov. Jared Polis Nature School Cooperative UPK In Colorado Universal Preschool In Colorado
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Colorado city's outdoor emergency alert system not workingThe city couldn’t say why the system went down, when it'll be fixed or how much it’ll cost.
Read more »
More people are seeking outdoor recreation, but outdoor retailers are strugglingProviding a platform for people, issues and ideas can inspire others to create solutions. That is the power of journalism and to be able to do that now on a national level is an incredible honor.
Read more »
Whataburger opens first Colorado location not in Colorado SpringsWhataburger is continuing its growth in Colorado with a new restaurant south of Denver in Monument.
Read more »
Not that Colorado: The muddy, winding story of how the Texas Colorado River got its nameMany people wonder whether the Colorado River that runs through Texas is related to the other Colorado River that created the Grand Canyon. It's not.
Read more »
New scholarship available to Colorado veterans pursuing careers in the mental health fieldDevan Karp is a Multimedia Journalist for KOAA News5 in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado.
Read more »
Three Colorado students will have their science experiment flown in space on the ISSDevan Karp is a Multimedia Journalist for KOAA News5 in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado.
Read more »