Outdoor Activities
408.871.7350
771 Waldo Road
Campbell CA 95008
771 Waldo Road
Campbell CA 95008
Sunnymont's Outdoor Activities
The outdoor curriculum is as important to children as the indoor curriculum, and we try to provide as many activities and opportunities outdoors as in. When we open the door to the yard children are free to roam between the indoor and outdoor activities.
Bike Road
There is a figure eight path that the children can ride on Sunnymont has trikes, cozy coupes, tractors, three wheeled scooters, flying turtles, and more. Bikes to fit the various sizes and abilities of all the different ages that attend Sunnymont. In addition to the motor skills developed by riding, children get a chance to interact, to take turns, and to invent games together.
Sandbox
The children learn how to play next to each other first, then they learn to play with each other. This is a great place for learning about sharing space and cooperation. As children explore the sand, they are building motor skills, coordination, scientific understanding, problem solving, and teamwork. Teachers sometimes stock the sand with "buried treasure" to facilitate children's visual discrimination practice, a prereading skill. (Shh! The children don't know it's academics!)
Climbing Structures
and motor skills activities:
Children learn self confidence, balance, spatial awareness, motor planning and proximity as they explore our monkey bars, tire swing, and climbing house, as well as the many portable and changeable pieces of climbing, rocking, sliding, and hanging equipment we set up for our children.
Garden Area
We have a children's garden where our kids can dig in the dirt, plant and pick flowers and learn about their life cycles. Each year, we let our fall pumpkins decompose and watch them turn back into earth and then new seedlings.
Tire Swing
Besides offering children a chance for that all important motor activity, swinging, our tire swing also offers many other learning opportunities. How many kids do we have swinging? How can we share the space? Who will help push? What can you do while you wait for a turn? Shall we sing a swinging song?
Art
The outdoor classroom offers opportunities for art exploration, as well. We may dance with scarves, do a play, paint the playhouse, create on the outdoor painting easels, draw with chalk on the sidewalk, do carpentry, or pound flower petals to create a design on paper.
Manipulatives & Sensory Activities
The outdoor classroom offers many opportunities for sensory and manipulatives. Besides our sand box, we have tables and pools for water play, shaving cream play, birdseed sifting, scooping and pouring goop, melting ice blocks, fishing for toy fish with our nets, floating toy frogs on foam lily pads.
Science
Science curriculum is abundant in our outdoor classroom. Besides our garden, we have other plants growing that provide us different smells and textures to explore. Our "rock garden" offers rocks to turn over and study the little animals living underneath. Snail observation crews are a common sight in the agapanthus bush. Teachers and parents may bring science projects outdoors, as well.
Special Projects
Brought in by parents, these projects may be offered inside or outside. Parents are encouraged to share their passions (dance? gardening?) their cultures (cooking? games from your own childhood?), their hobbies (sewing? a seashell collection?) or an activity of their child's choice (a favorite art activity? a scavenger hunt?) Special projects allow the children to learn more about you, and allow you to share what you want to with the children. Parents have brought their cars in to wash, their dogs in to brush, or simply built blocks with the children.