Head Start Initiative
The Arnold Arboretum has offered field trips to local Head Start programs in Boston since 2007. In this age-appropriate program, volunteer guides conduct multi-sensory explorations, allowing children to make observations, gather a collection of plant material, and make an observational drawing. Preschool children come in the spring, summer, and fall.
In 2010, the Arboretum received a grant from the Cabot Family Charitable Trust to offer structured training to local preschool teachers. SPROUT (Science Preparation Outdoors for Teachers) brought teachers from South Side Head Start and Nazareth Family Center together for exploration in the landscape, plant science learning, and pedagogical instruction.
Participating centers received bus transportation for field trips in spring and summer as well as several classroom supplies to increase early childhood science exposure, including grow lamps, soil, seeds, books, magnifiers, and gardening tools. By providing preschool teachers with new educational methods and hands-on training, the SPROUT Program aimed to accomplish two key goals:
- Enhance the ability of teachers to better prepare preschool children for subsequent success in science, math and language arts.
- Enable pre-school teachers to fully realize the rich potential of the outdoors as an essential learning environment for preschool children.
The SPROUT Teacher Training Program at the Arnold Arboretum was based upon two fundamental beliefs about preschool education:
- High quality preschool programs enhance child outcomes in science, math, and literacy. As young learners investigate their world, they strengthen their observational skills, construct knowledge of how things work, and seek vocabulary necessary to convey their new knowledge and understanding. A well-prepared teacher can foster these opportunities for exploration, encouraging the skill development and comprehension that children need to succeed when they enter formal schooling.
- A natural outdoor environment offers unique opportunities to enrich and enliven preschool education. While significant learning can take place indoors, the move outdoors opens up special opportunities for young children to discover, observe, and share their investigations with interested and engaged adults. Research shows that children gravitate toward outdoor spaces that are rich with plants, animals and natural features such as water, mud, sand, and rocks, where they are engaged in a multi-sensory experience that stimulates their curiosity.