at Carver House at Stryker Nature Preserve, 2315 Angling Road in Kalamazoo
For ages 3 and under with a caregiver
Eight-week Sessions Wednesdays, April 8 – May 27
10-11:30 am
Spring has arrived, and nature is budding with fresh beginnings! Our Sprouts program is perfect for young children aged 3 and under, with their caregivers, to explore, climb, get messy, observe, build, craft, and tell stories while fostering an early love of nature. Each session will have a small group size of 12 children with a caregiver. Dress for the weather! Please register for either the morning or afternoon session—the program will be the same for both.
Each session will focus on:
Physical Maturation & Wellbeing | Multiple opportunities to coordinate the use of big and small muscles within the embrace of nature.
Language Development | Using authentic, personal, and natural experiences to encourage language production for the simple joy of expressive and connective purposes.
Creative Experiences | Experiencing the influence of nature’s beauty and the joy of community to experiment with artistic expression.
Social & Emotional Development | Blending encounters of wide open spaces with captivating moments of tiny wonder to give outlet to both the tenacity and tenderness of toddlerhood.
Executive Function | Using the power of attachment to reinforce skills that foster poised, capable, and empathetic human beings.
Cognitive Growth | Exploratory play in the outdoors naturally creates opportunities for children to question, investigate, problem solve, and reflect on their experiences.
Financial assistance is available
We recognize there is significant variability in what families in our community are able to afford. Financial assistance can be applied for by answering a few simple questions during the registration process. Please contact the KNC Registrar at for questions regarding registration or financial aid applications or fill out the Program Financial Assistance Application Here >