Sprouts

at Carver House at Stryker Nature Preserve, 2315 Angling Road in Kalamazoo
For ages 3 and under with a caregiver

Summer Session
Wednesdays, July 23 – August 13, 10 – 11:30 am
Fee: $116/Member, $136/Non-Member. Registration required. Audience: Kids 3 and under with a caregiver

Try out a shortened summer session of our popular Sprouts program. We will gather to explore, climb, get messy, observe, build, craft, and tell stories while fostering an early love of nature. Sessions have a small group size of 12 families. Look for full-length Sprouts sessions to return this Fall!

This popular program for young children, 3 years and under, and a caregiver, will meet at Stryker Nature Preserve, 2315 Angling Road in Kalamazoo. We will gather and explore, nurture artistry, climb, get messy, observe, build, sing, and tell stories while fostering an early love of nature. Each session will have a small group size of 12 families. These loosely-structured outdoor sessions will allow for a mix of guided and open-ended experiences. All relevant health and safety guidelines for outdoor activities will be observed. Participants will be supported to engage in ways that feel safest for their family. Please note, both morning and afternoon sessions at Stryker Nature Preserve will have the same content.

Meet the Teacher

Clarissa Plair: cplair@naturecenter.org

Clarissa’s role at the KNC is both dynamic and enriching! As the Assistant Camp Director and an Environmental Educator, her work spans across a variety of educational programs, including Sprouts, which she is particularly excited about. Her focus on outdoor education reflects her passion for helping young people connect with nature, discover new interests, and create memorable experiences, her favorite one being making s’mores around the campfire. Her enthusiasm for providing youth with a broad range of learning opportunities in the natural world underscores her commitment to their growth and development.

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 >