CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) has launched a new initiative to help preschool-aged children engage in nature-based learning.
The “Get Wild, Wyoming” program is furnishing participating preschools with materials that facilitate learning outdoors. Teton Literacy Center in Jackson is one of five schools that will receive a wagon filled with water bottles, sunglasses, sun shades, bug spray and first aid kits. The Wyoming Department of Health is donating sunscreen for the cause.
“If we want our kids to move mountains, we’ve got to get them out of their chairs,” Amy Reyes, a State Early Learning Specialist with the WDE, told Buckrail.
“Unstructured time outdoors promotes creativity, curiosity and refines executive functioning skills all while breathing in fresh air,” Reyes said in a press release. “Research shows that stress and depression are lower in people that spend more time outside, so it makes sense to get our kids outside more.”
The program will also receive contributions from Wyoming State Parks and Wyoming Game and Fish, including Junior Ranger passports, scratch-and-find scavenger hunt booklets with prizes and events tailored to children and families.
“I am a firm believer in the role that activity and the outdoors play in supporting mental, educational and emotional wellbeing; and I am passionate about ensuring every child in Wyoming has access to these benefits,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said via press release. “This initiative with some of our Wyoming preschools is the first step in those efforts.”
See the Get Wild, Wyoming website for more resources.
