About Us
More than ever children need the outdoors and nature involved in their lives.
Through outdoor play, EOTWNI children develop self-esteem, a sense of purpose, the ability to overcome obstacles and organically develop Learning Skills. Children are allowed the time and space to learn from their own wonder.
Eyes of the World Nature Immersion offers a wide range of nature based education opportunities for children. Roaming forest Pre-K through 5th grade classrooms, ages 5 and up, Summer camp and school vacations and After School Programs. Outdoor Classroom school consultation, design and installation as well as nature based/child-led curriculum teacher training.
Dawn Jenkins
Dawn grew up playing in the forest and along the ocean side. She knew she wanted to be a teacher from a very young age (both of her parents were teachers), so she started early in life babysitting and went on to receive her BA in Elementary Education in 1998.
She has taught Kindergarten & preschool age children in public, private and Waldorf settings. She’s always worked with children in the outdoors, integrating nature throughout her classrooms, curriculum and programs.
She founded a successful forest preschool that embraced a child-led curriculum offering a unique preschool experience based mostly outdoors in a hand crafted outdoor classroom and the surrounding forest.
Eyes Of The World Nature Immersion was launched in 2019 to offer nature-based learning to preschoolers & elementary children as well as educators and schools!
Dawn is happily married with three children and resides in South Berwick, ME.
Nature Play and Emergent Curriculum
Child-led curriculum is based on the children’s interest and passion at a certain point in time. Children thrive and learn best when their interests are captured. Learning occurs naturally through play. We strive to enhance the natural unfolding of the whole child leading to the development of capable learners.
As children, many of us built forts, dug holes, made mud pies, daydreamed in special hiding places and swung on vines. These activities are all nature play: unstructured childhood play in the outdoors. Nature play isn’t scheduled, planned, or led by adults. Instead, it’s open-ended, free-time exploration and recreation. For many of us, this sort of nature play virtually defined our childhoods.
Good outdoor clothes are a must. Children will need to be prepared for the weather that day. As long as the weather is safe, we will go out and play!
Specific Examples of Development through Outdoor Exploration
Cognitive
Literacy/Math/Science- Collecting, labeling, classifying, sorting, pattern recognition, journals, storytelling, singing, building structures (engineering), cause and effect in natural world
Fine Motor
Drawing, cutting, picking (moss & bark off trees, flowers, plants), self-help skills, painting, sculpting, small scale construction, digging, breaking up dirt, carving
Gross Motor
Hiking, climbing trees, running (on un-even ground), hopping, jumping, swinging, crawling, balancing on logs, circle games, large scale construction (fort building or lifting rocks)
Social
Conflict resolution, circle activities, group games/hikes, spontaneous & uninterrupted free play, group observation, storytelling, fort building, problem solving
Sensory
Water & mud play, digging, sculpting, free exploration, smelling, tasting, nature collecting, weather experiences, music
Emotional
Uninterrupted imagination play, opportunities to problem solve & negotiate, journaling, observation of natural world, exposure to weather, self-help, breathing techniques