276: How Can Outdoor Learning Transform Early Childhood Education? With Shelby Adamson

In this episode of Childcare Conversations, you’ll join Kate, Carrie and Shelby Adamson from Kitty Crafts Preschool for a warm, insightful chat about outdoor, play-based learning. Shelby shares how her nature-focused program helps kids thrive by spending lots of time outside, rain or shine! 

They talk about blending phonics into play, supporting parents, and why letting kids be kids leads to happier learners. If you’re curious about nature-based education or want tips for more outdoor time at your center, this episode is packed with friendly advice and real-world inspiration. 

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Transcript

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Marie 00:00:03  Welcome to Child Care Conversations, the podcast where early childhood leaders like you get real world strategies, honest talk and a whole lot of support. Whether you're running one center or many. We're here to help you lead with confidence and clarity. This episode is brought to you by our summer partner Child Care Business Growth, your go to solution for filling spots, increasing revenue, and scaling your child care business without the burnout. We're proud to partner with a team that's as committed to your success as we are. Learn more at Childcare Business growth.com. Now let's get into today's conversation. One we think you're really going to love.

Kate & Carrie 00:00:49  I want to go outside. All right. It's hot. It's hot. Are you sure? I do, I do. So today we are going to have a conversation, with Shelby and Adamson. We get all the. Let me get the right letters in there. Adamson and Watson talk about outdoor school, about kindergarten. We're going to talk about what that transition looks like for kids.

Kate & Carrie 00:01:17  How you, as a director, owner, lead teacher, can, incorporate a little more of that into your classroom or outside? Not in your classroom. No classrooms, no doors, no walls. No, I don't have it. Help me out here because I feel like I. You're you're flailing. We gotta at least have bathrooms available. Exactly. That is part of license requirements. Yes. So, Shelby, tell us a little bit about, you know, you said that in our pre talk that you feel like you've gotten a lot of opportunities for growth in a relatively short time as an educator. I want to ask, before we get into it, why do you think you got those opportunities for growth that other people maybe don't? How did you position yourself or what did people see in you?

Shelby 00:02:13  really and truly, I think people saw two things. My love for people, my love for children in particular, and my my giftedness in teaching. I've just been able to kind of sprinkle those types of, experiences in my life.

Shelby 00:02:37  You know, even before I was formally teaching it, just being able to be a nanny or to, you know, do things with children at my church. just I feel like the opportunities really. I was asked to come teach at a school whenever everyone was like starting to restart after Covid and I was invited really just based on those things and, well, I mean, the rest is history.

Kate & Carrie 00:03:06  Okay. As you know, somebody who's hired staff post Covid. Why don't you do me a favor and tell. Tell us where people found you. Because I think that if more directors knew how to find people like you. Okay. you know, you know, did they, did they just pluck you off the street because you said you were invited? So I'd be curious to hear kind of tell us more. Yeah.

Shelby 00:03:31  So I was a friend of essentially a client. So the school that I originally got plugged in at, a parent of one of those students, is one of my best friends.

Shelby 00:03:47  Does that make sense? Did I say that correctly? Okay. and so whenever they were looking to restart, staff. They spoke to kind of some of their most valuable or maybe most trustworthy parents, and said, hey, like, if y'all know anyone that's good at teaching, that's, you know, good with kids that, you know, loves on kids, all that sort of stuff, we need those people like, let us know. and so.

Kate & Carrie 00:04:18  We were a parent referral.

Shelby 00:04:20  I was a parent referral. That is the most easy way to say that.

Kate & Carrie 00:04:24  Yeah, I think right. There's the episode title, you know. So there it is. We get people who kind of look at us like, no, I'm only going to do indeed, or I'm only going to post this way. And Carrie and I often when we're doing HR and how to find your employee, we always talk about if your parents can't find that person or your staff don't have a friend.

Shelby 00:04:51  Right? Right.

Kate & Carrie 00:04:53  Staff who ate either really like you or know people like you know.

Shelby 00:04:57  Right? Yes, exactly. Exactly. So.

Kate & Carrie 00:05:01  All right, so, Carrie, what? Based on our pre talk, is the one thing you really want to make sure we talk to Shelby about today. Well, I really want to talk about the fact that. Well, actually, first let's have Shelby tell us a little bit about her program and what makes it unique. And then I have my question. Okay. What makes your program unique? What's a unique selling position for your school?

Shelby 00:05:23  Okay. So I will just say so we're kitty crafts preschool. now I say preschool kind of lightly because we do go through for the past couple of years, we've gone through kindergarten. This coming school year, we're adding first grade. So I don't know, we might lose that pre sometime soon. But, our motto is where nurture meets nature. and so I feel like that just says it right there. We are a nature based program.

Shelby 00:05:55  We are a play based program. we get our kids out, rain or shine. I kid you not. And we let those kids play, and we we learn. We let them learn by playing, by getting muddy, by getting their hands on just everything that they can find, by getting messy, by making mistakes. You know, just like Miss Frizzle says, you know, that's that is our philosophy of learning. And, yes, particularly in kindergarten. And then, of course, in first grade, we we have some solid academics because we want our students to be able to leave us and be successful, but we just have, I mean, we we really I think that we've really looked at what Europe does with how they viewed early childhood development and education, and they have noticed that they don't need to push their kids to learn so much academics so early on, they actually test better than our students do here in America. By just letting them play longer. and so out. We're just so blessed with a director that, has just really educated herself on all of that.

Shelby 00:07:27  And so we take her lead. so, yeah, we we play, we play, and we make messes. And if it's the only time that we don't go outside is if there's thunder and lightning. But you better believe if it's raining or if it's cold. We're still going out. Put on your gloves. Put on your rain suit. We're going out. We're going to learn something today.

Kate & Carrie 00:07:46  It sounds very much like the Finnish philosophy, you know, like it needs to be play punctuated by a little bit of work instead of work, punctuated by a little bit of play.

Shelby 00:07:56  That's it, that's it. Absolutely. And, you.

Kate & Carrie 00:08:00  Know, no bad weather, just poor clothing choices.

Shelby 00:08:04  100%. 100%. Absolutely.

Kate & Carrie 00:08:08  Okay, so I just have to ask. So, as you know, we often hear folks talk about the struggle to get parents to remember extra clothing or coats or shoes or whatever. what's your secret? Because I'm feeling like y'all need to have, like, 47 sets of different types of clothes per child.

Kate & Carrie 00:08:30  I mean, is this just because your parents have bought into this from the get go, do you think? Okay.

Shelby 00:08:35  Yes, 100% we are. I mean, we make it abundantly clear this is what you're getting when you come here. We are entirely unique in in our area for this reason. So if I mean really our parents come to us because that's what they want so they know, okay, we got to supply all the clothing needs and we, we, you know, we do of course, give an abundance of reminders. But I mean, it is a requirement to have a change of clothes obviously. But even like we require once it gets to well, even I think the first day of school they have to have a rain suit, like full, like top to bottom, like head to ankle, wrists like rain suit and rain boots like those are absolute requirements from day one. And then once it starts to get cold, full on even, like ski suits and, mittens, gloves.

Shelby 00:09:39  We really like those, like waterproof gloves. So again, like, it's not soaking Looking through. So we do we just we just give lots of reminders. But again, like, they know exactly what they're getting into by wanting to come to us in the first place. So they know, okay, we're going to have to like get some extra clothes. And we, we let them know exactly what to get.

Kate & Carrie 00:10:03  I think we get kind of spoiled here in the South. And, you know, I've got family in Wisconsin and Minnesota. And so if they didn't have snow suits and stuff like that for six months of the year, the kids wouldn't be able to go outside, right? There's programs in Canada and in Greenland and in the Scandinavian countries going back to that Finland thing. Right. And they're having those kids dress for the weather. We get so spoiled by the fact that most of the year we can go outside with just a light jacket, right?

Shelby 00:10:38  Absolutely. I agree.

Kate & Carrie 00:10:40  Or no jacket, definitely no.

Shelby 00:10:43  Jacket. I mean, you know, and we have those kids. We have those kids. My daughter's one of those. Everyone's like, put on a jacket. And I'm like, we're too. We're too hot natured for that. And we're. She's fine.

Kate & Carrie 00:10:59  So I love that. Shelby. Thank you. So, Carrie, she's told us a little about her program. What was your. My question was, why? How are you able to outcompete the free public school for kindergarten in first grade? Because we're hearing all these people freaking out about, oh, public pre-K. Nobody's going to pick me. Well, kindergarten has been free since, I don't know, the 40s. So right now, competing for kindergarten in first grade, what makes how how are you guys doing it when everybody else gets done?

Shelby 00:11:37  Oh my gosh, that is oh, such a good question. Yes I mean, I think that it really does. It just goes back to allowing kids to be kids and really educating the parents.

Shelby 00:11:53  and I mean, really, that's the hardest thing, right? I mean, I think we spend like, most of our time throughout the year just educating parents on, you know, this, that or the other. And I mean, that's fine. That's a good thing. but I think it really does come down to educating the parents because they don't know what they don't know. We don't know what we don't know. Right. And so it took like looking at what everyone else is doing across the world, what's working for everyone else, and what are we doing differently that's not measuring up? and just, you know, reminding ourselves of, like, our childhoods and that we had more play than current kindergarteners do now in a public school setting. Well and.

Kate & Carrie 00:12:49  Unstructured time. I mean, although we have activities.

Shelby 00:12:52  Yeah.

Kate & Carrie 00:12:53  The amount of activities I see preschoolers and kindergarteners be signed up for five days a week of things after school. You know, they don't have just that general downtime to learn to play, get bored, figure out how to be bored.

Kate & Carrie 00:13:09  Right. Oh my gosh. Yes. Okay. So I'm going to I'm going to ask a question. So you said that you guys spend a lot of time educating the parents. What about before the parents become your parents. What do you guys doing in the community to educate the community on basically why your program is at least something to consider. Because not it's not going to be a fit for every family and every kid. But no program ever is right.

Shelby 00:13:36  Right. Absolutely. And I love that you ask that we do. Once a month at least during the school year. Once a month. Community programs. So, we will do, a trunk or treat during like Halloween time. We will do.

Kate & Carrie 00:13:57  okay.

Shelby 00:13:57  Wait wait wait.

Kate & Carrie 00:13:58  So is that trunk or treat then open to everybody. It's not just your family and your schools.

Shelby 00:14:02  It is it is open to everybody. Now we do partner with, like a highland or a Lake Highlands. I don't know. We, we partner with, with some other community, something or other around here.

Shelby 00:14:17  I can't quite remember what they're called. but it's some kind of like, parent teacher something or other. Again.

Kate & Carrie 00:14:24  So another partner organization.

Shelby 00:14:26  Yes. Yes. So we partner with them. And so it is for the whole community. Now some of our events are just for our students and their parents, but we hold a lot outside so that the people around us can see like, oh, hey, what are they doing over there? and so it kind of again, gives this visual of like, we do a lot of fun stuff around here. We do a lot outside around here. We do a lot of things that you're not going to see any other school doing. And so that kind of gets our attention or gets their attention on us, gets them going to our website, gets them coming in for tours. And then it kind of opens up that conversation.

Kate & Carrie 00:15:17  I feel like your, your director must have gone to our class because this is all stuff we talk about. Like, this is so we were meant to have this conversation because this is very much our take on how you should be a member of your community, in.

Kate & Carrie 00:15:33  The community, in.

Kate & Carrie 00:15:35  And do cool stuff.

Shelby 00:15:37  Yes, because it's a reflection of what we do with our kids. I mean, don't you want your kids to be having this much fun in school? I mean, like, you're they're just not going to get that at public school. They're just not. I mean.

Kate & Carrie 00:15:53  And what's so exciting is I'm sitting here listening to you, and I am watching you smile and glow and be so excited. And I'm thinking, how many teachers do Carrie and I meet in an average six month period that have your level of excitement and passion? And I will tell you, not very many, not even the ones that are new. Like, I mean, you know, like you said, you've not been doing this job for decades, but still you're coming at it with a passion and you actually absolutely love what you do. And I just want to say that I think one thing that people have spotted in you is that you're a leader without waiting for somebody to say, hey, I need you to pull a leadership role, right? You've put yourself in the position and you've said yes.

Kate & Carrie 00:16:43  And hopefully, you know, there'll be enough people. So those directors who are listening it, you know, if you see a staff person stepping up, know that they've got some leadership potential. They want to keep growing. And growing doesn't necessarily just mean what sometimes we think of as leadership roles in early childcare. So you definitely are taking that. I got this leadership direction happening as a teacher, and I love the fact. So one of the things you shared with us is that you continue to roll with the kids. So anybody who stays who was in kindergarten is going to roll with you to the first grade. So they will. So some of these kids would have had you for preschool kinder. And first, did I understand that kind of right.

Shelby 00:17:33  Well, okay. I will say this past year was my first year here at this school.

Kate & Carrie 00:17:38  Okay.

Shelby 00:17:39  Now, my previous experience was at a different school. So I will say I've gotten to experience both sides of education. So the school that I came from was very, even though it was a private, preschool that did a kindergarten program, it was it was far more traditional.

Shelby 00:18:02  Whenever we did kindergarten, it was straight up worksheets, report cards, all of that. So coming and having a year. Yeah.

Kate & Carrie 00:18:12  Sorry. I'm not sure if that cringe came through. I just like the shivers came all the way up my body.

Shelby 00:18:17  Are you.

Kate & Carrie 00:18:18  Okay?

Shelby 00:18:18  Do you need a moment?

Kate & Carrie 00:18:20  I think so, I think I think I'm good though.

Shelby 00:18:22  So I mean, I, you know, and that's why I say like, we don't know, but we don't know because I learned so much Us this year, getting a whole new perspective on early childhood education. and I'm just completely sold out on it. And so even though I, you know, my the first graders that I'm getting, I won't have had them for, you know, more than one year, but I am getting a, you know, some repeat students. And that's so exciting to me that I get to continue on this journey with them, because that's one of my favorite things about teaching. because at my previous school, I did get pre-K that once I transitioned to kindergarten, I got to keep them for kindergarten.

Shelby 00:19:12  And just again, being on this longer journey with them, seeing them grow, seeing them learn, seeing them become more of who they're going to be like, it's a treasure. And so like, I kind of get to do that again? Going from kindergarten to first year, there.

Kate & Carrie 00:19:33  Is a whole kind of movement and a whole philosophy in education about teachers looping with their with their students. So staying whether it's two or even up to, you know, three years with that same group so that, you know, pre-K kinder first and then you go back and then you do pre-K, kinder for the next group. And I mean, it's hard to say whether or not, that is going to be the, the actual model for your school as you guys keep going. But I mean, what an awesome opportunity those kids are going to have to continue to learn from you. So because one of the first things you need in order to be able to learn is to be able to trust. And if they've already developed that trust or.

Carrie 00:20:16  When you're.

Kate & Carrie 00:20:17  Taking it longer. It makes it so much easier for them to learn scary things like addition.

Shelby 00:20:23  Yes it's true. It's so was true.

Kate & Carrie 00:20:28  And I would much rather have fun learning additions with some rocks and some twigs and outside than on a ditto. You're right. Like who needs. Nobody needs no stinking handouts. so some stinking handouts. We just don't need all stinkin handouts.

Shelby 00:20:45  All the stinking handouts.

Kate & Carrie 00:20:46  So shall we tell us how you know, what is the take? You know what does give some antidotes from some of your parents who, maybe explored traditional school. Maybe you've even got some who tried that traditional kindergarten route left after a month, came and found you, halfway through the year. Maybe they did kindergarten last year, and they're coming to you first grade. So tell me a little bit about, you know, kind of what the parents are having to say.

Carrie 00:21:11  Yeah.

Shelby 00:21:12  So I will say one of one of the ones that I'm getting for first grade in the fall.

Shelby 00:21:18  I did not get to experience his pre-K journey, but having had him in kindergarten, I heard a lot about it. so I know that he he they put him in a more traditional, very, like, prestigious, private school. And it was very just kind of militant, very sit at your desk, do your worksheets. And again, this was like pre like, this wasn't even kindergarten yet. and he this this is a little boy I mean true true. Rough and tumble boy. He wants to get up. He wants to play. He, he does not want to sit and look at some stinking piece of paper. you know, and so it was so hard for him, and I think that it really broke him because he was a by the time he came to kindergarten last year, I met this very quiet and even defiant little boy who would not do anything that you would ask him to do. He was not going to work. But around the middle of the year, after having fun with him and connecting with him and just letting him show me how he learns best.

Shelby 00:22:45  I was able to then work with him and see him grow and learn, and just take a lead on so much that he never would have had the opportunity to do. Had he been forced to sit at a desk all day. And so, you know, his parents decided, like, you know, we're we're going to push any other kind of school off for as long as possible. He's coming back to first grade next year, and we're going to keep this going. So it's just it's stuff like that. I'm just I love it. I'm so excited for for him and for all the students that we get that kind of opportunity. With.

Kate & Carrie 00:23:25  So, Cory, what else do you think are directors might need to know? What are some other questions we can ask? Shelby. as the directors who are listening are trying to figure out how does this work? How can I learn from this? How can I adapt to this? That's not what our program is. But I mean, the question is, how do you spend six of the nine hours of the day outside? I think that's one of the questions people probably have.

Kate & Carrie 00:23:54  And then the other one is, how exactly are you teaching phonics with sticks?

Shelby 00:24:00  Okay. So we don't spend that much time outside. We do spend, I would say, on a fair weather day. we will spend a couple of hours outside and so we will, you know, call them up individually. And so it takes a lot of planning. I will say, a lot of, you know, creativity, a lot of, you know, finding out other creative, creative people's stuff on Pinterest. You know, there are ways to learn, but, plan just fun activities to do with them at a table, at a picnic bench, where they don't realize necessarily that they're learning anything. They just think that they're playing a game and they're outside doing it. So anything is fun and it's play and it's a game if it's outside. And so we just again, we call them up individually or a couple at a time, and we work with them on a smaller scale. So again we're not trying to teach this huge class where they're, you know, half of them aren't paying attention anyways.

Shelby 00:25:09  They're getting that one on one individual time. Now, I will say we do, you know, our phonics and everything. We do keep a lot of that more traditional. But again, even a lot of our playtime inside. So one of the, you know, I'll just give an example, like one of the things that I'll do is if I say, okay, it's time to line up, everyone, grab your water bottles. Oh, how many syllables are in water bottle. And so, you know, again, that's allowing them to think through their phonics or like oh my gosh, look at what you're playing with. Is this a giraffe? Just laugh. Oh what do you think giraffe starts with? Is it a J or a soft G? Stuff like that. So it's about just joining into what they're already doing. It's not about okay, everyone stop what you're doing and come do what I'm telling you to do. Though. We have those times. We do. we really, really do.

Shelby 00:26:19  Because again, the goal is for them to be successful when they leave us. But it's just about being creative and inviting yourself into their play and making those teachable moments out of what they're already doing.

Kate & Carrie 00:26:35  I love that well, I also love Shelby. Just to hear that it's not an hour and that it's hours, right? And so, regardless of what state you're in, what country you're in. look to see if you can't just add over.

Carrie 00:26:51  The course.

Kate & Carrie 00:26:51  Of the next like, I'm going to challenge everybody who's listening. As you are working through your 2025, 2026 school year. I am asking you to add another 30 minutes.

Carrie 00:27:04  Of outdoor.

Kate & Carrie 00:27:05  Time.

Carrie 00:27:06  Yeah. Who?

Kate & Carrie 00:27:07  Your to every classroom.

Carrie 00:27:09  Yeah.

Kate & Carrie 00:27:10  Whether or not you encourage the the teachers like you give them a, we're going to start doing all of our science outside, because that's a pretty easy one. We're doing pre-K to to first or second grade. They can do almost every science they're ever going to need in those age groups inside.

Kate & Carrie 00:27:28  What a great opportunity. And I love that you brought up that you do that research on Pinterest and teachers.

Shelby 00:27:34  Oh my gosh.

Kate & Carrie 00:27:35  And you know just I mean there's all kinds of wonderful resources. You don't need to pay for an expensive curriculum. Yeah. you know, I have a kiddo who went to a, an outdoor school that was just on Fridays.

Shelby 00:27:51  Oh, yeah.

Kate & Carrie 00:27:51  And, you know.

Shelby 00:27:52  So.

Kate & Carrie 00:27:53  There's an opportunity for, again, folks listening, if you notice that you have a day of the week where maybe you've got a smaller group of students, you know, this might be an opportunity, especially if you have one teacher that kind of loves this idea that they heard this episode and they're like, ooh, I want us to do that. Go look at your classroom numbers and see if you can't dedicate one day a week to an age group that gets to now be your outdoor outdoor school for a one day a week. So hopefully we've planted some seeds. I know Cory's probably got a couple of things that she wants to ask her say before we wrap up.

Kate & Carrie 00:28:29  she's muted so she ain't saying nothing. I love it all right I lot I've got a sore throat. So I mean I want to say kudos to you Shelby and to your school for finding a way to meet the kids where they are and being like, we're not going to be right for everybody, but we're right for these kids and standing proud and standing clearly in the we're serving these children, not all children. I think that that is one of those hard things for business owners and business leaders to do is be like, I don't want every customer.

Shelby 00:29:09  Yeah, yeah.

Kate & Carrie 00:29:10  Absolutely, absolutely. Well, Carrie, what do we need to tell everybody? We need to tell them to come back and listen to us next time. If you haven't already subscribed, or followed, depending on which podcast player you are using. Please go ahead and do that. We're on Spotify. We're on Apple. we're on YouTube. We're on all of the big, podcast players. I think there's like 20 that we're on so you can find us.

Kate & Carrie 00:29:37  We're now coming to you twice a week because we had so many wonderful people like Shelby, who we want to talk to when it was just Kate and I. You guys don't need just Kate and I more than once. We had so many people that we wanted to have conversations with that we've increased it. Well, you know, you want.

Kate 00:29:58  To be a.

Kate & Carrie 00:29:59  Guest. How do they become a guest, Kate? Well, actually, it was going to say part of the reason we also get to do twice a week is that we've got some great sponsors. So, childcare business growth.com is this quarter sponsor and we are so lucky to have them supporting us. And we've got a new sponsor coming in next quarter. So tune in next week and you'll get to hear more about our other, program supporters and how much we just want to be there for you. But you can be a guest at WW childcare.com. And Shelby, was it very scary to fill out an application?

Shelby 00:30:43  Oh my gosh. Not at all.

Shelby 00:30:44  The easiest thing y'all.

Kate & Carrie 00:30:47  And you were worried. Was it a hard conversation? Were we scary.

Shelby 00:30:51  No. Oh my gosh y'all made this so easy and so fun. So fun and pleasant. I've just I loved every minute.

Kate & Carrie 00:30:59  Well, thank you for that testimonial. And no we did not pay her for that. So anyway. Yeah.

Kate 00:31:05  Y'all, you need help.

Kate & Carrie 00:31:06  Building the enrollment in your program. Please reach out to child care, business growth. They will they do amazing things and they have programs starting at $200 a month. So you can definitely find a way to get some support from child care business growth and see us in our next episode, or listen to us depending on how you find us.

Marie 00:31:28  Thanks for tuning in. We love bringing you real talk and fresh insight from the world of early childhood education. Be sure to follow us on social media to stay connected and catch all of the latest episodes. And if you're planning a conference, training, or special event. Kate and Cary would love to speak to your audience.

Marie 00:31:48  You can learn more about their keynotes, sessions, and workshops at Kate and Carrie. If you learned something today. Share the show and leave us a review below. We'll see you next time on Child Care Conversations.