Drop by Megan Patterson鈥檚 Denver preschool, Worldmind, on any given day, and you鈥檒l probably see a few children climbing trees. Others will be sorting pine needles, clambering around on a jumble of boulders and digging in the mud. Come winter, the action switches to making snow angels and playing with shovels. When it rains, you might see them mucking around for worms or splashing in puddles.听
But, one thing is constant: The kids won鈥檛 be sitting around indoors 鈥� and they鈥檒l be thrilled about it.
Thanks to Patterson鈥檚 (Comm鈥�05) efforts, many more Colorado kids might soon have access to this kind of school day.
Worldmind, which holds preschool in Denver鈥檚 City Park and adjacent sites year-round, is an outdoor, nature-based school where the kids only head inside to their space at Denver Museum of Nature & Science for bathroom breaks and naps.
Though such 鈥渇orest schools,鈥� or waldkindergartens are commonplace in European countries like Germany and Sweden, they鈥檙e only beginning to catch on in the U.S.听
Worldmind certainly stands out as a unique preschool option now, but Patterson hopes other programs will follow her lead and move the classroom outdoors.
鈥淚鈥檝e found it鈥檚 a wonderful way for kids to learn,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚 like to think of it as using Mother Nature as a co-teacher.鈥澨�
The Right Fit
Though Patterson never studied the outdoors, she spent much of her childhood in Grand Junction immersed in nature or hiking and backpacking across Colorado. So when she was looking for a university that fit her wilderness-loving personality, CU made sense.听
鈥淭he second I stepped on campus, it felt like the right fit,鈥� she said.听
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Patterson majored in communications, but couldn鈥檛 shake an interest in education. After graduation, she opted to continue with the teacher licensing program at CU鈥檚 School of Education.听
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She spent the next year earning her teaching license in elementary education. Next came a stint teaching English in Jordan with the Peace Corps, followed by a return to the U.S. as a charter school instructor in Commerce City, Colorado.
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Then, her career took her north 鈥� way north 鈥� to teach second grade and coach basketball and cross-country in the tiny Native Alaskan village of Stebbins. Patterson thrived in the ultra-remote town on the Bering Sea, where the only way in and out was by plane.
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鈥淚n Alaska, everything centered around the school,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚t brought back that community piece [for me].鈥澨�
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Next she moved to Colorado, and she completed an online master鈥檚 thesis on the forest education model at Lesley University in Boston. Patterson鈥檚 research, combined with her teaching experiences, inspired the Worldmind model.听
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鈥淚 fell in love with the idea of learning outdoors, having students take risks and learn from Mother Nature,鈥� she said.听
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While there are different versions of forest schools built around teaching children outside, she gravitated towards those that also teach kids ecological lessons while being in nature daily. In Colorado, she couldn鈥檛 find such a program in the Denver area for her son, Aiden.听
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She drew from her graduate school research to launch Worldmind as a nonprofit program in 2015. At first, children attended with their caregivers.
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鈥淚 really didn鈥檛 know what to expect when I started it,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚 just knew that I wanted to connect kids with nature.鈥�
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Outdoor Benefits
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Patterson found that a burgeoning body of research suggests outdoor preschools improve mental and physical health, reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and lead to better problem-solving skills and risk assessment.听
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When she started Worldmind, she was blown away by how enthusiastically kids and their caregivers responded to nature-based learning. She became determined to offer it to a wider population.听
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鈥淎fter seeing all the benefits students can gain, I really wanted to make it accessible to more families,鈥� Patterson said.听
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She had work to do.听
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Just a few years ago, there were no state child care licenses available in the U.S. for outdoor preschools. (Colorado has several such preschools, but none were officially licensed.) Worldmind hadn鈥檛 needed one because each child had a caregiver present, but that model wasn鈥檛 feasible for working parents. Another challenge 鈥� outdoor preschools can be expensive due to low student-teacher ratios needed to ensure safety. And, without state licensing options, parents couldn鈥檛 use state-based financial aid to pay their child鈥檚 tuition.
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She decided to expand her program to make outdoor preschool an option for more families by attaining a state license.
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In 2018, she approached Colorado鈥檚 Office of Early Childhood about creating an official license for outdoor programs like hers. The state agreed to a pilot program, which kicked off in 2018. Over the course of the program, Patterson had a lot to prove 鈥� she had to convince regulators that outdoor preschools were safe for kids. She documented every animal encounter (off-leash dogs and geese) and run-ins with strangers (two minor incidents in three years) and conducted hourly weather and attendance checks.听
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She did have to bend on a few things 鈥� no outdoor naptime or learning to build fires 鈥� but was granted permission to keep kids outside down to 13掳F with windchill and to let them climb trees.听
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In summer 2021, Patterson鈥檚 pilot licensing program was formally approved and Worldmind earned its permanent license 鈥� the state鈥檚 first outdoor preschool to do so.听
The move makes Colorado only the second state to license an outdoor preschool, after Washington, and opens the door for other programs to earn similar bona fides.
鈥淥utdoor preschool really aligns with so many of the values of our own teacher programs,鈥� said Kathy Schultz, dean of CU Boulder鈥檚 School of Education. 鈥淐hildren are allowed to pursue their own questions and curiosities. It鈥檚 very immersive, which is what we look for in education, too. I think it鈥檚 exciting that this sort of program can gain legitimacy in the U.S., and great for Colorado to be a leader in that way.鈥�
Since obtaining her pilot license, Patterson has expanded Worldmind鈥檚 offerings to include half- and full-day preschool programs and, in fall 2020, Patterson added an elementary school program up to fifth grade. This year, she added sixth grade.听
Social-Emotional Skills听
Patterson鈥檚 unique approach to early childhood education quickly earned Worldmind dedicated fans 鈥� as of fall 2021, the preschool had 40 students and a 40-deep waiting list.听
In addition to the outdoor components, Patterson places special emphasis on social-emotional learning to help kids develop confidence, solve problems and interact with each other.听
A daily lesson for a preschooler could include playing games that teach boundary-setting or sorting horse chestnuts, whereas older children may build a model of their own community.
鈥淚鈥檝e found that if you put those social-emotional skills first, and build a community where kids feel safe, the academic learning naturally happens,鈥� she said.听
Stacy Grissom first sent her son, Oliver, to Worldmind鈥檚 preschool as a three-year-old; he鈥檚 now in first grade there.听
鈥淗e absolutely thrives,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he focus in the preschool on social-emotional skills was exactly what he needed. At four years old, he and his friends could solve conflicts without adult interaction. It was phenomenal to watch.鈥澨�
Grissom said she鈥檇 send Oliver to Worldmind through high school if that becomes an option.听
鈥淚 appreciate how much Worldmind really looks at each individual kid,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey let the kids be themselves and appreciate them for who they are.鈥�