Birdsong Play Garden

Songbirds in our care form loving relationships with their teachers, peers, community, and nature. For many this is a first step into the world beyond their home and family, a place where they make their first memories, and we delight in witnessing them blossom through their independent experiences at Birdsong Play Garden.

Although the children are too young to reliably articulate what a rolicking good time they’re having, we are reassured through observations. In the mornings they run down the gravel path into our backyard, eager to share hugs and hellos with us and their peers. Furthermore they handle transitions smoothly – such as goodbyes from parents, departures from playgrounds, or settling down for rest. This shows their trust, comfort, and security in the rhythm of our days and towards us as caregivers.

As our name suggests, we are a play-based program. Through daily adventures on the peaceful greenbelts in west Davis, the children cultivate a relationship to the land. Instead of sensory bins, they are immersed in the richness of the outdoors. Little hands explore in mud, soil, and sand and collect treasures of stones, sticks, leaves, and berries. Rather than intellectual instruction, we want them to first experience nature. Their innate curiosity and wonder are the sparks of a lifelong loving relationship with nature.

These explorations also build the children’s adventure muscles. They jump, amble, climb, teeter, tumble, and balance. Gross motor movements are complemented with fine motor toning as the children learn to care for their bodies, their possessions, and our shared space. Exclamations of “I did it!” ring out among the flock as each child announces having independently removed his socks and shoes and placed them neatly in line before transitioning inside. Gaining mastery over one’s body builds the child’s confidence and contributes to brain growth, both of which lay the foundation for later academic success.

To find out more information about us, our program, or the sources that inspire us, please visit Our Song, FAQs, and Resources, respectively. If you’re wanting to be part of a movement that raises healthy, well-adjusted children in a loving community, then send us an e-mail requesting more information.