Tulsa Woman Starting Outdoor Pre-K School In Her Backyard

A Tulsa woman is starting an outdoor Pre-K school in her backyard.

Tuesday, June 21st 2022, 5:36 pm



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A Tulsa woman is starting an outdoor Pre-K school in her backyard.

Even with Oklahoma's weather, she plans to keep the kids learning outside as much as possible.

Jess Stewart's backyard is home to the brand new Stewart Little Day School, near I-44 and Memorial.

Seven seats are ready for the first day of class in August.

"We have our whole group area, so this is where we'll like sit and read books together or play a math game together,” Stewart said.

The outdoor classroom is full of different "centers" where kids can play and learn. Those centers include a sound wall, a garden, a sandbox, and a mud kitchen, complete with a recipe book.

"In here is where they get to get dirty,” Stewart said. “But there's also all kinds of academic skills embedded into the mud kitchen."

Lee Wheeler made some "flower stew" Tuesday. Her younger sister, two-year-old Alice, will be part of the very first class.

"She's a very lucky little girl to be one of just seven kids,” Their mother, Carolyn, said.

Carolyn enrolled Alice in Stewart Little for its first class, starting August 1.

“After COVID, our family learned that our children were learning a lot around the house and we wanted to extend that kind of educational environment into pre-school and pre-K,” Carolyn said.

"There's a lot of research around the benefits of being outside, but with life as busy as it is, it can be really hard for families to find that time,” Stewart said.

Stewart earned her master's degree in Early Childhood Education and worked in public school for six years, where she said her pre-K class had two 30-minute recess breaks each day.

At Stewart Little, there will be no such thing as a "snow day."

"I'll be asking families to have like winter clothes here, lots of warm clothes, rain boots. And we'll dress for the weather that we have that day,” she said.

But when Oklahoma weather turns dangerous, there's a whole new world of things to learn inside Stewart's home too.

"I expect her to gain more confidence and more skill sets that she can use around our home,” Carolyn said.

Stewart Little Day School has a permit through DHS, like many other childcare locations.

Parents interested in enrollment can bring their kids by to an open house this Sunday from 5 to 7. There will be a free concert with Hot Toast Music, a local children's band.

For more information, click here.

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