Kindergartners Learn About Their Reed School Backyard

Mindy Hiatt from the Richardson Bay
Audubon Center & Sanctuary teaches a
kindergarten class about trees in
the Reed Nature Preserve.
(Photo by Edith Spindler)

With funding of $1,600 from the Belvedere Community Foundation, the eight kindergarten classes at Reed School explored the Reed Nature Preserve behind their school in the fall and spring with Mindy Hiatt, a teacher naturalist from the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary.

In the fall, Mindy came to each kindergarten classroom to talk about trees and their parts. She combined this with a visit to the Reed Nature Preserve, so the children could see redwood, oak and evergreen trees in their own backyard. This first visit coincided with the kindergarten’s FOSS science unit on trees.

In the spring, Mindy led classes back to the Reed Nature Preserve to teach the children about pollinators and native plants. This ‘hands on’ spring visit tied in with the kindergarten field trip to the Audubon Center where they learned more about native plants and animals. The Reed students adore this unit and the‘live study’ outdoors. For more information about the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary, contact them at www.tiburonaudubon.org or 415-388-2524.