Application for the 2025 - 2026 PLAYschool Year is now open
WHY NATURE?
Human beings are born with a genetic predisposition to be in direct contact with nature; The first years of a child's life are the most important since it is the period in which they will learn skills and attitudes that will become the basis of their personality for a lifetime, which is why their experiences during this training period will determine their way of facing the world, the level of self-confidence, how to interact with others, as well as their ability to understand and manage their own emotions while being part of a community.
VALUE OF UNSTRUCTURED OUTDOOR PLAY-BASED LEARNING
Our OUTDOOR PROGRAMS are designed to positively connect children and their caregivers with nature through immersion activities that stimulate their innate curiosity about the natural world.
​
Caregivers have the support of our Facilitators at the Parent & Child Institute to delve deeper into their feelings of dysregulation when emotional flooding occurs and begins to affect the attunement and the development of the "Secure Attachment" relationship with the infants and toddlers in their care.
​​
Preschoolers attending Adventures in the Forest can express freely, without words, and through non-directed play their needs, traumas, and their caregiver's miss-attunement. They start exploring their feelings and acquire the tools to integrate awareness into their e-motions with the help of their Mentors as external regulators.
​
The cornerstone of our Synergistic Nature-Play educational philosophy is the result of the understanding of the interaction between PLAY - THERAPHY and NEUROSCIENCE. At our programs there is not a predetermined curriculum and the life lessons flows organically from what nature gift us every day in addition to the present children motivation and needs.
Emotional
Nature is a healing salve for anxiety and inner conflicted emotions.
​
Often children reveal stress from their home life either physically or verbally. At MNP we believe It is important guide, help and give space to children to feel comfortable to talk about their feelings and troubles.
​
At the same time we maintain the position that simply being in nature is therapeutic and to resist taking on the role of child-therapist or confidante.
Social
We look for children to recognize both their own abilities and those of others.
Competition is prevalent in our world, looking for the final winner in every step of our life.
The Forest kindergarten model values cooperation, teamwork and encourages the idea that we can accomplish more when we work together without taking away the right of the children to express their desires and to develop the ability to be comfortable by themselves.
Physical
There are so many physical benefits as a result of spending time outside that we could not list them all here. Benefits for children supported by scientific studies includes:
​
*Increase creativity and imagination.
*Boost the immune system
*20 minutes outdoors improves the ability to focus, even in children diagnosed with ADHD.
*Reduce the risk of myopia on children and
*Helps fight anxiety and stress.
MIAMI NATURE PLAYschool Programs
are designed to positively connect young children and their families with nature, creating opportunities to stimulate their innate curiosity about the Natural World.
Established in November 2011, The Childhood Nature Project—formerly known as Buzzy Kids—is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was initially designed as a platform to explore outdoor classrooms and alternative education. Five years later, in 2016, Miami Nature PLAYschool (MNP) was founded as an innovative educational space distinct from traditional Mommy and Me programs, preschools, or kindergartens. Created by professional mothers dedicated to preserving the essence of early childhood, MNP provides alternative learning experiences through its Parent & Child Institute and Adventures in the Forest under the Forest Kindergarten/School initiative.
MNP's primary objective is to bring families together to form child-centered, play-based communities that promote the social, emotional, and physical development of children within a supportive, nature-focused environment. As the first program in South Florida to implement a Nature-Based model, MNP has paved the way for similar initiatives across Miami and Broward County over the past twelve years, offering families meaningful alternatives to conventional programs.
At Adventures in the Forest, mentors guide children in fostering a deep connection with nature, encouraging environmental awareness and stewardship. Facilitators at the Parent & Child Institute work closely with parents to emphasize the critical role of positive modeling in nurturing essential personal and interpersonal skills in their children.
​
#MiamiGoOutside / #Nature for All / #MiamiNaturePlayschool