South Side Nature Play - SSNP

South Side Nature Play - SSNP South Side Nature Play is a family-centered outdoor education co-op based on Chicago’s South Side.

As an emerging, volunteer-run community organization, the Collective’s principal short- and longterm goals are:

1. to implement an evidence-based educational model serving young children and their “villages,” which we define as the entire network of relatives and friends who help raise children by sharing in knowledge, providing enriching life experiences and giving emotional and mental support, especially during transitional or difficult periods. We envision the Collective as a place where families from Hyde Park, Woodlawn and the greater South Side can find support and build community regardless of where they live, who they are, or what differences exist among them.

3. to sustainably build and operate an indoor/outdoor Community House and Farm site in Woodlawn that will serve as the hub of the Collective’s early childhood, youth and family programming. The Collective implements a State-standards compliant, emergent, project-based applied fine arts, music and urban agriculture curriculum that emphasizes early literacy and math and develops social-emotional skill and resilience, while strengthening each child’s connection to Chicago and its culture and natural resources.

2. to create a safe, developmentally appropriate green space where children and their families can reap the abundant therapeutic benefits of gardening, augmented by the physiological benefits of an organic plant-based diet. While the Collective does not espouse one particular modality of health and wellness, educators at the Collective seek to affirm and enrich children’s earliest wellness experiences by growing, tending, eating and cooking with fresh produce as part of the Collective’s own nature-based early childhood curriculum.

4. to build connections with diverse stakeholders across the Chicago area with a dedicated focus on primary and secondary education, community reinvestment, sustainable urban planning and economic literacy. By participating with teachers and parents in the Collective’s environmental stewardship program and nature-based curriculum, children are engaged with their neighborhood, its challenges and its beauty in a hands-on, experiential way. The Collective’s educators strive to build trust and mutual respect among children and adults by creating many opportunities for group-based learning and reflection.

5. integrate a series of local applied fine art and music residencies into the Collective’s educational team and strategy, providing a space for local talent to develop while forging a connection between teaching artists and young children where each can share their productions and creative process.

💛❤️💛❤️
06/14/2024

💛❤️💛❤️

05/30/2024

☀️ Get ready for summer fun in the Forest Preserves of Cook County! Our Summer Guide is now available and full of information on upcoming programs, events and amenities, from indoor educational activities to unforgettable outdoor adventures.

☀️ Pick up a copy of the guide at nature centers, special events and programs, or download a PDF from our website. You can also check out our online events schedule at fpdcc.com/events

🏖️🏝️🐠🐟🍉🌊👙🎣🌺🏊‍♀️🥥

04/29/2024
04/29/2024
04/02/2024

The bald eagle population has been booming in Will County in recent years, and we're monitoring four active nests. 

🌕 SSNP is so ready to see you this Sunday at 2pm at South Shore Nature Sanctuary for Spring Equinox Play Date! With the ...
03/22/2024

🌕 SSNP is so ready to see you this Sunday at 2pm at South Shore Nature Sanctuary for Spring Equinox Play Date! With the Equinox comes thoughts of growth, renewal, and a thawing of soil, body, & mind. Mud play, lake observations, seed study, and the usual stories, songs, and bonfire will be waiting for you in the Sanctuary (see map on 3rd slide).

🌕 Since the March full moon has been nicknamed the Full Worm Moon in the Dakota language, we will show reverence for earthworms throughout our play. In behaving and thinking like worms, we will ground ourselves in connection to the Earth and all that is possible with rootedness. Gotta get down to get up! 🪱

🌕 See you so soon in the Sanctuary! Until we gather to celebrate this first weekend of Chicago Spring, we hope the sun shines upon you and sustains you like the crocus, an essential friend to our emerging pollinators at this time of year. 💜

02/05/2024
01/16/2024
🧊 January Play Date is coming right up! 🧊 Hope you can mark your calendars now to join us for music, movement, games, a ...
01/05/2024

🧊 January Play Date is coming right up!

🧊 Hope you can mark your calendars now to join us for music, movement, games, a mini-hike, and community building!

🧊 Hit this link to RSVP:

signupgenius.com/go/10C094EAAAB29A5FCC52-46971229-january

🧊 Catch you outside! 🩵

12/21/2023

Stay frosty this winter and keep the kids busy with our winter holiday kids kit! Download this printable activity packet with coloring pages, jokes, fun winter activities and more!

🔗 go.illinois.edu/WinterKit

12/21/2023

Address

Chicago, IL

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when South Side Nature Play - SSNP posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to South Side Nature Play - SSNP:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram