Way to Go, Ms. Charlotte!PRM’s own Ms. Charlotte was recently awarded one of eight Teacher Innovation Fund Grants sponsored by The Charlotte Hornets, Lowe’s Home Improvement and FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southeast in partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Foundation.

The grants were awarded during halftime of the Hornets game April 13. The money will be used to fund the school’s pond reconstruction and vegetation project in order to create a safe and interactive outdoor learning environment for science students.

Way to go, Ms. Charlotte!

Welcome to Environmental Education: The Outdoor Classroom at Park Road

Charlotte Fletcher Park Road Montessori has a unique program developed by Charlotte Fletcher, our Experiential Science Curriculum Assistant. Charlotte is a Certified Environmental Educator with the state of North Carolina, a Certified Native Plant Specialist with UNCC Botanical Garden, a Master Gardener, a Master Composter and a naturalist. She has a passion for connecting children with nature.

This program takes place in the outdoor classroom. Every classroom has a garden outside their classroom, we are connected to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway and we have a 23 acre campus with a wonderful variety of trees and shrubs. The possibilities for conducting outside “hands-on” learning are boundless.  Studies show that a child’s emotional and physical well-being, as well as academic performance improve as a result of their outdoor experiences. We study Botany, Zoology, how to care for our environment and how to grow our own flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Nature links

Ideas for gardening and taking children outside in nature: 

• http://www.takeachildoutside.org
• http://www.kidsgardening.org/
• http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/activities/funscience/

For plant identification:

• http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/
• http://plants.usda.gov/java/
• http://www.ncstate-plants.net/

For insect identification:

• http://www.bugguide.net

For birds and the natural history of the Piedmont

• http://www.hiltonpond.org/

Recommended apps

• NatureTap
• LeafSnap
• Virginia Tech Tree Identification

Our Classroom

Classroom BLOG / Site:

Coming later…

Ongoing projects / needs:

Greenhouse, gardening day donations and volunteers