Child's Play by the Bay now offers Delaware's first and only certified Nature Explore classroom, aiming to show children what playing in nature really entails.

The small child development and resource center in Lewes has offered preschool and child care services for five years out of its residential setting, but as of this spring, also offers something more than plastic playhouses in the backyard.

Certified Nature Explore classrooms are nature-based play and learning spaces that apply research-based, field-tested design principles to create nature-rich outdoor spaces, according to the Nature Explore website.

The outdoor classroom concept gives children the opportunity to reconnect to nature, while using their imagination, developing social skills, and also decreasing the chances of ADHD and obesity, said Nature Explore Senior Client Relationship Manager Terra Hild.

"There are a million good reasons why kids need to be playing in nature — and throwing the ball around is not playing in nature," said Alisha Melesky, co-owner and administrator of Child's Play.

"The children can have their hands right in there, can be with their peers, learning pre-literacy skills when they don't even know it — they are being kids outdoors, and that is exactly what kids need."

Activity areas in the outdoor classroom are divided by natural plants materials and various textured ground surfaces, including building, water, nature art, garden and climbing.

In the dirt digging area, kids can use mini steel shovels to dig, which also builds a mindset for how they will soon hold a pencil when they reach kindergarten, Melesky said.

Coastal Sussex County has the best of both worlds by offering great opportunities for both senior citizens, as putting a great emphasis on quality of first rate educational experiences for children, said Sen. Ernesto Lopez.

"I fully wholeheartedly support her on this accomplishment of such importance," he said. "This put new hands on the ways of learning, and I'm very thankful and proud of Alisha and her colleagues for doing it in my district."

There are more than 200 certified Nature Explore classrooms across the nation, not including those in progress, as of June 27, according to Hild, adding while the organization primarily aims to install outdoor classrooms in public spaces of young children, such as preschools, the projects do not exclude other potential venues, such as high schools or libraries.

Melesky had the idea to create an outdoor classroom for Child's Play when she attended an annual conference last November by the National Association of Education of Young Children, she said.

Upon attending courses there, she met representatives from Nature Explore, and fell in love with the thought of turning her idea into a reality, she said. The first step of certification is to attend a Nature Explore workshop or conference, which Melesky had already done.

She then worked closely with Nature Explore to design an outdoor space using principles the organization had researched, and included staff development and family involvement to bring the space to life after approval.

"Our outdoor classroom was built completely by volunteers — anyone from our staff, to parents, to community members who simply wanted to increase awareness and appreciation for nature — it was beautiful," Melesky said.

Another benefit of the outdoor classroom is that it encourages developmentally appropriate risk tasking and decreases more high risk behavior when the children are older, Melesky said.

"When the kids try to carry water, climb something, or see if something floats, we will of course support them and watch them very closely, but we also let them go ahead and discover answers for themselves," she said.

"I love that this space is so open-ended, and it allows the kids to play differently every day and think outside the box each time by testing nature and their surroundings."