New sensory garden at D54's ELC is a place for preschoolers to learn and grow

District 54's youngest students now have the opportunity to explore and discover nature in their very own sensory garden, which opened at the district's Early Learning Center (ELC) just after the start of the 2016-17 school year.

This beautiful outdoor oasis - which was planned and created by ELC floortime facilitator Karen Townsend over the past three years - features a variety of hands-on areas for the children.

Instruments in the music and movement area include a tongue drum, a rain wheel, a music wall, a xylophone and shakers, as well as household items such as pots and pans. A section catering to the visual arts includes a dry erase easel, chalkboards, a weaving loom, a texture wall and an abacus. Children can also use their imaginations to create structures using giant blue blocks. Sensory tables contain items for the children to manipulate, and a measuring station encourages the students to use their problem-solving skills to weigh objects such as rocks and wood chips. Different types of flowers are provided for the children to touch and smell; the garden is also a certified monarch waystation, providing a safe haven for monarch butterflies throughout their annual cycle of reproduction and migration.

The sensory garden equipment and garden towers were funded by a Dennis P. Quinn Super Grant from the Schaumburg Township Elementary School Foundation.

"The preschool students at the ELC are lucky to have access to a place that encourages learning and growing through hands-on and child-centered activities," said ELC Principal Sue Mayernick. "The staff and students appreciate all of the support we have received in bring the sensory garden to life."