Play is about more than just fun and games. Children acquire knowledge experientially through play, experimentation, exploration, and discovery.  Many of the fundamental abilities that help children to thrive – problem solving, persistence, risk-taking, spatial awareness, fine and gross motor skills, representational and creative invention, and collaborating with others – can be learned most effectively through outdoor play.

This year’s special appeal will enable us to enhance the environment in which our students build these crucial skills by creating and starting to implement a master plan for our outdoor space.  Playground alterations and additions will expand our student’ experiential learning, including a nature-based learning/play space that encourages our students to use their imaginations and curiosity to engage with the natural world.

Play to learn and learn to play at Lerner!

This year the Special Appeal will fund an expansion of Lerner’s already strong literacy program, further enhancing and tailoring our literacy education to each student.  A guided reading library filled with a variety of quality texts from multiple genres, couples with updated assessment and curricular materials, will enable teachers to individualize their classroom literacy programs for each student even more by providing support and enrichment as needed.

This year the special appeal will fund a dedicated science lab specifically for preschool and elementary use.  A science lab can bring learning to life in a meaningful, direct, and tactile way while enabling students to expand their knowledge and understanding.