Prairie Summer Camps (1)

The College Community School District is transforming early childhood education with immersive, experiential learning environments at the Prairie Early Childhood Center and in preschool and 4-year-old wrap-around classrooms. 

Imagine a classroom where learning transcends traditional boundaries:

  • A Construction Zone where children explore spatial awareness, balance, and problem-solving through hands-on building with blocks of all sizes, ramps, pulleys, and real-world tools in a safe environment. Children will design, test, and refine their ideas, developing engineering thinking and collaboration skills.
  • A Roads, Tubes, and Tunnels Space where preschoolers become young engineers, planning and constructing elaborate transportation systems with flexible tracks, tunnels, pipes, and bridges. This space sparks curiosity about physics, design, and cause-and-effect while building fine motor skills and teamwork.
  • A Farmers Market where young learners engage in imaginative play as farmers, shopkeepers, and customers. The space will include a barn, child-sized produce stands, scales, play money, and realistic fruits and vegetables. Children will learn about economics, nutrition, counting, sorting, and social interaction in a practical, meaningful context.

These aren’t just creative ideas—they represent the future of education we’re building. Research consistently shows that young children learn best through direct, meaningful experiences that allow them to actively construct knowledge rather than passively receive it.

Why is experiential learning so important?

Experiential learning is critical to the overall growth and development of young children because it:

  • Supports holistic development: Physical, cognitive, social-emotional, and language skills grow in tandem through hands-on exploration.
  • Encourages critical thinking and problem-solving: Children learn to ask questions, test solutions, and think creatively.
  • Builds confidence and independence: By making choices and seeing the results of their actions, children gain a sense of mastery and self-efficacy.
  • Enhances retention and understanding: Children remember and apply what they learn when it’s tied to real-world experiences they find meaningful.
  • Accommodates all learning styles: Visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic learners all benefit from multisensory, immersive activities.
  • Fosters social skills: Collaborative projects teach communication, negotiation, and empathy.

Our new experiential classrooms will be dynamic, multisensory spaces carefully designed to support these outcomes. Materials will be accessible and inviting, encouraging open-ended exploration. Lighting, colors, and layouts will be intentionally planned to create a welcoming, stimulating, and safe environment for every child.

For more information about programs including registering your child, please contact Early Childhood Center Principal Kathy Schulte at 319-848-5296 or by email kschulte@crprairie.org.