Gonzales Co-op Preschool prides itself on our inviting indoor and outdoor classrooms.

Our Natural Playground is prized in Victoria for being a well-planned outdoor classroom. The children use their imaginations to explore all aspects of the space from the shady quiet corners, down the curving paths, to the bright open spaces.

Our playground is full of a wide variety of natural invitations: trees, shrubs, plants, wood, water, sand, dirt, and grass. Children’s senses are stimulated as they touch, feel and collect. Their gross motor skills are challenged as they lift, haul and balance.

Natural playgrounds are invitational, not prescriptive, so children are more likely to use pro-social behaviour to cooperate and problem solve with each other and act out the stories they create. Children learn to respect and form relationships with the birds in the trees, the bugs in the logs, and the worms in the dirt, allowing for endless opportunities to care for their environment. At Gonzales Preschool, we are committed to ensuring at least half our day is spent outside to allow for all of these wonderful opportunities.

The indoor classroom is a warm, bright, and colourful place to learn. With plenty of varied play spaces throughout, there’s room for everyone to get down to the important business of play. Play area’s are set-up with new invitations to explore and experience with something new to explore and experience. Our art tables, science displays, craft centres and office nook inspire creativity. Circle time in the reading corner, playing in the toy kitchen/house, and stretching out with the collaborative toys on bright carpets makes for easy imaginative play.

Ready for creative play

Our Natural Playground

“Natural Playgrounds should be the standard for all our playgrounds. They truly connect children with nature through play and are a sort of classroom for the next generation of environmental stewards.”   —Dr. David Suzuki