RCDS Partners with Sticks and Sprouts to Enhance Student Learning

For many adults, childhood memories are filled with the joys of making mud pies, jumping puddles, building forts, and playing outside until their sneakers were caked with dirt. But for today’s children, these experiences have become increasingly rare. In fact, only 1 in 5 American children play outside regularly, compared to more than 80% of their parents’ generation. Yet, research consistently highlights the benefits of outdoor play, revealing that children who spend more time outside have higher social emotional intelligence, greater executive functioning skills and are happier and healthier overall.

In response to this growing need to reconnect children with nature and instill critical 21^st century skills, The Rumson Country Day School is proud to announce an exciting new partnership with Sticks and Sprouts, a nature-based program that empowers children to learn and grow through outdoor play. Beginning on January 7th this collaboration will bring a weekly enrichment special to Nursery and Pre-K students, seamlessly integrating with the School’s curriculum.

“Sticks and Sprouts is a perfect complement to RCDS’s commitment to student-centered learning," said Head of Lower School Lea Prendergast. “As children grow, their natural curiosity can sometimes be stifled, but this approach nurtures that curiosity while supporting their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth. By encouraging exploration and allowing children to take risks in a safe environment, we lay the foundation for positive social and academic outcomes."
Led by a team of pediatric specialists and outdoor enthusiasts—including occupational therapists, early childhood educators, and speech and language pathologists—Sticks and Sprouts activities are carefully curated to support children’s development, blending guided experiences with opportunities for small group collaboration and free play in dynamic activity zones.

Ms. Prendergast says that the new partnership will provide RCDS’s youngest learners with even more opportunities to develop critical 21^st century skills like creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, and resilience. RCDS teachers will work with Sticks and Sprouts to seamlessly integrate its programming into their lesson plans and vice versa. Classroom lessons will be enhanced through the weekly enrichment sessions with Sticks and Sprouts, while the program’s outdoor experiences will reinforce and expand upon what students learn in the classroom.

The new Sticks and Sprouts program enters a rotation of specials classes that are already part of the Early Childhood Center’s comprehensive curriculum including Spanish, science, art, music, iLib (a combination of library and technology), mindfulness, and physical education. Next year, the Sticks and Sprouts partnership will expand to include RCDS’s new 2’s program, further extending these enriching opportunities to even younger learners.

MORE ABOUT STICKS AND SPROUTS:
Sticks & Sprouts has a main site in Fair Haven, New Jersey, where they run outdoor programming for children ages 1.5 to 8. Their mission is to cultivate a nurturing and inclusive learning environment that ignites children's natural curiosity and creativity. By embracing play-based learning, Sticks & Sprouts inspires children to explore, discover, and learn through active engagement with their surroundings. Their focus on holistic development ensures that children grow into confident, connected individuals equipped with the essential skills to thrive.