On a wet December afternoon, Emma Donnelly leads a class of 4- and 5-year-olds down a muddy path at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The kids jump into puddles, climb trees and roll in dirt before running up a hill overlooking a lake where they spot a small animal swimming.
“What’s that swimming in the water over there?” Donnelly says to her class. “Is that an otter or maybe a muskrat?”
Soon, everyone is holding a pair of binoculars to better examine the critter. The outdoor adventure isn’t a field trip for these preschoolers but part of their normal routine. The children are enrolled in the Chicago Botanic Garden Nature Preschool and spend most of the day outside.
