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Participants included 82 nature-based preschool children (Mage=47.75 months) and 58 non-nature preschool children (Mage=50.16 months). Nature-based classrooms spent about two additional hours outside on average. Both groups showed similar growth in early literacy and some executive function components (working memory, inhibitory control), while other executive function aspects, including behavioral self-regulation, grew more for non-nature attendees.",{"@graph":69,"@context":121},[70,84,104],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/investigating-nature-based-preschoolers-gains-in-early-literacy-and-select-executive-function-skills-article/590357/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":98,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":99,"interactionStatistic":100},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/investigating-nature-based-preschoolers-gains-in-early-literacy-and-select-executive-function-skills-article/590357.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Pentious","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":101,"interactionType":102,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":103},"ViewAction",{"@type":105,"mainEntity":106},"FAQPage",[107,113,117],{"name":108,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":110},"How was school readiness assessed in this study?","Question",{"text":111,"@type":112},"The study directly assessed early literacy and executive function skills in children in fall and spring of one school year.","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"What difference did nature-based classrooms show in time spent outdoors?",{"text":116,"@type":112},"Nature-based classrooms spent, on average, about two more hours outside than non-nature classrooms.",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"Which executive function skills developed similarly across both settings?",{"text":120,"@type":112},"Children in both settings developed early literacy skills and some executive function components at similar rates, including working memory and inhibitory control.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},590357,1792081762,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":138,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},1374404730887,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","AERA Open  \nJanuary-December 2025, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 1–17 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584251362714  \nArticle reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2025. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero)  \nInvestigating Nature-based Preschoolers Gains in Early Literacy and  \nSelect Executive Function Skills  \nArianna E. Pikus  \nTeaching, Learning, and Culture, Texas A&M University  \nLori E. Skibbe  \nHuman Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University  \nRachel A. Larimore  \nSamara Early Learning  \nDavid Sobel  \nAntioch University New England  \nNature-based education has grown exponentially throughout the United States. However, it has yet to be determined to what extent these programs are preparing children for formal schooling in kindergarten and beyond. This study directly assessed school readiness (i.e., early literacy and executive function) skills of children who attended a nature-based preschool (n = 82; Mage = 47.75 months) in comparison to children in a non-nature preschool setting (n = 58; Mage = 50.16 months) in the fall and spring of one school year. Nature-based classrooms were shown to spend, on average, two hours more outside than thenon-nature classrooms. Children at both locations developed skills in early literacy and some aspects of executive function (e.g., working memory and inhibitory control) at similar rates. Other aspects of executive function, such as behavioral selfregulation, were associated with greater growth for children attending non-nature classrooms. This study suggests highquality nature-based preschools can be successful at promoting many areas of children’s school readiness but may need to be more intentional when supporting the development of some aspects of executive function.  \nKeywords: ANOVA/MANOVA, cognitive processes/development, early childhood, learning environments, literacy, naturebased, nature-based education, nature preschool, outdoor education, outdoor learning, preschool  \nNature-based education is a growing educational practice throughout the United States due to the numerous socioemotional and physical benefits for children from learning outdoors (Bartlett, 1996; Fjørtoft, 2001; McCurdy et al., 2010) . From 2008 to 2017, the number of nature-based early childhood programs in the U.S. has increased from 20 to over 250 (Merrick, 2016; North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), 2017), with this number doubling to over 585 nature-based early childhood programs in 2020 (NAAEE, 2020) . In addition, recent global health issues have led parents, teachers, and administrators to search for safe and in-person options to schooling (InsideOutside, 2020), particularly for young children. Proponents of nature-based education argue that the outdoors can be used as an effective classroom setting, but that nature should also be integrated into the daily curriculum to promote  \nlearning (Sobel, 2016) . This study investigates whether a nature-based approach to learning supports the development of the academic and socioemotional skills children need tobe prepared for kindergarten.  \nNature-based education includes a number of curricular approaches, including programs that go by the following names: nature-based preschools, forest kindergartens, and forest schools. Although programs vary in the amount of time spent outside (Larimore, 2016), they all incorporate opportunities for children to have frequent experiences with nature, which is thought to support their development and build a lasting connection to nature. The current study focuses specifically on nature-based preschools. As of 2023, nature-based preschools could be found in more than 45 states in the United States. Despite the substantial increase in nature-based programs, most information about the  \nCreative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the term","cbCaiaVTomNCd2eR","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaVTomNCd2eR","pdf",448531,17,"English","# Introduction\n# Nature-Based Classrooms\n## Nature-based Preschool Models\n## Program Characteristics","[{\"question\":\"How was school readiness assessed in this study?\",\"answer\":\"The study directly assessed early literacy and executive function skills in children in fall and spring of one school year.\"},{\"question\":\"What difference did nature-based classrooms show in time spent outdoors?\",\"answer\":\"Nature-based classrooms spent, on average, about two more hours outside than non-nature classrooms.\"},{\"question\":\"Which executive function skills developed similarly across both settings?\",\"answer\":\"Children in both settings developed early literacy skills and some executive function components at similar rates, including working memory and inhibitory control.\"}]","Investigating Nature-based Preschoolers Gains in Early Literacy and Select Executive Function Skills - Article | PDF",1792069418,43]