Welcome to Sunrise Nature Preschool
Enrollment Update
SNP is filled to capacity for the 2025-2026 school year.
If you're looking ahead to 2026-2027 enrollment, please feel free to fill out the contact form below indicating so and your name will be added to the list of families who would like to tour in early 2026.
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Thank you!
Mission
The mission of Sunrise Nature Preschool is to provide children with an outstanding early childhood experience that focuses on divergent thinking and creative problem solving while fostering self-confidence, strong social/emotional development, and a long-standing relationship with nature as our teacher and guide.
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Sunrise Nature Preschool will promote learning by:
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Developing divergent thinkers who are able to create many different solutions to any given problem
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Playing and learning outdoors every day unless the weather is dangerous
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Learning and understanding the Inquiry Learning Approach (learning through questioning, doing, and identifying how to get and make sense of the information around us)
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Preparing children for kindergarten in a setting that is developmentally appropriate and encouraging
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Utilizing art, music, and other creative outlets every day
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Posing open-ended questions and engaging with children's curiosity in a meaningful, cooperative way
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Celebrating the diverse array of students in our group and appreciating the many ways we are alike and different
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Experimenting, discovering, and encouraging the view that mistakes are welcomed and are an opportunity to learn, adapt and improve
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Focusing on the practice of respecting yourself, those around you, and nature
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Encouraging children to trust themselves and to listen to their body and intuition through the short practices of developmentally appropriate daily yoga/meditation
Why a Nature Preschool?
As the world around us continues to change and evolve, children need to be able to be constantly adapting as well. Nature, in its ever-changing ways, is an excellent teacher of creative problem solving. Additionally, outdoor exploration and play allows each student to develop physically in a unique way that indoor learning alone cannot. As children interact with one another, their teacher, and the environment around them, they will develop social and emotional skills that will last a lifetime.
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About Sunrise Nature Preschool
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Land Acknowledgement
At Sunrise Nature Preschool, we acknowledge with gratitude that the land we are using was originally home to the Wahpekute people. We are committed to continued learning regarding this history and believe it is essential for the children of SNP to know the land they are using is the occupied homelands of the Dakota Nation. We strive to honor and appreciate the traditions and contributions of the Wahpekute people as the original keepers of this land.
Please consider visiting https://native-land.ca to learn about the Indigenous history of the lands you are occupying.
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At Sunrise Nature Preschool, we follow the natural curiosity and interest of the children as well as the seasons of Minnesota as our learning guide.
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Topics we may explore include:
butterflies, bees, apples, farm, pumpkins, harvest, snow/ice, animal tracks/signs, plants/seeds/flowers/gardening, maple syruping, insects, ponds/lakes/streams, birds, spiders, reptiles/amphibians, trees, weather, woods, senses, animal care, and more!
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Our program is a half day preschool and class takes place from 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM.
Class takes place on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday.
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At SNP, we are able to serve children ages 3-5 who are fully toilet trained.
Children must turn three by September 1st in order to enroll for the school year.
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Sunrise Nature Prechool is nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood on just over one acre of land. We have an outdoor classroom as well as a charming forest area for all types of play and adventure! A very special part of our location is that we back up directly to the Lake Elmo Park Reserve which offers an additional 2,000+ acres of land for us to explore. We venture out to the park reserve as a class on a regular basis and enjoy all of the beauty, majesty and natural lessons it has to offer.
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We also have a fully devoted indoor preschool space filled with opportunities for art, movement, music, building, dramatic play, games, experimenting, reading, cooking/baking and more!
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The close and intimate feel of SNP is a huge part of what makes it the unique and outstanding early childhood experience it is. For this reason, enrollment capacity is capped at 8-10 students per class. Each day, photos will be shared of our adventures together so that families can follow along with the fun!
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Sunrise Nature Preschool is licensed by Washington County and also partakes in a food program for our daily snack time.
All snacks are gluten and dairy free.
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Our Daily Rhythm:
9:30 - Arrival
9:35 - Morning Meeting
9:40 - Discovery/Play
10:40 - Snack Time
10:55 - Story Time
11:05 - Group Excursion (hike/outdoor study/play)
11:50 - Closing Meeting/Gratitude Circle/Yoga
12:00 - Pickup/Goodbyes
Meet Ms. Jen
My name is Jen Sterner and I am extremely excited to welcome you to Sunrise Nature Preschool.
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This idea came to life for me from a combination of two things. The first was teaching kindergarten and pre-k in the public school system and feeling a strong need to encourage kids to learn and develop through play, nature, exploration and curiosity rather than traditional academic tasks alone. The second was my own son attending farm school for his preschool experience and being absolutely amazed by what he took away from the program. Having the opportunity to operate Sunrise Nature Preschool at my family's home property has truly been a dream come true!
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On a personal note, I have a very deep appreciation for nature and spend most of my spare time camping, hiking, kayaking, reading in my hammock, biking, swimming, going on walks with my dog (Cooper the Beagle mix), playing with my own children outdoors, and just about anything else that gets me outside. I would love to share my love of nature with you and your family!
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More about Ms. Jen:
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20 years of childcare and public school teaching experience
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Bachelor's Degree in early childhood and elementary education from Winona State University
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Master's Degree in education from Saint Mary's University
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Piloted and taught the pre-k in the elementary schools program in South Washington County
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Named Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce Elementary Educator of the Year
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Nominated for Washington County Provider of the Year (2023 & 2024)
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Meet Ms. Becky -
Volunteer Extraordinaire! ​
Ms. Becky is our wonderful volunteer! After 35 years of teaching in South Washington County Schools, she now spends some of her retired days with us out in nature! Ms. Becky loves being at SNP and seeing the preschoolers learning independence and problem solving skills. Her happy energy adds joy to our days and we are very lucky to have her! Ms. Becky is also our guest teacher if Ms. Jen ever needs to be gone for the day.​​​
Contact SNP
Interested in learning more about Sunrise Nature Preschool? Please feel free to get in touch, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
*PLEASE NOTE: It is not uncommon for replies to your contact form to land in your spam/junk folder. Please be sure to check there or reach out via text or phone call if you have not received a response within 48 hours.
Sunrise Nature Preschool
8875 27th Street N.
Lake Elmo, MN 55042, USA
651-592-7217