Fort Worth child care center among Texas programs receiving millions from PNC Foundation
A child care center in Fort Worth is among multiple facilities in North Texas receiving millions of dollars in investment from the PNC Foundation for outdoor play.
The foundation announced on Thursday its $5.2-million investment toward creating and improving high-quality, nature-based outdoor learning environments for toddlers and preschoolers through a grant pool across its markets, according to a news release. Child Care Associates, one of the largest child development programs in North Texas, will receive funding for three of its campuses. Its Gragg Child Development Center will house the first project.
The center at 2400 E. First St. in the United Riverside neighborhood — among seven child care facilities expected to open by the end of 2025 — will include two outdoor learning areas: one for infants and toddlers and one for preschool ages, according to the foundation. The infant and toddler area will have nine behavioral settings and “extensive sensory experiences, with changing typography for optimal motor and sensory development.” The preschool area will have an observation deck with telescopes to gaze at Fort Worth, a garden space with fruit trees and 12 behavioral settings “with a central focus on a unique and interconnected waterplay/mud kitchen/loose parts zone.”
Through water play, children can learn about concepts such as volume, density and buoyancy when pouring water into different containers while also building fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. A mud kitchen allows children to practice cooking outdoors using natural, outdoor materials. Loose parts are natural or synthetic materials, such as rocks or digging tools, that can be moved, combined, taken apart or put back together in multiple ways, encouraging open-ended learning.
It’s unclear which other Child Care Associates campuses will receive this funding.
“PNC stands as a national frontrunner in early learning investment, and we are ecstatic to be the beneficiaries of their local support,” said Kara Waddell, president and CEO of Child Care Associates.
The investment stems from the 20th anniversary of PNC’s Grow Up Great initiative, focusing on preparing children from birth through age 5 for academic and life success. Through the initiative, an additional $5 million is being funneled through DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that allows people to donate directly to public school classrooms. PNC is matching donations to pre-K and Head Start teacher requests related to outdoor learning in its markets.
“PNC has been in the early childhood education space for 20 years, focused on supporting the high-quality early education that is the foundation of a bright future for young children,” said Sally McCrady, president and chair of the PNC Foundation. “For the milestone anniversary of PNC Grow Up Great, we’re thrilled to help provide young children across our communities with outdoor spaces that can help spark their natural sense of wonder and curiosity.”
A survey published on Wednesday by the National Institute for Early Education Research, which was funded by PNC Foundation, found that 49% of children ages 3-5 are playing outside less than once a day. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, outdoor play is essential to a child’s cognitive, social and emotional development and can improve their sleep and physical and mental health.
