About Us | Newark Nature School

About the Owner

Meet Our Director & Owner

Savanna Graham has dedicated more than 10 years to the early childhood education field and is deeply passionate about providing high-quality care and learning experiences for young children. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Family and Human Services from Towson University and holds a DEEDS Administrator Certificate.

Savanna began her career as a classroom teacher before advancing into administrative leadership roles. Through her experience in multiple positions within early childhood education, she has developed a strong appreciation for the vital role each educator and staff member plays in supporting children’s growth and development.

As the founder of this nature-based school in Newark, Savanna’s vision is to provide children and families with exceptional care, education, and safety within a warm, welcoming, and nurturing environment. She believes that children learn best through hands-on exploration, discovery, and meaningful connections with the natural world.

As a mother of two young daughters, Savanna understands the importance of finding a childcare program that families can trust. She relates closely to the needs of parents and is committed to creating an environment where every child feels safe, secure, valued, and inspired to learn.

Her mission is to ensure that every child receives quality care while fostering confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong love of learning.

Savanna Graham

Director & Founder

B.S., Family & Human Services, Towson University
DEEDS Administrator Certificate
10+ years in early childhood education
Newark native and mother of two

Savanna answers the phone. Call or text (302) 461-7474 · Savanna@newarknatureschool.org

Meet the Director flyer (PDF)

About the Center

About Newark Nature School

Founded in fall 2026 by Savanna Graham, Newark Nature School was created with a vision of providing children with meaningful learning experiences through nature, exploration, and play. Our mission is to:

“Give children the independence to learn through play, exploration, and discovery through the nature around them.”

At Newark Nature School, we embrace the Reggio Emilia Approach to learning, which recognizes children as capable, curious, and active participants in their own education. We believe that children learn best when they are given opportunities to explore their interests, ask questions, solve problems, and discover the world around them.

Nature serves as an extension of our classroom, encouraging hands-on experiences that foster creativity, critical thinking, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning. A walk outside might turn into gathering leaves or rocks, then coming back in to look closely at their shapes, colors, and textures, trace them, sort them, or sketch what they found. Through child-led exploration like this, we create an environment where children feel empowered to become independent learners.

Outside, the children have a huge open field shaded by an old beech tree, with sand, sensory bins, and water tables for hands-on play. This spring, we’re expanding our outdoor garden so children can grow their own vegetables from seed to harvest, then help wash, prepare, and eat what they grew. It’s a hands-on look at where food actually comes from, straight from the earth to the table. Just outside the garden is our little library, so a good book is never far away.

Raised vegetable garden beds at Newark Nature School in Newark, DE

Our garden beds, ready for spring planting. See our outdoor play field, garden, and little library

As educators, we believe one of the greatest gifts we can give children is independence. By nurturing their natural curiosity and providing opportunities for discovery, we help build the skills, confidence, and resilience they need to thrive both in school and in life.

Our license covers up to 80 children across five classrooms: infants (12 weeks through 12 months), toddlers, two-year-olds, the 3s Room, and the 4s Room. Class sizes stay within Delaware OCCL ratios. Our home is the historic block at 292 W Main Street, between the Newark Country Club’s tree line and First Presbyterian’s playground.

Newark Nature School building exterior at 292 W Main St, Newark, DE 19711

What makes us different

Brightwheel Experience Curriculum. Academic content for literacy, math, science, social-emotional, art, and music. Each week picks up a nature theme on top.
Assessments and conferences. Week-one developmental baseline plus parent-teacher conferences every six months.
Small, locally owned. One location, one director, one phone number.
Pre-K park field trips. Our Pre-K class takes walking field trips to local parks around downtown Newark.
UD-friendly. Our calendar follows UD’s breaks. Staff and faculty get 10% off weekly tuition.
Whole foods, made on-site. Breakfast and afternoon snack come out of our kitchen with real ingredients, not a microwave tray. Lunch is family-packed.
Garden to table. Starting this spring, kids grow vegetables from seed in our expanded outdoor garden, then help harvest and prepare them in the kitchen.
Room to run. A huge open field under an old beech tree, with sand, sensory bins, water tables, and a little library just outside the garden.
Family events and conferences. Backyard BBQs, themed classroom parties, a monthly calendar that goes home, and teacher conferences twice a year.

Our promise to your family

Who we are, and what you can count on

We’re a local family running a local school. We want to be part of your child’s growth, and we want to be a place Newark is proud to have on Main Street.

We actually talk to you
Our teachers and director say hi at drop-off and tell you how the day went at pickup. Nobody here hands you a backpack and walks away.

Clean kids at pickup
When you pick up your child, they’ll be clean. Hands and face washed, nose wiped, and changed if their clothes got messy.

Babies don’t sit in a bouncer all day
Our babies get held, played with, and moved around. They get tummy time, floor time, and walks outside.

You know exactly who to talk to
Savanna owns the school and she’s here every day. If something’s not right, tell her and we’ll fix it ASAP.

Why we started Newark Nature School

We’re a working family, just like yours. When our daughter went to a big corporate daycare, she didn’t have a name tag on her cubby for weeks. We brought it up with her teacher every day, then the director, then the owner. It finally got done when we told them we’d print one and hang it up ourselves.

We never want a family to feel like their kid is just another cog in the machine. If something is bugging you, tell us and we’ll take care of it ASAP.

Call Savanna

(302) 461-7474 goes right to Savanna’s desk

Our Staff

The people who’ll know your child

We’re growing our teaching team. Every educator we bring on is CPR and First Aid certified, background-checked, and trained in the Brightwheel curriculum. Below is who’s here on Day One.

Lead Teachers

Roles open

We’re interviewing lead teachers for each age band. Early-childhood experience or the right energy and willingness to learn.

Apply now

Kitchen & Operations

Roles open

We make breakfast and afternoon snack on-site (lunch is family-packed). Looking for someone who cares about a tray of pear slices as much as a meeting agenda.

Apply now

Curriculum

Brightwheel Experience Curriculum, with a nature lens.

Our daily lessons come from the Brightwheel Experience Curriculum, a program built by early-childhood educators and aligned with state foundations. It covers early literacy, math, science, social-emotional, art, music, and motor skills. Each week, we pick a nature theme and pull examples and activities from that into the lessons. Outdoor time is part of every day, but the classroom learning comes first.

Infants & Toddlers

12 wks – 24 months · Brightwheel infant/toddler track

Predictable feed and nap rhythms, daily reading and music time, sensory exploration, and one-on-one language modeling. Outdoor stroller walks on warm-weather days under shade.

Two-Year-Olds

24 – 36 months · Brightwheel 2-yr track

Vocabulary growth, color and shape recognition, blocks, dramatic play, beginning self-help skills, and storytime. We follow your family’s lead on toilet learning, no pressure and no timeline but the one that works at home.

3s Room (3 yrs)

Brightwheel preschool track

Letter and sound recognition, number sense, beginning writing, science investigations, art, and music. We tie each week’s lessons to a nature theme, plus the community events and first-responder visits the whole school takes part in.

4s Room (4 – 5 yrs)

Brightwheel pre-K track · Kindergarten-ready

Reading readiness, sound-letter mapping, beginning writing, number sense to 20, and the social skills to walk confidently into Newark Charter, Christina School District, Red Clay School District, Colonial School District, or Cecil County kindergartens. Families head into kindergarten registration with a full portfolio of their child’s work in hand.

Family Connection

Stay close to your child’s day.

A good daycare is more than a drop-off spot. Here’s how we keep families close to what’s happening in the classroom and connected to each other.

Week-one assessment

Your child’s teacher completes an age-appropriate developmental assessment in their first week with us. That’s our baseline for tracking progress over time.

Conferences every 6 months

Twice a year you’ll meet one-on-one with your child’s teacher to walk through their assessment, see their portfolio, and talk about what’s next.

Center events

Fall festival, winter recital, art gallery museum night, make-and-take science night, and summer movie nights.

Monthly calendar

Posted outside our front door and sent home with your child each month. Includes classroom themes, dress-up days, special events, and any parent activities so nothing sneaks up on you.

Talk to Savanna