Teaching a preschooler math and science is a daunting task, but by using the resources at hand outdoors, it can be done.

That’s the message Play Outside NC, a pilot program focusing early childhood education in Beaufort County and beyond, has been trying to get across for the past year.

The program may be coming to a close in April, but it’s left county educators and parents with the tools to foster science and math-related learning for their children, just by using the outdoors.

Debra Torrence, director of the North Carolina Institute for Child Development Professionals and a Bath resident, said this organization, along with UNC-TV, developed Play Outside NC last year to give ideas and tools for teaching specifically preschool-age children.

“The goal of Play Outside NC is to increase access to high-quality training for early educators that will support increasing their knowledge and skills in supporting young children in developing their early math and science skills,” she said in an email.

According to Torrence, the project includes: three PBS segments airing this spring on how adults can support their children’s education in math and science, one of which will include an appearance from Bath resident Delaney Lewis as a youth ambassador; an online library of free resources and ideas; Connection Cards at playground sites in Bath and Belhaven; and CEU training for educators on science and math education in the outdoors.

Funded by PNC Foundation’s Grow Up Great initiative, the project has also opened the door to much collaboration at the state and local levels, according to Torrence. Some of the county partners include Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children, Beaufort County Community College and BMH Library, as well as UNC-TV and the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences at the state level, Torrence said.

“The project has been a truly fantastic collaborative of state and local partners that ensured the design that seeks sustainability of effort in the community is happening, in this case in Beaufort County,” she said.

Forty educators were also able to participate in a five-hour training program at Goose Creek State Park on Feb. 6, with presentations from representatives of the Play Outside NC partners.

Hannah Easley, director of BMH Library, was one of the presenters, and she said she focused on how to properly read to a preschool-age child.

She said she covered anything from the types of books to choose, to how to make a book a conversation piece, to how to properly hold a book to not block a child’s line of sight.

“It does seem really simple, but what they’re really doing is developing print awareness, and reading aloud is more than just a story,” Easley said.

The excitement of the educators after the training was apparent, according to Easley.

At the beginning, when asked if they were excited about math and science-related learning, none of the educators raised their hands — showing the very disconnect Play Outside NC is trying to correct.

“At the end of the day…everybody in the classroom raised their hands,” Easley said. “The energy and atmosphere at that training was really great.”