Joe Hu/Town Crier Montecito School has focused on establishing a meaningful relationship between its students and nature this year.

Montecito School of Los Altos, founded in 1961 and one of the largest private preschools in Northern California, has refocused its efforts to make a stronger connection between children and nature.

Beginning this year, Erin Matthews Mobley, daughter of Montecito co-founders Jim and Molly Matthews, became the fifth director of the preschool. Mobley said she is passionate about continuing her family’s devotion to early education. Like her mother and father before her, Mobley said, she is committed to sharing the Grant Road property and Montecito’s new nature-based curriculum with generations of young children in the Bay Area.

Inspired by Montecito’s historical focus on nature and by author Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” (Algonquin Books, 2005), Mobley started the school year by announcing an emphasis on a more nature-oriented, environmentally based curriculum.

Mobley said that, traditionally, the Montecito facility has offered children access to schoolyard habitats, barnyard animals and mature trees. For today’s generation, she said, it is vital to establish a meaningful bond between nature and children at an early age.

She required Montecito staff to read Louv’s book, and many of the teachers attended his recent local speaking engagement, “Leave No Child Inside.” In addition to a developmentally based curriculum, Mobley said she also emphasizes the “Four R’s” at Montecito: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Ride. The staff brainstormed new curriculum enrichment ideas using nature and the Four R’s.

Mobley offered Montecito’s long-held philosophy: “We believe the bond between humans, animals and nature begins in childhood. We dedicate this magnificent piece of land, with its sprawling oak trees, open space and gentle animals, to those generations of young children to explore, cherish and enjoy.”

She said staff is “committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment for our preschool community, honoring the worth and dignity of each child, as well as promoting a sense of discovery and a joy of learning through age-appropriate, enriching experiences.”

As an integral part of the philosophy, Mobley said, Montecito’s curriculum encourages self-esteem, self-discipline and control, and good social, listening and verbal skills. Large- and small-motor activities, art, music, science, and developing pre-writing, reading and math skills are an integral part of the daily routine at Montecito, she added.

“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to age 6,” Mobley said.

Montecito School has scheduled an open house 1-3 p.m. Sunday.

Montecito School is located at 1468 Grant Road in Los Altos. For more information, call 968-5957 or visit www.montecitoschool.com.