Education is about the whole child – brain and body – which includes knowledge, fostering a love of learning and social-emotional development.

The Waldorf sense of Rhythm describes the natural ebb and flow we let guide our days. There are periods of physical activity and rest, social interaction and solitude, and group activity and free-play. These are largely child-led. 

These cycles, called breathing in and breathing out, are natural to us. They’re also essential for genuine learning, as the child can actively pursue interests and follow a train of thought at length, and rest and reflect as needed. This is not allowed in most school settings. 

Nature also has a rhythm - seen in plants, animals, daylight, and seasons. At forest school, we have a heightened awareness of this, which leads to a sense of harmony and respect for our environment. Nature’s rhythms are celebrated, and we enjoy festivities on special days like the first day of spring!

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This all helps us feel grounded within ourselves and connected to nature and the people around us. 

Screens have an anti-learning impact. Frequent use leads to a reliance on instant gratification, making real-life seem tedious. Use of the mind – cognition, imagination, reflection – and manual tasks - exploring, crafts, building forts - are less inspired and less interesting. Motivation is hindered, as is the ability to get ‘in flow” (deep state of focus), making genuine learning difficult.

*We have a forest school phone for photo-documenting important moments and in case of an emergency. 

Education at forest school is about exploring and discovering interests to build upon. Learning is three-dimensional, engaging all the senses. It is about themed lessons, hands-on learning, and getting lost in play. 

Children learn best – and are happiest – when they’re fully engaged in an activity that they find immensely fascinating.

This state of deep focus, enjoyment, and full engagement in an activity is known as Flow. Also called being in the zone, it’s a sweet spot for genuine learning, as all sense of time is lost to mastering a skill. 

Children do this naturally at play. For them, play is learning.

When a child builds a dam in a stream, balances on a log, or counts the legs on a spider, they are fully immersed in a moment of flow. Their learning includes fine motor skills, balance, rudimentary math, engineering, science, how gravity works... And the experiences develop problem-solving, confidence, social awareness, and creativity. 

By allowing children to stay in this state—without unnecessary interruption, reward, or correction—we foster intrinsic motivation: the joy of doing something simply for its own sake.

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We work hard to create an environment conducive to learning and flow. Much of our teaching in early childhood occurs through framework – setting up Intentional Stations for children to discover and use their cognitive skills to build upon. 

Children move about freely, discovering these innovative activity areas – mud kitchens, craft tables, fort-building supplies – and use their ingenuity to imagine, create, build, collaborate. We offer gentle guidance as needed but avoid interrupting children in flow.  

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Our days are guided by a rhythm of connection, free-play, themed learning and projects, exploration, and reflection.Projects often inspire states of deep focus that lead naturally into free-play. An animal tracking lesson may turn into hours of wandering about with magnifying lens, making tracks with sticks, discussing prints from guidebooks while pretending to be animals. 

*Flow theory was developed by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and used as a founding principal in Positive Psychology.

Early childhood is a time to build autonomy and confidence, and to form respect and understanding for others. Developing healthy emotional regulation and social skills are essential for genuine happiness and learning.

“We are learning that emotions are the rules of multiple brain and body systems that are distributed over the whole person. We cannot separate emotion from cognition or cognition from the body,” Dr. John Ratey

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Emotions are a gate-keeper to learning. We cannot learn if we’re too excited, tired, angry, or sad. Children need space to run out excess energy, and to reflect. The forest provides the perfect setting. Teachers provide gentle guidance and use tools like puppet storytime and nature journals. Also, children at this age copy what they see; teachers model functional emotional patterns by naturally having periods of physical exertion, exploration, and quiet moments.

Children need the space to really play with one another! Developing imaginary play, talking over how to build a fort or a dam, inventing games – these are essential social-building activities. Teachers are careful to observe unobtrusively during these moments. No one standing over them, telling them how to play, how to think.

Teachers are engaged in “work-play” - while the children are busy at their own work-play, teachers observe and plan activities, but they also laugh, work together, and get dirty.  

Children see teachers gathering sticks, gardening, collaborating with one another - they see happy, productive people. People who know when they need to rest and reflect - to take a breath, play an instrument. People who care about one another, their environment, creating a magical space. Seeing a community of good, functional existence is essential for children.

Children will naturally come to be a part of helpful activities. They’ll offer to help rake leaves or put away crafts. Motivated by those around them, children will develop skills like prep and cleaning because it feels good.

Food and movement are woven into our rhythm of the day, supporting each child’s physical, emotional, and cognitive development. The growing body is also a growing brain—both need nutrients, sunlight, and movement to thrive.

As we grow, we will establish gardens and herb beds right here at the school—inviting children to plant, tend, harvest, and cook what they grow. Lunches around the fire and simple food preparation become part of our curriculum, connecting children to the natural origins of their nourishment.

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Our approach to nourishment draws inspiration from the ancestral, Weston A. Price diet. The focus is on real, whole foods: grass-fed and pasture-raised meats and eggs, fermented foods, organic vegetables and fruits – all gluten-free and without seed oils, preservatives, and sugar. Simply put, imagine the year 1900, but without the sugar.

We  would like to provide lunches and snacks; for now, families are encouraged to bring healthy, nutrient-dense lunches and snacks.

“Our physical movements can directly influence our ability to learn, think, and rememeber. Evidence is mounting that each person’s capacity to master new and remember old information is improved by biological changes in the brain brought on by new activity.” - Dr. John Ratey

Children are born to move, climb, balance, dig, and run. Physical play strengthens coordination, focus, and confidence—laying the foundation for academic and emotional growth. (It also allows children to get that excess energy out so mental focus is possible!)

Through “risky play”, children learn to trust their own bodies and develop sound judgment and resilience. Our space offers climbing and balance areas, forts, open fields, and endless forest. 

Your child will come home fulfilled—never bored, never with excess energy—having moved, played, learned, and grown in every sense.