About Us
The Basics
"Children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls."
-Erin Kenny
We’re better people - better versions of ourselves - when we slow down, get away from our screens and schedules, and relax. Young children’s lives today, like ours, tend to be structured and rushed. Wander & Root follows the forest kindergarten model, which promotes the resiliency-boosting, brain-building power of nature-immersed play for young children.
Our vision is simple: more children playing and learning outside. Our mission? Cultivate joy, resiliency, and learning through nature play.
Wander & Root is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity (NC nonprofit corporation EIN 86-3907912). It was organized in June 2021 under the leadership of its founder and Board of Directors.
Our "Classroom"
“And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home.”
-Wendell Berry
Through exploration, adventure and free play in nature, children learn together in small groups gaining knowledge of plants, animals, gardening, traditional skills, sustainability, and themselves. Year-round learning takes place on a 50-acre private homestead in rural Jackson Springs, NC. Learning has never been so fun!
When you arrive, you will see our basecamp and outdoor classroom, a place for us to store our personal items, fill our water bottles, and prepare for the day’s adventures. Beyond basecamp, lies the forested cove, with splashing stream, mud kitchen, trail system, nature ninja course, fort-building area, rolling hill, campfire circle, and more. Every day, our nature walks take us even further throughout the property to enjoy fields of young longleaf pines, the orchard, the garden, chicken coop, makerspace, and our renovated antique one-room school house turned process art studio. This, and more, is our classroom.
All Wander & Root programs occur outside, in all safe weather, rain or shine. During severe weather, we take shelter inside our basecamp or in our art studio barn.
Our "Curriculum"
Wander & Root is inspired by the forest kindergarten movement. The philosophy behind this education model is that people, especially children, deeply benefit from spending time outdoors, where they receive the stimulation and natural learning experiences we are all born to crave. Being outdoors provides not only fresh air and natural lighting, but also hands-on experiential learning. Nature educators at Wander & Root base "lessons" on what nature provides in the moment, with an emphasis on fostering mindfulness, empathy, sensory exploration, physical coordination, imaginative play, and emotional intelligence.