2024-2025 Nature School

Who?

Wander & Root Nature School is a dynamic, inspiring, play-based, nature immersion program designed for children ages 4 to 9. 

We welcome families who traditionally school, homeschool, wildschool, unschool and everything in between. All children benefit from their time here in nature. We look forward to being a part of their journey!

Where?

Year-round learning takes place on a 50-acre private homestead in rural Jackson Springs, NC.  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. Learning has never been so fun! 

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.

When?

Nature School in 2024-2025 will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. You may enroll your child for 1 or 2 days per week. Important dates include:

August 27, 2024: First Day of School

October 1 and 3, 2023: Closed for Fall Break

November 28, 2024: Closed for Thanksgiving

December 24, 2024 - January 2, 2025: Closed for Winter Break

Specific Dates To-Be-Determined: Closed for Spring Break

May 29, 2025: Last Day of School

How much?

Payment is due in advance on a monthly basis. A deposit of the first month's tuition is required to reserve your space in the program.* 

Tuition Rates

1 day per week =  $160 a month

2 days per week = $300 a month

*Limited scholarships are available. Please indicate in your interest form that you would like to be considered for a tuition scholarship. All information provided is confidential.  Priority is given to families that reside in Eagle Springs or Jackson Springs; and/or are experiencing family challenges; and/or are eligible for Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Free or Reduced Price School Lunch, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

What do parents do?

It's not just your child enrolling; it's the whole family! We welcome ongoing parent participation, questions, and feedback. Opportunities for the whole family to play and learn in nature will be held throughout the year, including special events for students’ families (including siblings, grandparents, and other special caregivers) and field trips. 

You are also welcome to sign up as a parent volunteer at Nature School. All parent volunteers must pass a criminal history check and schedule their volunteer days in advance.

Our Model

Our program follows the principles of the forest kindergarten movement, and is heavily influenced by The Cedarsong Way methodology:

• Low teacher to student ratios: We maintain a 1:7 (or lower) ratio of staff to students. This is 1/3 the number of children in a typical classroom!

• All-weather nature immersion time every day: We find joy and opportunities for learning in all (safe) weather conditions. When it is unsafe to be outside, students will play and learn in our school barn.

• Child-inspired emergent curriculum: Deep learning takes place when children are engaged in something that interests them and is relevant to them. There is no whole-room, one-size-fits-all instruction here!

• Inquiry-based teaching: Educators support and guide learners to make conclusions on their own. As a result, children build their resilience, confidence, and problem-solving skills.

• Place-based education: We foster learning in a natural environment that connects children to local flora, fauna, people, places, and culture. 

• Compassion-scaffolding: Educators guide and coach children toward being respectful, mindful, aware of and empathetic towards all of nature’s living beings.

Daily Rhythm

Our days are child-led, nature-immersed, engaging, brain-boosting, and FUN. Mother Nature always has the final say, but generally, our days will follow this routine: 

• Morning circle with songs, mindfulness practice, and a lesson based on weekly themes covering a variety of topics including nature appreciation, species identification, full moons, gardening, and wilderness survival skills 

• Small group work

• Nature walk

• Lunch with friends

• Forest free play 

• Nature journals

• Goodbye drum circle

Child Development

Wander & Root Nature School is designed to build a variety of target skills and appeal to different learning styles. By constantly providing a menu of options for engaging our students, everyone finds something that they excel at and something at which they can strive to do better. 

• Practical Skills: Caring for chickens, using gardening tools, harvesting crops, preserving food, nature stewardship  

• Gross Motor Skills: Running games, hiking, dancing, digging, fort building

• Fine Motor Skills: Drawing, tracing, measuring, seed planting

• Social-Emotional Awareness: Group/partner activities, animal care, practicing listening, kindness and respect, sharing

• Literacy and Language: Stories, imaginative play, rhyming, singing

• Reasoning and Science: Experiments, exploration, gardening, species identification, reflection

• Creative Thinking: Creating art and music, nature journaling, dramatic play, free-play

Enrollment

Children will get dirty, be outside for the majority of the learning time in many kinds of weather, and engage in supervised, safe play in the big outdoors. Want to make sure this is a good fit for your child and family? Please contact us to schedule a tour!

Interest Form

Interest forms are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Spaces are limited and early submission is highly recommended. 

Enrollment Process

Interest forms are reviewed and families that best fit our enrollment considerations will be notified and invited to come tour Wander & Root. Considerations for each annual cohort of students include: priority enrollment for current/previous students and their siblings; balance of preschool and school-aged children; scholarship spaces.

If it is agreed upon by both parties that Wander & Root is a great fit, the family will be offered an invitation to attend Nature School for 1 or 2 days per week. Next steps include reading our parent handbook, completing enrollment forms, and payment of deposit (first month's tuition).