Program Description
In September 2020, Wright-Locke Farm Conservancy will have a new offering for preschoolers called “Forest Friends,” a nature-immersive program for children ages 3 – 6 that takes place during the school year. Our small classes (capped at 8 students) will spend their day entirely outdoors, learning in and exploring nature year-round. Two teachers will facilitate the small group, creating a student-teacher ratio of 4:1 to ensure that your child is supported in their learning. Nature-based, forest programs differ from traditional schools in that learning is child-directed and emergent through unstructured play and exploration. While teachers will facilitate learning, topics and discoveries are based on students’ curiosity.
Click these links for videos about the history of forest-based learning programs and what forest education looks like!
Our Space
Wright-Locke Farm stretches over 20-acres and includes our working, organic farm fields, pastures, forest, ponds, and wetlands. The farm property abuts an additional 120 acres of conservation land that includes miles of hiking trails. This variety of habitats ensures endless exploration and discovery for our students!
Forest Friends will have its own designated space in the woods, which includes play areas, a diversity of natural spaces, and a lean-to equipped with an enclosed fire pit for warmth. If it is ever unsafe to be outdoors, we will use the classroom in our new All Seasons Barn for shelter. Otherwise, we will play outside, rain or shine!
“If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil.”
-Rachel Carson (1965)
