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Frolicking Ferns

Farm Preschool & Daycare

Admission & Tuition

Times: 8:30-3:30pm

Days: Tuesday-Thursday.

Location: Hazelton Road Cottage Grove, Oregon 97424

Tuition: $___per month.

FREE Tuition for families that qualify for Preschool Promise. Click here to learn more.

Apply Now

Why a nature school?

Nature schools are critical to the holistic development of young children.

Nature schools:

  • Build confidence and resilience
  • Support mental & social health
  • Improve academic engagement
  • Develop a passion for learning
  • Improve physical wellness
  • Boost creativity and critical thinking
  • Foster a connection to nature
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About Our School

Our school lives on a 1-acre homestead just outside of Cottage Grove. 

 

We have a class size of 15 students at a time and we are also home to bunnies, chickens, fiber goats, dogs, fish, frogs, birds, and wildlife.

 

Our outdoor learning environments and indoor learning environments complement each other and ensure that kids can have ample opportunities for play, learning, and being with nature outdoors hours everyday.

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Our Mission

We focus on giving students rich and varied experiences that will help them grow holistically, love learning, and be active participants in the world.

We spend hours outdoors every day and have fun in every kind of weather. We practice a lot of social-emotional skills.
 
Our school culture has a strong emphasis on building community. We practice active inclusivity daily, we have students of all ages in class together to benefit from having older & younger friends, and we collaborate on projects that everyone contributes to in their own way.
 
Academics: We teach language and math using Montessori materials and lesson plans. We also use Creative Curriculum and Second Step for holistic and social-emotional learning. Academic skills are embedded into projects and play, and language/math focus activities are provided to students with interest in further their learning. 

Flow of the day

  • 8:00 – Playroom and art time for before-care kids
  • 9:30 – Breakfast & morning meeting
  • 10:00 – Indoor and outdoor student-choice activities, animal tending
  • 12:30 -Lunch & rest
  • 1:30 – Group focus activities, often science or art projects
  • 2:00 – Outdoor play and gardening 
  • 2:45 – Review of the Day
  • 3:00 – Outdoor and indoor play opportunities for aftercare kids

Our wild & beautiful homestead

Our school takes place at our homestead in order to give young children the cozy, nurturing, and home-like environment that they need to feel safe and supported.
 
Our indoor classrooms include:
  • Playroom: Piano and music area; block corner, small-world play (dollhouse, trains, etc), pretend play (family, restaurant, etc), reading corner, seasonal hands-on exhibits, and toddler toys.
  • Art & Project Room: Free-access art cabinet and tray activities presented each day. Tray activities include Montessori language/math/sensory activities, puzzles, STEM toys, art projects, nature studies, and more.
  • Focus Room: Students can build Legos, pick out pretend-play costumes, use the gymnastics bar, and use special materials that require more focus and care.
  • Calm Room: We go here to practice emotional regulation techniques, hear oral storytelling, and watch science or music education videos.

Our play yards are set up for:

  • Playing pretend
  • Playing small world in the “fairy garden”
  • Building in the large sandbox
  • Helping with garden work
  • Taking care of animals
  • Running and games
  • Exploring nature
  • Biking (so many kids learn to ride pedal bikes with us!)
  • Relaxing and regulating
  • Doing experiments in a small wild stream
  • Outdoor tray activities

Meet the Teachers

We have a contagious passion that inspires students! We pride ourselves on being lifelong learners and dabblers in all things, so we can support students in a wide range of activities from ASL poetry to leathercrafting, from board game design to carpentry. 

Alyssum "Sprig Sparrowhawk" Smith-Carstens

Founder, Director, & Lead Teacher

  • B.A. in Social Studies Teaching with a focus on Political Science
  • Founder and Director of Frolicking Ferns Farm Preschool & Childcare since 2018
  • Instructor at Whole Earth Nature School (7 years)
  • Co-op Family Center Teacher (2 years)
  • Fluent in ASL

Also, hobby farmer, lover of adventure, and avid book reader!

Alicia "Foxfire" Rose

Teacher & Curriculum Specialist

  • B.A. in English and Anthropology
  • M.A. in Environmental Education
  • M.S. in Game-based Community Learning
  • Creator of Wildkin, a program used coast-to-coast for inspiring student engagement in outdoor programs
  • Lead Teacher at Frolicking Ferns 
  • Programs Director and Instructor at Whole Earth Nature School (2013-2022)
  • Living Earth School Instructor (2013)
  • Adams International Montessori School instructor (2012-2013)
Devin "Sprout" Hinshaw

Teacher & Homesteading Education Specialist

  • AAS in Sustainability Coordination & Resource Management
    Lane Community College, 2010-2012

  • Local Foods Teacher (6th grade elective)
    Lincoln Middle School 2017

  • Program Coordinator for Dirt to Dish Day Camps and Field & Forest Cooking Classes Branch Road Farm Non-Profit Cooking Collective (2013-2018)

  • Outdoor Preschool Teacher
    Little Mountain Preschool 2019-2020

  • Assistant Teacher
    Wandering Wolves Forest School (2024-Current)

  • I find joy in parenting, yoga, primitive cooking and adventures in the snow!
"You can’t bounce off the walls If there are no walls: outdoor schools make kids happier—and smarter"
David Sobel
"Nature presents you with so much amazing science, you can't help but be fascinated."
Cathy James
"If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn."
Ignacio Estrada
“There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony, and the beauty in nature.”
Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori
"This seems clear enough: When truly present in nature, we do use all our senses at the same time, which is the optimum state of learning."
Richard Louv
“The child who has felt a strong love for his surroundings and for all living creatures, who has discovered joy and enthusiasm in work, gives us reason to hope that humanity can develop in a new direction.”
Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori
“There’s a world of difference between insisting on someone’s doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it."
Fred Rogers
Play is the highest form of research.
Albert Einstein
“The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination. Our aim, therefore, is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core.”
Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori
"They're not just playing in nature, they are: Learning, creating, sensing, believing, relaxing, exploring, observing, wondering, connecting, discovering, appreciating, understanding, experimenting..."
Penny Whitehouse
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QUESTIONS?

For our parent handbook, to schedule a tour, or ask for more details, reach out!

 

Speak to our director Alyssa “Alyssum” Smith-Carstens at 541-743-1074.

or email frolickingferns@gmail.com