Wauhatchie Forest Kindergarten
and 1st Grade
Registration is now open!
SCHEDULE
Wauhatchie School offers Full-Day Forest Kindergarten Program reaching Kindergarten and First Grade Tennessee State Standards.
Monday through friday
8:30-3:00
(The day to day schedule varies depending on weather, children’s needs, staffing, and children’s supported interests. The schedule below is our typical guide.)
8:30|Waldorf style story telling and morning meeting
8:50| Hike to first site and Sit Spots
9:15| Free play and exploration
10:40| Snack and morning discussion
11:00| Free play and exploration
12:15| Lunch and hike to new site
1:00| Curriculum Engagement (Forest Kindergarten style)
2:45| Snack and dismissal
All learning is seasonal and nature-based, and connected to the children’s daily outdoor discoveries. We incorporate best practices in Early Childhood Education including Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, and other inspired teaching philosophies, to create an holistic approach to education.
School Year: August through May with Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring Break, and other holidays aligned with the Hamilton County School Calendar
10% tuition discount for each additional child from the same family
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AND CURRICULUM
Friedrich Fröbel, a German educator, opened the world’s first outdoor “kindergartens” (German for “children’s gardens”) more than 150 years ago. He believed young children should spend their time playing in nature and away from so much emphasis on learning letters and numbers. Today, across Europe, thousands of these “forest kindergartens” have been established where children spend their entire class time outdoors year-round.
Forest Kindergarten is play-based and allows children to develop their skills and habits over time and at their own pace. Children learn naturally to be self-motivated, cooperative, respectful, grateful, and aware of their impact on the earth. Children experience outdoor adventures in all weather conditions. The Forest Kindergarten is made as safe as is reasonably possible, in order to facilitate children’s risk-taking. It provides a complete immersion in nature helping to build a child’s sense of place in the world.
Research strongly supports the idea that young children, particularly ages 2-6, learn best through direct experiences with the world around them. Being outdoors provides them with not only fresh air, but it also encourages imaginative play, creativity, hand-eye coordination and balance, physical strength and mental clarity. By tapping into their innate sense of wonder about nature, we can help children learn basic environmental and natural science principles, as well as respect for all living beings. Lessons flow organically from the natural rhythms of the seasons and from the children’s daily discoveries. There are no set lesson plans: each day is shaped by the animals, insects, birds, amphibians, weather and foraging that is encountered, providing spontaneous teachable moments.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Children must be able to follow directions carefully, show respect towards other children and their teachers, and be able to communicate effectively. Children must be toilet-proficient in order to attend. They must be able to know when they have to go to the bathroom and be able to communicate that.
Dressing Appropriately
Appropriate clothing for Forest Kindergarten is CRITICAL to the success of the program. “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing choices.”
Family Involvement
Weekend events will be planned at Wauhatchie School to provide a continuation of the FK experience for the entire family