Registration for the 2024/2025 school year is closed.

Please use the Niagara Region Child Care Registery. One Application. One List.

We’ll be contacting families by February 12th, in the order that they registered, if a spot is available.

Kindergarten Program

JK/SK (3.8 years up to 6 years). Our two-year nature-based full-time (M-F) and part-time (M-T) Kindergarten Program offers an enriched learning experience during the most formable years of a child’s life. Your child must be 4 years old by December 31st, 2023 to participate in the 2023/2024 school year.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

– Albert Einstein

Our innovative teachers are registered Early Childhood Educators, Certified Ontario Teachers, Environmental Educators, Forest School Practitioners, or qualified in their field. We are dedicated to delivering high-quality experiences through the application of Forest School and Ontario Curriculum. This offers a balanced learning approach through a mix of hands-on teacher-led and child-directed opportunities.

A day in the life…

Our days vary throughout the week with two afternoons (Mon/Wed) and one full day (Fri) immersed in Nature. During our time in the Forest, teacher-directed science workshops are offered, which are guided by place-based learning. Free play is an important aspect of our program and children are given time each day to explore and engage freely (in the Forest and at our home base). Throughout the week, teacher one-on-ones and mini-workshops including music & drama, foreign languages, geography, history, health & wellness, art, and S.T.E.A.M are offered. We regularly have experts from our community join us to share their skills and inspire us with new experiences. We value being connected to our community and encourage parent participation and volunteers to join us in our programs.

  • 2-year JK/SK program (3.8-6), full-time/part-time, nature-based curriculum
  • Hands-on teacher-led, child-directed opportunities, small class sizes (1:10)
  • The child’s interests, development level, and real-life happenings are focused on
  • 3 hours of outdoor learning and play to build skills daily
  • Program hours are 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, before/after-school care is available
Kindergarten

Please see a sample of our daily 2024/2025 schedule below:

Kindergarten Daily Schedule 2024-2025

Smaller Class Sizes

We offer small class ratios (1:10) which allows us to not only apply the Ontario Curriculum, but connect our learning to the world around us in an authentic way. What makes our program exemplary is our fluid approach to curriculum which allows us to tailor our weekly focus in line with the child’s interest, real-life happenings, and development level. We offer self-directed outdoor play opportunities that encourage positive social competence and emotional intelligence, problem-solving and executive functioning skills, as well as autonomy. Our Teacher directed sessions follow curriculum expectations and offer preparedness for deeper exploration in their surroundings.

The Outside Indoors

A minimum of 3 hours per day is spent outside unless dangerous weather prevents us. This integration with nature allows children to build resilience and self-preservation as they navigate how to keep themselves comfortable and safe in the changing environment. Our indoor classrooms are set up to utilize and encourage the use of natural materials and tools for investigation (microscopes, computers), and to bring the outside indoors through intentional provocations that build on their current skills.

Our day begins at 9:00 am and ends at 4:00 pm. Before and after-school care is available.