Contact UsENROLLAt Magnolia our number one goal is to foster the use of knowledge that is contextualized into the daily, lived, lives of our students. We are extremely good at guiding children into sophisticated ways of solving problems and thinking creatively, and we believe that anything else a child might need in life can be accessed through critical thinking (i.e. contextualized knowledge).
The forest is where we do most of our playing, learning, loving, laughing, and crying. The children are encouraged to use what they find in creative and imaginative ways. Having the freedom to use any of the materials how they want sets the stage for both dramatic and physical play. And as both leading minds in child development Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky assert, play is the tool a child uses to develop socially and cognitively.
Our curriculum can really be summed up with one tiny but grand word: Play. We believe that play for the young child integrates every discipline in a creative and fluid way. Language arts, science, math, music, history, social awareness, and self-exploration are only a few of the areas touched upon by a child at play.
We consider the development of our children a co-construction between the teachers, peers, and child, where they can be found hard at work shaping each other’s understanding of our world. Magnolia is a place where deep friendships are wrought, where guides and explorers go about the serious but joyful business of living life.
We have attempted to create a place where the children are jointly in control of the activities, arrangement, and use of the forest as their space. There is power in being in charge of your day and Magnolia provides children with this unique opportunity. Our goal is the fostering of problem-solving skills, risk-taking, thinking, creating, having wonderful ideas and pursuing those ideas to their fullest.
At Magnolia the child’s desires and needs are paramount, but the teacher’s role is not simply a supporting one. It is an active role between guide and explorer. Our goal at Magnolia is to be co-constructing the learning that guides and supports the work in progress that is your children’s cognitive development. We learn together, side by side, with our hands and our hearts.
"As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has—or ever will have—something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression."
— Mr. Rogers
We would love to meet you! Each campus welcomes new families for tours regularly so that you can see the forest school space, meet the site director, ask questions and get a taste for the Magnolia Forest Preschool experience!
Schedule VisitWe are happy to answer any questions you may have. Forest school can be the perfect fit for so many children because it is uniquely tailored to support their strengths and interests. We look forward to connecting with you and your child further, and we hope to see you in the forest soon!