Magnolia Waldkinder

Our mission: to empower children

Waldkinder at Magnolia is much like our preschool except that the children are older (ages 4-6, or 5-8). Translated “forest children”, these older children are given the opportunity for constructive and socio-dramatic play.  Executive function skills such as impulse and emotional control, flexible thinking, organization, and planning are honed as the children learn to work together with their peers deciding where to go in the forest and planning how they will spend their time together.  Our program is based on the Danish forest school pedagogy which supports the children in four learning processes: ‘to be able to’, ‘to experience’, ‘to enjoy’, and ‘to understand’.

Lynnwood Class

2023-2024, Ages 4-6 SCHEDULE TOUR
Location:
Lynndale Park, Lynnwood, WA
Mon/Wed, 1:45-4:00 pm
Tuition: $230/month
Registration & Materials fee due at time of registration.

Contact Director: Lauren, lauren@magnoliaforestpreschool.com

Poulsbo Class

2023-2024, Ages 5-8 SCHEDULE TOUR
Location:
Sherman Hill Campus, 2558 Sherman Hill Rd NW, Poulsbo, WA
Mon/Wed, 9:00-1:00 pm
Sept 11, 2023 - June 14, 2024
Tuition: $336/month
Registration & Materials fee due at time of registration.

Contact Director: Angela Reed, angela@magnoliaforestpreschool.com

Teachers

Lauren Black

Waldkinder Director (Lynnwood)

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Lauren Black

Waldkinder Director (Lynnwood)

Lauren graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Environmental Sustainability in 2016. Soon after, she moved to California to work in Outdoor Education as a Naturalist Intern. She quickly discovered the joy of teaching and working outside. After two years in residential outdoor education, she moved to Fresno and obtained her Multi-Subject Teaching Credential. Lauren taught 4th grade for a year before returning to outdoor education with a local Land Trust. While there, she had the opportunity to design the first nature-based preschool enrichment program in Fresno.


Through her work co-creating the preschool with her students and staff, Lauren fell more in love with the magic of place-based, child-led learning. She believes that all people are naturally curious, capable, and full of potential. By building connections with one another and outdoor spaces, children (and adults!) can become empowered stewards of their community and the Earth as a whole. Lauren chose to move to Washington to continue pursuing the wonderful world of forest education with an inspiring community of mentors.


In her free time, Lauren loves reading, playing board games, hiking, kayaking, birding, and spending time with her three dogs. She enjoys engaging her senses through nature journaling, painting, yoga, mindfulness, feeling patches of soft moss, and smelling trees. Lauren is excited to immerse herself into the wonders of the Pacific Northwest.

Gabriela Carter

Assistant Site Director (Lynnwood)

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Gabriela Carter

Assistant Site Director (Lynnwood)

Gabby has been working in outdoor education for 6.5 years.  She has taught all ages through BSA scout programs. During her time with BSA she has taught wilderness survival, first aid, hiking, leather work, composite materials/arts and crafts, knots, and rock climbing. In addition to her Texas BSA certification as a High Ropes/COPE director, Gabby has spent time traveling to different states sharing her outdoor skills with Scouts BSA National Camp School.

Gabby has a great love for the outdoors and creating safe spaces for kids to be themselves while learning about all that nature has to offer. Gabby started her outdoor education career as a childcare assistant for ages 0-8 at Forest Home in CA. She then continued on to become a lifeguard,counselor, and commissioner of a camp in Lake Arrowhead CA. In 2021-2022, Gabby taught with Magnolia at the Pine Ridge campus in Edmonds. In 2022-2023, Gabby had the opportunity to visit over 16 different countries while working abroad with Disney in Europe. She is extremely excited to return to Magnolia and can’t wait to see what great things this year will hold!

She spends her time hiking, painting, reading, and visiting the occasional cat cafe! Gabby is excited to explore and learn with the wonderful kids at Magnolia Forest Preschool.

Angela Reed

Waldkinder Director (Poulsbo)

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The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

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How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Angela Reed

Waldkinder Director (Poulsbo)

Angela graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Zoology and a music minor. Her years in veterinary medicine and wildlife rehabilitation satisfied her love of science, nature and caretaking. When she accepted a teaching position in her daughter’s toddler class, she fell in love with early childhood education.

Angela started as a “Science Days” docent at Magnolia, and felt inspired by the children’s imagination and cooperation. She values making connections with the kids and watching them have “light bulb” moments.

Her spare time is spent paddleboarding, playing music, making amigurumi, gardening and of course, playing outside with her family. Angela is looking forward to more discoveries in the forest with the children of Magnolia.

Megan Lennox

Waldkinder Assistant Director (Poulsbo), Preschool Teacher

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The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

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How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Megan Lennox

Waldkinder Assistant Director (Poulsbo), Preschool Teacher

Growing up in western Massachusetts, Megan spent her childhood exploring and playing outside. As she grew up, her love of the outdoors was matched only by her love of Spanish language and culture. After high school, she took a gap year to study in Zaragoza, Spain. She returned home to continue her Spanish studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. It was during this time, she met her husband, a United States Navy Submariner. Together they have two children and have lived in Pearl Harbor, HI, Groton, CT and now Kitsap County, WA.

Megan has always enjoyed working with children and seeing the world through their curious eyes. She has worked as a military spouse support group president, planning activities for families of deployed service members as well as a soccer coach for kids ages 2.5-6 years old.

As a mother to two children who attended Magnolia Forest Preschool, Megan saw how profoundly Magnolia’s principles helped foster self-confidence as well as social and emotional growth in her own children. As a teacher, she looks forward to spending her days in the forest, facilitating play and supporting children as they grow and learn about themselves, others and nature. She likes to spend her free time adventuring outside, baking and crafting with her kids.

Program Director

Laura Tetrick

Program Director
laura@magnoliaforestpreschool.com

Laura grew up in Poulsbo. She received her bachelor's degree in Geology from Whitman College. She moved back to this area because of how much she loves the local environment. She has worked at various camps and has taught outdoor environmental education, team building and ropes course classes. She also coached a local high school swim team. Most recently she has worked as a land surveyor which has given her the wonderful opportunity of seeing many hidden gems in Kitsap County.

Laura loves working outdoors and has an interest in education and nurturing children's development. Magnolia has all of these aspects. Laura enjoys the opportunity to watch children explore and discover their surroundings and their inner curiosity and love for play in nature.

Laura lives with her husband and two girls, ages 5 and 12. She enjoys gardening, trail running, hiking, CrossFit, and reading.

...to be able to

Our students encounter many opportunities to develop positive self image and self-regulation skills by using the forest to “test” themselves through physical challenges and creative endeavors while learning to work with their peers.

...to experience

The children experience the wonderment of being outdoors and the joy, happiness and sometimes fright that comes with it and the comfort in knowing that there are others around them to keep them safe.

...to enjoy

The forest provides a full sensory exposure for the students: its  sights,  smells, sounds, textures, and (sometimes) tastes.  Seeing the sun rays peeking through the majestic trees, listening to the different songs of birds, tasting the tartness of Salmon berries, and feeling the rough bark under hand and foot all give pleasure and enjoyment that is part of the learning process.

...to understand

What better place than the forest to learn the ‘mysteries’ of life-cycles, and the obligation we have to protect the environment that is so dear to us?  Finding a racoon skeleton raises important discussions about life and death. These discussions are often avoided by the other grown-ups in the children’s lives, yet they lead them to a deeper understanding of life and give the children an opportunity to talk about any number of feelings - fear, sadness, excitement, calm. Making space for these emotions develops empathy, a fundamental part of being human.    

Magnolia Waldkinder leads children to discovery, wonder, and connection with each other and the natural world, helping them gain physical, emotional, and mental resilience.
 “Prepare your child for the path, not the path for your child.”
“In the safety and freedom of the woods, [my child’s] little voice started asking for things she needed – and getting those needs met. Through climbing, exploring the natural world around her, her confidence grew. Magnolia’s style makes room for that.”
“One of the biggest leaps has been [my child’s] ability to communicate her emotions. Instead of endless tantrums or guessing games, [my child] has been able to clearly tell me what she’s feeling. Being able to identify a feeling is one of the first steps to working through it for her. This is a big deal in our everyday life, and I believe it’s truly added to her life in a dynamic manner. At Magnolia, I know I have a group of other caring adults in her life to help her learn to trust herself and others, during those difficult life moments.”
“ We look forward to the year, as well as the adventures of the K-8th program to follow. I want [my child] to continue to grow and learn to trust herself and grow into a confident child, and eventually young woman, with respect for life, others and the world around her. Those values are echoed by this school as well. Having the freedom to be 100% herself in a safe environment as she discovers who she is priceless.”
“Now, as a first time parent, I’ll admit, I had my doubts when it came to the theory behind child-lead learning, but I’m now sold on it. The confidence gained by learning to climb a rock transfers over to facing new learning milestones, like counting. [My child’s] imagination is free to expand with simple tools and toys, friends, fresh air, and the occasional snow ball. Imagination is the mother of invention. [My child] knows School is a safe place to make mistakes, explore, and grow.”
“I cannot say enough how much my child has grown since school started in September! She went from crying at drop off and clinging to a teacher, to confidently walking to a teacher at the start of a school day and strutting back at pick up.”
“[My child] has great stamina! Before Magnolia she wouldn’t walk very far and now she is able to hike up to 3 miles! She also has a longer attention span. She will stick with a task for 45 min or an hour. Again, before school she would flit from activity to activity.”

Visit Magnolia and learn more

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 Visit

Request enrollment information

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. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and hope to see you in the forest soon!

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