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a peek at our approach
Into the Forest We Go
a message from the educator micro-retreat

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PreK and the Shark Lady
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New Documentary Connects Missouri Girls to Great Outdoors
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Raintree School Goes Solar
The Healthy Planet
Mother Nature is a Woman
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Board Games Inspire Kinder
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Your Voice Matters
At Raintree School, we believe that everyone has a voice and that voice matters — no matter their age. It's a message that we send to the...
Ashley Hummert
41


The Making of a School Cookbook
By Katie Brown The mythical Raintree School Cookbook was whispered of and requested for years. We understood the importance, the wish to...
Ashley Hummert
28


An Investigation of Carrots
By Katie Brown What a journey we take at the lunch table each day! In this space we encounter new foods, develop conversation skills and...
Ashley Hummert
49


The Recycling Project
This Spring, the Hoppin’ Frogs Preschool class embarked on a journey through project-based learning. An interest in vehicles sparked...
ilya7690
95


The Sweet Side of Project Work
In the Reggio Emilia philosophy, there are two major principles woven together: Emergent Curriculum and Project Approach. The teacher’s...
Ashley Hummert
96


Seasonal Cooking Class
Building community is a high priority at Raintree School. Students and teachers connect every day, but it’s important for parents to meet...
ilya7690
81


No Bad Weather, Only Bad Gear
The cold weather is here to stay, so we turn to the famous Scandinavian saying: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear.”...
ilya7690
175


Small Acts of Sustainability
Sustainability is a word and an action that often feels overwhelming, challenging, or daunting. But none of those things have to be true!...
Ashley Hummert
79


Our Land Acknowledgement
“We respectfully acknowledge that we are on the traditional, ancestral lands of the Osage Nation. The process of knowing and...
Chef Katie
107

Celebrating Diversity and Cultivating Awareness
As educators we know that children are never too young to begin learning about diversity. In early childhood education, the practice of...
ilya7690
90


The Magic of Mud
A little mud goes a long way, especially when you submerge yourself in a muddy puddle from head to toe! But at Raintree, we love the...
ilya7690
67

Building Community
One of the best ways to build a school community is to encourage play and interactions across classes. While our friends often play...
ilya7690
47

Symbols: Early Literacy
When most children first come to Raintree in their Nursery year, they are not yet able to read or write their names. Upon arrival, each...
ilya7690
147


Dead Things
It was a beautiful Monday morning, and my class was outside on the playscape preparing to venture into the forest. As I went down the...
ilya7690
54


Scrapping the Plan
The delights of children are not on any kind of time schedule. We take it when it comes and run with it as far as we can. So earlier last...
ilya7690
77


Bread Day
What is in a simple slice of bread? At Raintree, it is packed with growth, learning, and connection. Bread Day is the standing Thursday...
ilya7690
57


Operation Chickens
The Project Approach is a method of teaching where learning is integrated through the development of a student created and driven...
ilya7690
103


Sit, Watch, and Listen
We live in such a fast-paced world that our children sometimes struggle to slow down. At Raintree, we use Sit Spots to help us take an...
ilya7690
50


Made with Love, from Seed to Table
One of Raintree’s foundational commitments is to serve lovingly cooked meals, from lovingly grown ingredients. This entails building...
ilya7690
78


Loose Parts: Experimenting with the Unexpected
The founder of the Reggio Emilia approach said, “The child has a hundred languages, a hundred hands, a hundred thoughts, a hundred ways...
ilya7690
116


The Peace Process
Young children are sponges who soak up knowledge from various resources. This includes, but is not limited to the environment around...
ilya7690
133


Exploring the Senses
Building a mind disposed to scientific pursuits involves exploring the natural world in a meaningful way. By using a variety of senses,...
ilya7690
53


Birthday Celebrations
At Raintree, we have many traditions to help us celebrate our students' birthdays. On their birthday, each child makes a special crown,...
ilya7690
127


Get to Know the Carrots
What a journey we take at the lunch table each day! Here is where we get acquainted with new foods, develop conversation skills and...
ilya7690
70

Autumn Provocation
Autumn is a magical time at Raintree. The forest comes to life with vibrant oranges, reds, yellows, and according to one student, “a...
ilya7690
212


The Story of the Lemon Tree
For those of you who don't know, Raintree has a lemon tree that lives next to the Kindergarten classroom. This is a resilient tree that...
ilya7690
344


The Peace Process Works for Grown Ups, Too
During our conferences, last week, we spoke a lot about the social emotional growth of your children and I have a story to share to...
ilya7690
282


"Right Now" Learning
Speaking candidly, not all project times go as planned. And, as a teacher, we are planners. So, when times of learning and engagement do...
ilya7690
183


The Forest Inside Us
Forest day started like any other: fort building, leaf rubbings & story telling when, all of a sudden... "I heard a BOOM!" "I think at...
ilya7690
578


Beautiful Like the Creek
The forest is a refuge. Senses are sharpened, details are noticed and time slows to a pace that is more... natural. "I've never done...
ilya7690
50


Blazing Trails
To wander through the forest in search of mystery… to tread upon unknown ground… to experience a space for the very first time on a quest...
ilya7690
299


Eat Pretty
You know that old adage you are what you eat? Well, have you ever stopped to think exactly how true that is? Put simply, healthy eating...
ilya7690
191


Because it Mattered
Last Fall, a group of three year old’s took it upon themselves to protect all of the mini beasts found in the forest. They wanted a place...
ilya7690
157


The Art of Observation
Photography comes from two words - “photo” meaning light and “graph” meaning to write, literally translating into the delightful phrase:...
ilya7690
111


Whose House Is This, and Why Are We Here? The Pedagogy of Raintree School
Lois Malaguzzi, Rudolf Steiner, John Dewey, Johann Pestalozzi, A.S. Neill, Richer Louv, and Teacher Tom - these are all educators who...
ilya7690
264


The Rhythm of Forest School
“Make a circle. Make a circle,” so the song goes. And so goes the rhythm of our forest days at Raintree School. It begins with breakfast...
ilya7690
318


Alters and Nets: or How to Catch a Fish in the Forest, and What's To Be Done When You Do
Leading children into wildlands is fraught with mystery. The constant rhythm of forest school provides intimacy with nature, but nothing...
ilya7690
120


The World is Big and Small: Lessons from Beasties in Raintree School's Forest
“How do you feel when a bug is stepped on?” Big ideas start this way. A simple question on a beautiful spring day full of the potential...
ilya7690
55


What Are You Made Of
Wild lands creep into your bones. Cold morning air seeps in. Sunshine settles on your skin. Your eyes presume beauty, magic, toothy...
ilya7690
20


School Days
Regular days. That slow pace of familiarity. One day to the next, regular days fill our time. They mark our bodies, so we don’t forget....
ilya7690
55


Reminisce
The forest floor reminisces. Who has come? Who has gone? The reverberation of who is on their way. The ground constructs a story -...
ilya7690
25


The Wonder of a Chickadee
The questions arrive unbidden. The wild does that; it forces questions. Perhaps gentle breezes coax the imagination to wake. Maybe...
ilya7690
21


Always Add Sprinkles
It starts on a snowy day. I suppose it always should. It keeps so many in, but not us. We are Raintree: school for the adventurous,...
ilya7690
28


The Needle and the Girl
You sew your own crown. That’s how it is done. Stitch by stitch, the pieces are put together. The fabric you’ve chosen takes shape –...
ilya7690
45


Take a Peek
Rat? Cat? Marsupial habitat? There could be anything in there. In the forest, you can take a peek and tell stories of all the things...
ilya7690
75
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