This week, despite the heavy rainfall, has been filled with the beauty of our natural world and the glory of working outside. Horsetails are popping up all over the land, lamium (dead-nettles) are speckling our fields, honeybees are foraging on flowering plants and trees, stinging nettle is growing, the wheat in the garden is  rapidly…Continue reading →

For all of us who thought we could pack our mittens and wool layers away during Spring Break, Tuesday was a shocking reminder of just how cold the wind can be, especially with our proximity to the Fraser River!  Nevermind, we are enjoying re-connecting to one another, to the land, to the Red-winged blackbirds, Eagles,…Continue reading →

Spring is in the air and everyone is feeling that little lift that happens once the days are longer and spring’s calls are louder- a new energy is brewing! The children have been working on a variety of projects including  an exploration of totem poles ( launching from our First Nations Dance Festival field trip),…Continue reading →

What goes on behind the scenes at a school? Well, a lot, an awful lot! To love, to design curriculum, to program details, to ensure safety and challenge, takes a team to work hard to bring these outcomes to a program. Last week, on our professional development day, we spent time dialoguing as a team,…Continue reading →

The arrival of Lunar New Year, celebrated by many Asian cultures, and arriving this year on February 16, has been cause for continued celebrations in both the Eagles and Owls classes.  Throw in the lingering Valentines decor (it’s so hard to put away pink and red sparkly things!) and some late season snowfall, and you…Continue reading →

Love in all its splendour. We love deeply here at Nature School. We love each other, we love this land and all its beautiful gifts, we love the animals and we love love LOVE being here together. Love is joyful but it is also hard, prickly, complicated and layered. Even in preschool! We work hard…Continue reading →

The ‘restaurant’ inside the Cottage has been very popular – perhaps in preparation for our Eagles “Feast Day” with families. Figuring out how to use mallets and pegs has been the focus of recent Owls classes.   As the school year goes by, we bring out some more challenging puzzles.  Thank you to Ginny for…Continue reading →

This is a story. A story about two educators who had a dream about creating a school where children can learn about the world around them and fall in love with this world. A place for children to explore with all their senses; to indulge their curiosities with questions and wonder; to develop relationships with…Continue reading →

Moving into our second week back after the holiday feels wonderful! It is a joy to laugh, play and learn with these children! Please enjoy this mini- blog; our week is fun and very full so we want to share our experiences thus far as we head into a couple of busy days to finish…Continue reading →

As we reflect upon images from our recent days together at TNNS, we see celebration! Whether in small quiet moments that recognize individual accomplishments, or energetic gatherings honouring our community, there is much to celebrate!  Part of the joy of celebrating is in the planning and anticipation.  With young children, the repetition of stories, songs,…Continue reading →

This week my mind is thinking about gingerbread cookie decorating. I know it sounds trivial but it has been a big part of our last couple of weeks in terms of preparation ( calling to order the dough from the bakery, picking up the dough and arranging our bakers- thank you to Kate and our…Continue reading →

As our weeks together fly by, it is rewarding to see how the children are increasingly seeking out one another for assistance with tasks and routines; for sharing their ideas during imaginative play; and for problem solving together.  We frequently hear “I can do it for you!”, “time to wash hands, I’m the soaper!”, “How…Continue reading →

LOVE I love bringing children and adults together to make healthy, wholesome, delicious food! My heart is full from yesterday’s Family Cooking Class and I believe everyone who attended have not only full bellies, but full hearts as well! Current TNNS families joined us, as well as alumni families (and Kate’s son , Grayson!)- the…Continue reading →

As corny as it is, I think we just have to say it is all rainbows and butterflies here at TNNS! All joking aside, it truly is an exceptional place to work and live together. We are blessed to have many people interested in seeing our work here at Terra Nova and they always comment…Continue reading →

Our staff team often remarks that, in terms of curriculum, our work at TNNS could not possibly be more emergent.  Every day something presents itself as a topic for further inquiry: a change in the land or weather, a library book, a child returning from holidays, celebrations, dead animals, visiting teachers, a perfect stick,  or…Continue reading →