In March 2018, I had a neurological episode that left me unable to walk.   For decades I have spent most of my days out in the suburban wilderness with young friends, exploring, hiking, and learning.  The paralysis changed my ability to navigate our current home and the professional teaching iteration we had worked toward for 30 years.

With the support of my family, I spent some time sitting with this shift and looking for a new way forward..  Within a few months, we decided to sell or give away most everything and leave the DC area for a tiny house on wheels!

We now travel the USA with our daughters, teaching, exploring, and playing in the creek, the mountains or the oceans and. we hope to meet you someday!

In 2020, I had more physical set backs, and then after aa chance meeting with a wise elder and Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, I went from a wheelchair to starting to walk again.

This is a story of our family’s journey, our work and our play.

We continue to teach, and share our passions on the road, with the best of our new iteration.  Below is a little about our teaching style, and life.

Our Work

Rebecca Fox Stoddard & Andrew Stoddard

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” -Robert Frost

Okay. Yes we know that is a really silly picture of us.   We chose it because it represents the joyful, engaging relationship that we have with children. Several young friends decided that we needed to paint our faces while on a Creek Walk.  Joy and playfulness.

We are a husband and wife teaching team with over 30 years of combined experience teaching, developing, and researching progressive early childhood programs and teacher training.

Whether it is with our own family, teaching preschool and kindergarten or sharing nature with like-minded professionals or families, we are grateful to be on this journey together and to be able to share.

We are deeply passionate about Forest Schools and supporting children, families, and educators to develop a strong connection to the natural world.

We feel so fortunate that our passions align with our profession and that we are able to utilize our experience and ongoing research in our daily work.

We believe that every day is a learning journey and strive to make each one represent the best of what we have learned.  We see ourselves as mentors to our young friends, rather than teachers, and are eager to share our “learning workshop” with them.

We have been on this journey for over 30 years.  We are regularly told by parents and teachers of our graduates that our children are curious, passionate learners with strengths in critical thinking, design thinking, collaboration, independence and compassion.  What a wonderful thing!

Our hope is to nurture independent thinkers, enthusiastic learners, active explorers and investigators, compassionate human beings and to develop a deep appreciation for the beauty of nature and our responsibilities for its preservation.

We seek to create a holistic and resource-rich learning environment that promotes relationships, collaboration, community involvement, and the freedom and support for children to passionately pursue their interests.

Approach

Our approach is inspired by experiential and inquiry-based learning, the teacher-researchers of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the beauty and fantasy of the Rudolf Steiner schools, the European “Forest” school movement and contemplative practices of Nonviolence, Yoga and Meditation.

We are eager to connect and build authentic relationships with children and each other. Think BIG extended family!  We value differences and meeting children (and grown-ups) right where they are, in their joys and struggles and finding our shared humanity.  We believe in lifting up and supporting one another on all levels.

Values

We believe that compassion, empathy and loving-kindness for all living things is to be nurtured and cultivated, every day, at every age.

We believe in life-long learning, play, in-depth projects born out of passions, purposeful integrated and meaningful academics, and reflective practices.   All of these for children and ourselves!

Philosophy

As  Life-Long Learners, Nature Educators and Action Researchers working, playing and exploring with children every day, we have many opportunities to reflect upon our practice and observe first-hand the positive impact that an authentic, responsive and reflective approach has on young lives.

Our foundation is built on progressive, social-constructivist learning theory.  deep nature connection and mindfulness.  You can see this represented throughout our work.

We are dedicated to a philosophy that sees children as whole, capable human beings, having the right to co-construct their educational experience. We strive to create an atmosphere where children feel like valued members of our learning community.  We encourage and support children to find and voice their unique gifts in a loving, supportive, and respectful environment.

Action Research

In addition to our role as co-learners, creators, and mentors, we are action researchers actively questioning, observing, and reflecting on our educational project, and this is an integral part of what we do.  We have an extensive database of  three decades of children’s work in nature and arts-based settings. Through reflection and research, we engage in the systematic study of our own practice and continually seek to answer questions we have about teaching and learning, and our own effectiveness.

Making Learning Visible

This website is a collaborative effort between us and the children we explore with to make some of our learning stories virtually visible in order to stimulate dialogue and collaboration.   We hope to inspire educators and parents to create authentic, rich, social learning environments and support systems in their own families and communities.

We hope to share many of our experiences exploring, learning, and playing outdoors in all kinds of weather.  We are adding content and project work every day. Many of the posts or content are developed by the children, either through dictation, audio or video recordings or art.  Their work is documented by us through narrative, video, or photos.