Two circles, one garden.
Each age met where it stands, and the whole garden gathered for what matters most.
Early Childhood
Learning by watching, doing, and playing
These years ask for warmth, rhythm, and room. The day is carried by song and story rather than by instruction, and the deepest learning happens in play — in the sweeping and stirring and building that children take up because the grown-ups around them are doing real work nearby.
We protect their play fiercely, keep the day predictable, and let imitation do the teaching.
Early Grades
Story, circle, handwork, and time in the woods
Our day opens in circle, with verse, song, and movement that gather the children together. Then comes the main lesson, told as a story: a fairy tale, a fable, or a tale from nature, carried in the telling rather than read from a page. What is met in a story is met by the whole child, and it stays.
From there, hands take over, with painting, drawing, and handwork such as knitting and simple crafts. We share a potluck lunch, then head outdoors for free play and a forest school activity with the whole group, exploring, building, and noticing the season around us. We close the day together in circle.
What the two circles share.
- Opening and closing circle — the whole garden singing together at the start and end of the day.
- The shared table — one meal, many kitchens, everyone sitting down at once.
- Forest school and outdoor play — the garden and the woods belong to all the ages at once.
- Every festival — prepared together, celebrated together, remembered together.
Mixed ages are not a compromise here. The older children find their gentleness looking after the younger ones, and the younger ones learn a great deal simply by watching someone a little bigger do it first.
A group for ages nine to fourteen, in a later season.
We are starting small, the way a garden does. A group for older children will come along once these two circles are well rooted — and we would rather tell you honestly that it is not here yet than promise it before we can do it well.
If you have an older child, say so when you write to us. It helps us know when the time is right.
Which circle fits your child?
Tell us their age and what they are like, and we will tell you honestly whether this is a good year to join us.
Come Join Our Circle