Where the Wild Ones Gather

The NatureWise Way

At Fern Gully Forest School in Olympia, Washington, our NatureWise homeschool enrichment program offers full-day nature immersion (9:30-3:30) and half-day (9:30-12:30 or 12:30-3:30) options for ages 6–12 that nurture the whole child with holistic hands-on learning. Children explore nature and exercise their creativity and incredible minds, bodies, and spirits. We celebrate each unique being and help them grow more capable and confident!

Rooted in nature and weaving together Waldorf and Montessori Methods, our interdisciplinary program integrates hands-on academics, creative expression, collaborative projects, team-building games, and social-emotional growth into a living curriculum guided by the seasons.

Along the way, kids grow brave, kind, creative, and resilient, gaining both wilderness and social-emotional awareness, as well as practical life skills and real-world knowledge.

Parents love our holistic homeschool support and community-centered approach. Here, children discover a sense of belonging, deep connection and care for themselves, others, and nature while preparing to be confident creators and outstanding contributors to their communities.

Together we are cultivating community with a culture of kindness and hope for a brighter future.

Apply Now

A Holistic Approach

Students learn through real-world experiences that bring learning alive. Our interdisciplinary approach blends practical skills and important life lessons with fun role play games, creative expression and collaborative problem-solving.

Our experienced teachers meet each child where they are for individual physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual development.

Students are gently encouraged to take healthy risks, be brave and boldly yet consciously explore their environments, ask questions, think critically, connect deeply and learn how to be in relationship with and contribute meaningfully to their world.

Rooted in Connection

We believe that when children feel safe, seen, and supported, they thrive. In our small, mixed-age groups, students form deep friendships, practice social-emotional skills, and grow confidence.

Grounded in nature connection and all-weather adventures (building team-work and resilience along the way), children explore through the 4 Realms:

The Heartwood (Self): Emotional intelligence, mindfulness confidence, personal growth
The Circle (Community): Teamwork, empathy, collaboration, communication, social skills
The Wild Path (Nature): Naturalist knowledge, wilderness awareness, sensory exploration
The Craft (Ancestral Skills): Traditional knowledge and techniques for living with nature, tool-making, weaving, wilderness awareness, honorable harvest, environmental stewardship, homesteading & other life skills

In a Woodland Classroom

Our forest classroom is alive with wonder. From forts built with logs and secret hideaways deep in the forest to sunny meadows and climbing apple trees. Children spend their days immersed in nature exploring:

Wilderness awareness: nature connection, animal movement & mindfulness practices
Survival skills: shelter-building, fire-making, tracking, maps, navigation & more!
Social-emotional learning, compassionate communication & collaborative projects

We also have covered outdoor areas for:

Making food, wildcrafting, circling & sharing
Integrating diverse subjects (science, math, social studies, natural history, language arts, etc.) with team games, roll play explorations, hands-on projects, and experiential learning

Creative expression, group storytelling, music, art, crafts, ancestral skills & seasonal rituals

With Cyclical Wisdom

Through all seasons, we celebrate the cycles of nature within and all around us. We recognize the benefits of all-weather and honor the diverse gifts of life. We see learning as a fun adventure of discovery and belonging weaving through these themes and wisdom of the wild rhythms:

Fall – Roots & Relationships: Forest foundations, foraging, plant ID, harvest celebrations
Winter – Creating Our Dreams: Animal tracking, storytelling by the fire, weaving, crafts
Spring – Awakening & Renewal: Scavenger hunts, gardening, wildcrafting, forest restoration
Summer – Abundance & Adventure: Team Forest games, nature magic, navigation, and survival skills through imaginative journeys and play!

Details & Rates

Sliding Scale Tuition

Supported/Regular/Supporting

Daily Drop-in Rate: $60/$80/$100

*While availability lasts.

Monthly Rates Full Days (6 hour class)

1 day/week:

$240/$300/$380

2 days/week:

$480/$540/$580

3 days/week:

$700/$740/$780

4 days/week:

$940/$980/$1020

*10% Discount for Siblings or if you Pay in Full for the year

**Half Days are Half the Tuition

Please contact us if you have any questions or cost is prohibitive. We envision a world where quality outdoor education is affordable for all. Additional low-income discounts or work trade options may be available. Inquire to Apply.

REGISTRATION
Registration fee: $50-$75 non-refundable admin fee.

Enrollment Deposit: $200 deposit is applied to the last month's tuition and is refundable only with a 30 day cancellation notice.

We prefer cash or check, in-person or snail-mail to:

Fern Gully Forest School

2210 15th Ave SE

Olympia, WA 98501

We cannot save your spot until we receive the registration fee and deposit. You can also pay online at this PayPal link if you opt to pay the fee. If you want to set up recurring payments, you can click "make this monthly" at check out.

Thank you for choosing outdoor education that gives back to the environment!

Apply Now to Save your Spot!

Click below to download the parent handbook and the fillable PDF application then email it to us here.

Handbook

Application

Meet the Team

Our Experienced Teachers Guide Children to Greater Awareness, Knowledge and Skills that Help Them to Bloom into Their Confidence and Creativity.

Lead Teacher

Sophia Dinkhun

Sophia teaches Mindfulness Mondays and Tinkering Tuesdays. She has been working as an outdoor educator for 5 years in the Washington area, with over 15 years of experience working and volunteering with children. Sophia’s gained knowledge through studies in Psychology, Mindfulness Lab Research, English literature, and Early Childhood Education support the building of positive interactions and trusting connections between children, adults, and our natural world. She has trained in classrooms with Montessori, Emilio Reggio, and Waldorf curriculum.

Additionally, Sophia has over 5 years professional outdoor experience with Trail Management and Maintenance, Wildland Firefighting, National Disaster Response, and native habitat restoration. With this knowledge, she fosters skills of community engagement, fine motor hand work, survival, and building confidence in our children’s unique abilities.

Sophia’s favorite past times include: jumping in puddles, foraging, playing pretend with her children, and animal care. She looks forward to sharing and growing with our magical community.

Director & Wilderness Awareness Teacher

Charissa Waters

Charissa teaches Wild Wednesdays. She is a wildlife biologist with her Masters in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College and has worked in the environmental education and conservation field for nearly 20 years. She has been directing and teaching at Fern Gully Forest School for the last 5 years. One of her favorite jobs in the past was for the parks leading volunteer work parties and watching kids positively light up in nature learning about native plants, wildlife, and how it's all connected in our local watersheds.

Charissa is inspired by the seasonal rhythms, Waldorf and Montessori methods, and continues to study the latest and greatest works in child development and psychology. She integrates the natural sciences with social-emotional learning, mindfulness practices, team-building exercises, and compassionate communication (among many other tools for connecting with and teaching diverse children) into our unique curriculum.

She is a mother and naturalist that loves the forest school philosophies from Europe and finds hope in the next generation connecting with nature, deep ecology, and the"1000 Hours Outside" movements. She has a passion for teaching how to care for and connect with the Earth and one another through role play, fun team games, survival skill adventures, animal movement, tracking, and wilderness awareness. She is also a trained mediator and brings that knowledge into Fern Gully's Restorative Forest Council process after conflict to help build trust, communication, and group cohesiveness.

Program Director & Music Teacher

Lindsey Rhodes

Lindsey brings music lessons, group rhythm time, compassionate communication and important life skills to the NatureWise program on Thursdays. She is a singer, teacher, herbalist, and doula. She has organized and facilitated events and educational groups of children and adults for over 20 years in the Olympia area.

Lindsey is devoted to holistic child-development, educating families, and building community through shared experiences and seasonal celebrations. Her six children have grown into greater social and cognitive skills through outdoor education, farm, forest, and other holistically based early learning programs.