"You can travel the world and never leave your chair when you read a book"- Sherry K. Plummer

Wauhatchie and the Joy of Reading: Promoting Literacy All Year Long by María Gonzalez, Head of School

At Wauhatchie Forest School, we are dedicated to promoting and supporting literacy twelve months a year! Our focus all year long is to instill in our students a love of storytelling, orality, reading, books and poetry. From fiction to nonfiction, field guides to biographies, and gardening to chapter books - we endeavor to create a culture of reading that supports and amplifies our nature immersive learning frameworks. 

We are truly fortunate to have the support of volunteers and specialists who give of their time and talent to support literacy at Wauhatchie. Wendy Wilkins, a retired librarian, works as a substitute teacher but she also advises and supports us with finding the perfect books to align with our learning. Wendy, who holds an MS in Library Sciences, loves Barefoot Books in particular, and she shares award winning books with us, such as these Outstanding Science Books from the Children’s Book Council. Debbie Crowder, with an MA in Literacy and Early Childhood, is another amazing volunteer and retired literacy specialist who worked in Head Start for many years. Debbie shares this Parent Resource to promote reading at home as well as her go to Picture Books list from the New York Times Bestsellers page. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, from that list, has been quite a hit with our students this spring!

Nicole Pinkerton Song, who currently teaches PreK and K-3 Literacy Support at our Reflection Riding campus, will be our K-5 Literacy Specialist next year and she brings a wealth of knowledge and talent to this role. Nicole holds a Masters in Early Childhood Education and Special Education, as well as extensive experience teaching Art and Literacy Integration in elementary schools. Nicole shares a link to the website of her favorite children's author, Mo Willems. Nicole is looking forward to combining her experience in education with her background in Fine Arts to assist and support classroom teachers and administrators to provide a balanced and effective reading program for all students that instills in them the joy of reading and a lifelong love of language arts. 

Here are a few more of the Literacy initiatives happening at our sites:

Read to Me

Our Read to Me Program promotes peer mentoring and read alouds. K-3 students work in multi-age pairings on Friday afternoons to read aloud to one another and share favorite books.

Usborne Online Book Fair 

Our Virtual Book Fair is still live until Monday, May 16th! Thanks to your generous contributions, we have already reached our minimum to receive half of the sales in free books for our school. Usborne Books & More offers more than 1,800+ books for children from birth through high school and we would love for you to find the perfect books for any child in your life. Haven’t had the chance to shop yet? There’s still plenty of time. Check out this link to view our virtual book fair. Thanks to Kelagn Hawhee and Sydnei Kelly from our Soddy Daisy site for organizing this event!

Book Exchange May 25

We encourage our school families to promote reading all summer long by coming to Reflection Riding on May 25 for the last day of school all families event. Help us promote the joy of reading by bringing books to exchange as we Gear up for Summer Reading on the last day of school. Our goal is to provide every child with at least one book to take home. 

Summer Reading 

We will be holding Summer Reading Days at some of our sites in June and July. Look for more details soon on Minga! Also, we would love for you to share pictures on Minga of your children reading this summer in different locations outside - in the backyard hammock, at the beach, you get the idea!

Gear Swap May 25 at Reflection Riding 

ALL FAMILIES, ALL SITES EVENT!

Forest School Families know that our motto is “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.” The longest section of our parent handbook is about providing and purchasing the right gear so your child can thrive and learn outdoors. We understand that acquiring the right gear can stretch a family’s budget, so we are excited to invite all of our school families to our Annual Gear Swap on the last day of school, May 25th. (Please note the date change from May 26th.)

The Gearing up for Summer Celebration on May 25th from 9:30-11:30 AM at Reflection Riding will be a chance for our entire Wauhatchie community to gather and recycle gently used gear that can be used by another child/family. Additionally, we are holding a book exchange to promote summer reading, and a picnic to mingle with friends before the year comes to an end. We encourage everyone to attend this school wide event!

What to know:

• Bring a picnic and a blanket to enjoy on the lawn behind Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center
• Teachers will be facilitating the parking,  gear swap and book exchange so parents are responsible for children during this event
• Parking will be available in the field beside the A frame at the front of RRANC
• Families may begin arriving at 9am
• Used gear should be washed
• Gear set up will take place from 9-10; at 10 families can begin swapping
• We will operate on the honor system; the number of items contributed will equal the number of items able to be swapped.
•  If you are able, please bring extra book donations so that every child can leave with at least one book. 

Wauhatchie Homeschool and Hunter Museum/STEAM Exhibit in May

Be quiet. Do you notice the many sounds around you? Maybe it’s the sound of a car nearby, a woodpecker, trees rustling, or a child playing- this is your current soundscape. You might not know it, but this collection of sounds that you are currently experiencing has a profound impact on us, yet these effects largely go unseen. The Homeschool classes, led by Ms. Rebecca, sought to study the way in which we interact with our acoustic environments in conjunction with the Hunter STEAM Fellowship this year. Starting with practicing mindfulness techniques, the students were encouraged to sit outside and simply take note of the symphony of sounds that came to their ears. They heard birds, trees, little critters, and airplanes around them. Building on this awareness, the students grew to a meta-cognitive perspective by asking questions like ‘what color is this sound to me?’ and ‘how does this sound make me feel?’ This study culminated with all students projecting their individualized soundscapes onto canvas, to create stunning visual acoustic environments. No longer just sounds in the background to be tuned out, the children created beautiful pieces of art portraying the colorful and complex nature between themselves and the sounds around them. Thanks to our friends with the Hunter STEAM Fellowship, all of their art will be on display until the end of the month at the Hunter Museum of American Art. We hope you get a chance to view some of the homeschoolers' wonderful works of art!

Grandparents Day & Silent Auction

Over the past several weeks, the children anticipated and prepared for a momentous event - Grandparents Day. From May 3 - May 5 Wauhatchie School welcomed grandparents and special visitors into the forest at all of our sites and programs for a peek behind the trees to discover first hand the wonder and awe of nature immersion education. Classes displayed a wide array of learning materials and activities for our guests and teachers organized scavenger hunts, interactive learning centers, beautiful hikes around our campus, eco theater, cooking over a fire, and various arts and crafts. The children enjoyed being able to spend time outside with their loved ones and having the opportunity to introduce them to their teachers, sites, and daily outdoor life. Every class prepared wonderful handcrafted items for a silent auction that raised $1200 for our school. Thank you to our generous donors who purchased these one of a kind creations! We are beyond thankful for the many parent volunteers, teachers, and staff who helped to orchestrate this event, and for the grandparents and special visitors who turned out to join us in support of our school.

2022-2023 Academic Calendar

Are you as excited for next school year as we are? Take a peek at some of the important dates on the 2022-2023 calendar! Be on the lookout for the Back to School Parent Packet this June. The first TADS tuition payment will be due July 1 and Minga Groups will be repopulated on July 8th.

Spring Happenings

Spring and its glorious weather provides for exciting days and bountiful new discoveries in the forest! Check out some of the happenings in the forest!

Herpetologist and educator, Jay Eubanks, spoke to the 1st grade class about the exciting world or reptiles! The students even had a chance to interact with turtles, a bearded dragon, and a HUGE Blood Python! 

The 2nd and 3rd grade classes at Reflection Riding went head to head in a friendly match of kickball against the Homeschool team. Everyone had a blast and can't wait for field day next year!

Admissions Announcements

We still have a few spots open for Summer Camp and the 22-23 school year! Be sure to act fast before these spots fill up. You can learn more and apply on our website

Summer Camp Openings

Jr. Explorers (Age 3-4)

• June 6 - 10

Explorers (Age 5-7)

• June 13 - 17
• June 20 - 24
• June 27 - July 1
• July 11 - 15

22-23 School Year Openings

Audubon Acres

• Preschool (Monday-Friday)
• Jr. Kindergarten (Monday-Thursday)
• Kindergarten

Reflection Riding

• Preschool (Monday-Friday)
• Kindergarten
• 3rd Grade
• 5th Grade