Magnolia Waldkinder
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Our mission: to empower children

Waldkinder at Magnolia is much like our preschool except that the children are older (ages 4-6, or 5-8). Translated “forest children”, these older children are given the opportunity for constructive and socio-dramatic play.  Executive function skills such as impulse and emotional control, flexible thinking, organization, and planning are honed as the children learn to work together with their peers deciding where to go in the forest and planning how they will spend their time together.  Our program is based on the Danish forest school pedagogy which supports the children in four learning processes: ‘to be able to’, ‘to experience’, ‘to enjoy’, and ‘to understand’.

Poulsbo Class

2024-2025, Ages 5-8 SCHEDULE TOUR
Location: Sherman Hill Campus, 2558 Sherman Hill Rd NW, Poulsbo, WA
Mon/Wed, 9:00-1:00 pm
Sept 9, 2024 - June 13, 2025
Tuition: $336/month
Registration & Materials fee due at time of registration.‍‍

Contact Director: Angela Reed, angela@magnoliaforestpreschool.com

Teachers

Angela Reed

Campus Mentor

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Angela Reed

Campus Mentor

Angela graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Zoology and a music minor. Her years in veterinary medicine and wildlife rehabilitation satisfied her love of science, nature and caretaking. When she accepted a teaching position in her daughter’s toddler class, she fell in love with early childhood education.

Angela started as a “Science Days” docent at Magnolia, and felt inspired by the children’s imagination and cooperation. She values making connections with the kids and watching them have “light bulb” moments.

Her spare time is spent paddleboarding, playing music, making amigurumi, gardening and of course, playing outside with her family. Angela is looking forward to more discoveries in the forest with the children of Magnolia.

Nathan Clay

Waldkinder Director, Preschool Teacher

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The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

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Nathan Clay

Waldkinder Director, Preschool Teacher

Since he joined the Magnolia team in July of 2022 at the Kitsap Memorial site, Nate has found it extremely empowering for children to know that their voices are heard, understood, and important to those who listen. He is currently working on his bachelor's degree in zoology at Oregon State University and will graduate in 2025.

Nate spent much of his childhood fascinated by biology. Many of his birthday presents were anatomical models. Because his parents nurtured and encouraged these interests, he developed a long-standing passion for biology, wildlife, ecology, and learning. All things that lend themselves well to forest school! Following his degree in Zoology, he is planning on pursuing a Masters degree in education in order to follow in his Grandfathers footsteps and teach high school biology.

In his free time, Nate enjoys baking, playing with his dogs (Shroomy and Luna), making silly voices for stories, and creative writing.

Erika Wisner

Waldkinder & Preschool Teacher

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Erika Wisner

Waldkinder & Preschool Teacher

Starting as a Magnolia parent in 2022, Erika grew fond of Magnolia's method of teaching and dreamed of spending time with children in a forest setting. In early 2023 her dream became a reality when she started working for Magnolia as a substitute teacher. After getting to visit and experience all of the Magnolia campuses, she's excited to settle in as a full time teacher.

Born and raised near the shores and evergreens of Kitsap County, Erika has always loved spending time in nature. She has enjoyed camping and hiking since she was four years old, and now loves getting to work with children in the forest on a daily basis.

In 2014 Erika received her Associate of Applied Science in Commercial Photography from Seattle Central Creative Academy, and now enjoys photography as one of her favorite hobbies. Snapping candid photos of children immersed in play is one of her favorite things to do each day.

Erika is also a wife and mother of two girls, and has two cats named Thor and Loki.

Program Director

Laura Tetrick

Program Director
laura@magnoliaforestpreschool.com

Laura grew up in Poulsbo. She received her bachelor's degree in Geology from Whitman College. She moved back to this area because of how much she loves the local environment. She has worked at various camps and has taught outdoor environmental education, team building and ropes course classes. She also coached a local high school swim team. Most recently she has worked as a land surveyor which has given her the wonderful opportunity of seeing many hidden gems in Kitsap County.

Laura loves working outdoors and has an interest in education and nurturing children's development. Magnolia has all of these aspects. Laura enjoys the opportunity to watch children explore and discover their surroundings and their inner curiosity and love for play in nature.

Laura lives with her husband and two girls, ages 5 and 12. She enjoys gardening, trail running, hiking, CrossFit, and reading.

...to be able to

Our students encounter many opportunities to develop positive self image and self-regulation skills by using the forest to “test” themselves through physical challenges and creative endeavors while learning to work with their peers.

...to experience

The children experience the wonderment of being outdoors and the joy, happiness and sometimes fright that comes with it and the comfort in knowing that there are others around them to keep them safe.

...to enjoy

The forest provides a full sensory exposure for the students: its  sights,  smells, sounds, textures, and (sometimes) tastes.  Seeing the sun rays peeking through the majestic trees, listening to the different songs of birds, tasting the tartness of Salmon berries, and feeling the rough bark under hand and foot all give pleasure and enjoyment that is part of the learning process.

...to understand

What better place than the forest to learn the ‘mysteries’ of life-cycles, and the obligation we have to protect the environment that is so dear to us?  Finding a racoon skeleton raises important discussions about life and death. These discussions are often avoided by the other grown-ups in the children’s lives, yet they lead them to a deeper understanding of life and give the children an opportunity to talk about any number of feelings - fear, sadness, excitement, calm. Making space for these emotions develops empathy, a fundamental part of being human.    

Magnolia Waldkinder leads children to discovery, wonder, and connection with each other and the natural world, helping them gain physical, emotional, and mental resilience.
 “Prepare your child for the path, not the path for your child.”
“In the safety and freedom of the woods, [my child’s] little voice started asking for things she needed – and getting those needs met. Through climbing, exploring the natural world around her, her confidence grew. Magnolia’s style makes room for that.”
“One of the biggest leaps has been [my child’s] ability to communicate her emotions. Instead of endless tantrums or guessing games, [my child] has been able to clearly tell me what she’s feeling. Being able to identify a feeling is one of the first steps to working through it for her. This is a big deal in our everyday life, and I believe it’s truly added to her life in a dynamic manner. At Magnolia, I know I have a group of other caring adults in her life to help her learn to trust herself and others, during those difficult life moments.”
“ We look forward to the year, as well as the adventures of the K-8th program to follow. I want [my child] to continue to grow and learn to trust herself and grow into a confident child, and eventually young woman, with respect for life, others and the world around her. Those values are echoed by this school as well. Having the freedom to be 100% herself in a safe environment as she discovers who she is priceless.”
“Now, as a first time parent, I’ll admit, I had my doubts when it came to the theory behind child-lead learning, but I’m now sold on it. The confidence gained by learning to climb a rock transfers over to facing new learning milestones, like counting. [My child’s] imagination is free to expand with simple tools and toys, friends, fresh air, and the occasional snow ball. Imagination is the mother of invention. [My child] knows School is a safe place to make mistakes, explore, and grow.”
“I cannot say enough how much my child has grown since school started in September! She went from crying at drop off and clinging to a teacher, to confidently walking to a teacher at the start of a school day and strutting back at pick up.”
“[My child] has great stamina! Before Magnolia she wouldn’t walk very far and now she is able to hike up to 3 miles! She also has a longer attention span. She will stick with a task for 45 min or an hour. Again, before school she would flit from activity to activity.”

Visit Magnolia and learn more

We would love to meet you! Each campus welcomes new families for tours regularly so that you can see the forest school space, meet the site director, ask questions and get a taste for the Magnolia Forest Preschool experience!

Schedule Visit

Have a question?

We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Forest school can be the perfect fit for so many children because it is uniquely tailored to support their strengths and interests. We look forward to connecting with you and your child further, and we hope to see you in the forest soon!

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