Welcome to secret pasture preschool! We are a forest preschool serving Berkshire families in Mill River, MA. We provide a hands-on learning environment rooted in nature immersion and child-led learning. Our curriculum is fluid and focuses on outdoor play that encourages curiosity and living in awe of the natural world.
About Us
About the program
After years of working in farm to school programs and on various learning gardens, Rachel dreamed of opening up a program of her own. After a move to the berkshires and access to some beautiful land, Rachel planted the seed and started cultivating the vision for SPP. Rachel hopes to create a warm and welcoming school community that is rooted in kindness, creativity and environmental stewardship. Our program aims to promote confidence and connection to the land that surrounds us. We honor all of our students as autonomous individuals and respect their unique needs, ideas and interests on a daily basis.
About the land
Secret Pasture Preschool is located on 14 acres of land in New Marlborough, MA. The land is filled with beautiful ferns and magical maple trees. Rachel along with her partner have created various hiking trails that stretch through miles of woods, leading to a secret pasture with a lovely, old oak tree (perfect for story time!). The classroom is nestled in a patch of woods with a stump classroom, mud kitchen and countless tools for outdoor activities. While the school is mostly outside, there is a small cabin where programing can be done in inclementweather. The cabin is heated and comfortable with a bathroom for student use.
Who the program is for
This program is for Berkshire kids ages 2.5-5. This summer we offer care in June Monday-Thursday, July Tuesday-Thursday and in August Monday-Thursday from 9am-3pm.
We are licensed through the state of Massachusettes department of early education and care. Our license number is 9118046. Our vaccination requirements are aligned with the state preschool requirements.
Meet Rachel
Rachel is an experienced educator with over 10 years of teaching preschool through 8th grade students. She has also worked as a care giver looking after newborns, toddlers and school aged children. She graduated with a major in social work from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Rachel’s background is predominantly in farm to school education that emphasizes the importance of land stewardship, local foods and early culinary skills. Rachel has worked at community farms in various learning garden roles, has completed an AmeriCorps year in northern VT with Green Mountain Farm-to-school and has taught as a garden teacher at a Waldorf inspired school in the Hudson Valley. Rachel has a year of biodynamic farmer training and previously worked on a biodynamic farm supporting adults with intellectual and physical disabilities in Great Barrington, MA. When not teaching, Rachel enjoys playing in her garden, cooking food for her friends +family, exploring herbalism projects and going on long walks + cool swims with her partner and three dogs. Rachel is a new mother to a little boy named Meno!
Rachel has been studying the works of the Cedarsong way, Rudolf Steiner and other forest school programs around the world and feels inspired by the forest schooling movement. Rachel’s classes work to teach and encourage land stewardship, imagination, free play and creativity. Rachel loves teaching young children and has learned so much from her students.
Rachel is first aid and CPR trained. She has completed courses in early childhood education and development.
Seasonal Curriculum
Our curriculum is centered around the seasons. We create an encouraging learning environment where students make discoveries and inquiries to further their own learning. Our curriculum will be a reflection of our surroundings and the interests of the students. Examples of seasonal learning include:
Fall: garden harvest, apple picking and pressing, seed saving, mushroom study, migration
Winter: animal track ID, bird watching, hibernation, animal tracking
Spring: maple sugar tapping, moon phases, foraging
Summer: seed starting, garden tending, bees +bugs
Activities include: trail hikes, yoga, day to day reflection, nature arts and crafts, unstructured/free time in nature, shelter building, storytime, tool use (shovel, microscope, etc), forest rest, making gnome/fairies homes and music time.
Daily Flow
The Day
9:00 Drop off
9:00-10:15: Experience Based Playtime (sensory activities, painting, handwork, cooking, bunny care)
10:15-10:45: Circle time and snack (prepared by all of us)
10:45-12:00: Experience Based Playtime (walk, music, gardening, project based learning)
12:00-12:45: Lunch
12:45-2:30: Indoor rest/Quiet time
2:30-3:00: Story/Song
3:00: Pick up
Let's Connect!
