A picture consisting of three images related to our school spaces; indoors and outdoors

Our Space

Acorn your child will spend their days in a beautiful, nature rich setting.

The School House

Our school house space is a spacious, peaceful, bright environment which “lets the outdoors in.” There are 6 huge, south-facing windows and a massive 4.5′ x 10′ “fishbowl” window looking out north into the playground.

The space was specifically designed with children in mind and inspired by Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio-Emilio traditions. The modular furniture allows us to adapt the space according to the needs of the moment… Full group project? Tables can be put together to make one big table in the middle of the room! Benches and tables can be moved to configure a playhouse, ship or other such structure for imaginative play. In addition, our big couch is made up of several toddler mattresses which can be spread out around the room during rest time.

The open, child-height shelves hold an extensive collection of beautiful toys carefully selected to inspire creativity, exploration, cooperation, imagination and community.

In our indoor space children enjoy:

Art Supplies
Blocks and other building materials
Toy vehicles of many sizes
Wooden trains & train track
Dress-up clothes
Dolls & stuffies
A tree-house doll house
An extensive classroom library
Puzzles
Board games
Manipulatives & small parts
A sensory table
A light table

Our schoolhouse features an air filtration system which circulates outdoor air without losing heat. There is also a spacious cubbyroom, bathroom and a 16’x16′ screened in, roofed porch where we can enjoy shelter from the sun or rain while still enjoying the benefits of outdoor air.

The woods

At Acorn, children enjoy 8 outdoor classrooms nestled throughout our 22 acres of mature forest and rolling fields. In addition to happy children, the land is home to a wonderful variety of trees, plants, insects, birds, amphibians, & mammals.

To inspire play and connection, each of our 8 outdoor classrooms is equipped with some variety of the following:

Tools for digging
Pots & pans for mud kitchen play
Other loose parts
Magnifying glasses and binoculars
Various trucks and wagons
“Stone people” dolls
Puppets
Child sized hammers, saws, drills and safety goggles
Some sort of play shelter to inspire cooperative, imaginative play
Swings or hammocks
A performance “stage”
A walking spiral
A fire pit
Seats, benches and tables
Rope climbers
A place to gather together

At any given point children are gathering, digging, climbing, swinging, singing, putting on a show, playing “family” or some other such imaginative game, doing an art project, going on a wander, play “cooking,” or up to some other form of creative fun together!

The Playground

Most days at Acorn start and/or end at the playground which is located in front of our school building.

The Garden

Sifting compost, planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, watering, weeding, harvesting… at Acorn children enjoy all aspects of the magic of growing food!

Animals at Acorn

In addition to all of the flora and fauna to be experienced in the beautiful Ithaca woods, children at Acorn share their days with Emily’s 2 dogs and enjoy visiting with 2 neighbors’ goats, sheep, pig, chickens, rabbits and turkeys.

Callie

Hi I am Callie! I am Acorn’s touching dog.

I like to bark when people arrive at Acorn but I am a very gentle dog. I like when people pet me.

I love Circle Time, sometimes I like to join in with the singing.

I like to play and wrestle with Toby; it looks like we are fighting, but we are not angry, it is just how we play.

I am good at being patient and following rules.

If it is not too cold, I love to be with Acorn kids in the woods and watch them play. If it is cold, I prefer to stay inside asleep on a couch!

Toby

Hi I am Toby. I am a very sweet dog, but I am not a touching dog. I like to be near people, but it makes me nervous if people outside of my family touch me.

I love to be around my Acorn pack and be a part of the group.

I love to play and wrestle with Callie. It looks rough, but we don’t ever hurt each other and we never play with children that way.

My favorite thing is going to the woods with Acorn. Once I know where everyone will be I like to go off and do my own exploring, but often come back to check in.

Goats and More

One of our neighbors has 3 goats: Acorn Pumpkin and Big Mama. Another has a whole homestead with goats, sheep, a pig, turkeys, chickens and rabbits!

Visiting these animals is always a hit! We love to give them gentle pats and see what woodland plants they might enjoy eating.

Acorn Nature School

Preschool, After School, Summer Camp Ithaca, NY