ABOUT SCHOOL

 

Play is seriously valuable. It is through play that children learn to trust their inner voice, develop social skills and become confident and independent people. When we give a child the time and space to explore, their natural instincts toward learning are cultivated. It is in these moments of genuine curiosity that the child is most receptive to learning new concepts. These learning experiences last not only until the test is over, but for a lifetime. Nature is inherently full of opportunities to

develop skills in risk assessment/management and problem solving. Nature is also dynamic and ever changing, the child must learn to adapt to differing conditions and in so doing they develop grit and self-confidence.

My dream for the farm and it’s future has always been a place for nurturing, celebration and growth. With our first summer camp under our belts and the surprise life change that 2020 held for us all, we looked to permanent school on farm. When I was introduced to Kaiti, the director of bloomsbury farm school, we instantly agreed on two things, how we source our food and how children are being taught in classrooms. personally, I never was one that took to traditional classroom teaching. I thrived in a Montessori Program, choosing your own pace without the pressure to conform with 30 other student’s pace was so my style. Starting our program happened so naturally, Kaiti came to us from the Pacific Northwest, our classes filled up quickly. This farm school was meant to be, the easiest business decision i have ever made. The future of Bloomsbury Forest School looks like, creative workshops and field trips for other independent schools and programs, an ever growing weekly school program and even further educating educators. I hope people leave here with knowledge and grow with us as we build a healthy education system. I have been inspired by the children and know that we will forever stamp a special place in their hearts and leave them with a good feeling when it comes to school!

 

 

Lauren built bloomsbury from the ground up and started by selling her organic vegetables and sprouts at area farmers markets.  Since those early days in 2009, the farm has expanded, producing a wide array of fresh vegetables, fruits, sprouts, and herbs for the markets, local businesses, and wholesalers in and around Nashville and the greater region.

 

Lauren has a Bachelor’s in Social Work and a Master’s in Management. Combing her education with a life-long desire to cultivate and provide the highest-quality organic produce and to educate her community about the land and the importance of the food we eat, ‘to be able to walk to work every morning and raise my baby girl with the same love for the earth my parents instilled in me is a true gift. We are all blooming where we have been planted.’

 

 Kaiti has worked for years with children and adults  alike as a teacher, adventure guide, and fellow learner  in outdoor and creative spaces. In that time, she has had the immense gift of learning from students that the most meaningful learning is holistic, steeped in curiosity and  creativity, supported by space to freely explore, and place- based in local ecology. One of the things she loves most  about outdoor learning is that it is entirely experiential.  Learners get to watch that bird flit to and fro as they collect nesting material, smell the leaves as they pile up in autumn, taste the vegetables they take care to grow, feel the roughness of bark, and hear the ruckus of a chorus of frogs. She takes great joy in supporting learners as they care for the irreplaceable gift of the natural world, and the irreplaceable gift of one another. Growing up caring for farm animals and exploring in mossy and mountainous Washington state cultivated a lifelong love of learning outdoors and later motivated her to obtain a Bachelor's in Environmental Education from Western Washington University. She loves to backpack and hike, create with music and visual arts, and spend quality time with people and her sweet old black lab named Milli.

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