Walnut Forest Academy
Our Curriculum
The Walnut Forest Academy Approach
Holistic, Child-Led, Inquiry Based Learning
Our programs are rooted in a Holistic Education framework that engages the whole child to develop their emotional, psychological, physical, social, spiritual, and cognitive needs within an integrated learning format.
Children discover who they are, what interests them, and what gives them meaning and purpose in their lives by developing a deep sense of self, feeling they belong within their community, connecting to the natural world around them, and cultivating values of love, peace, and compassion.
Our primary focus is child-led inquiry-based learning through experiential, hands on, arts integration, and land-based pedagogies. We believe in taking an interdisciplinary and cross-curricular approach to teaching where children understand the interconnectedness of everyone and everything.
We also believe that children learn best when they are gently nurtured and positively encouraged through creative, collaborative and cooperative means that build strong connections with each other and the earth.
Holistic Education engages the body, mind, heart, and spirit of the child.
Body
Engaging the body in the learning process directly impacts how children process and retain information, activate all of their senses, play creatively, develop self-expression, maintain focus, calm their nervous systems, boost their mood, collaborate and communicate with one another, and build an inclusive and welcoming classroom community.
Children who are encouraged to experience learning through “doing” have an enhanced mind-body connection where their cognitive, physical, mental and emotional needs are given equal importance for development.
We engage the body of the child by creating a learning environment that encourages movement throughout the day both indoors and outside.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
Mind
Engaging the mind in the learning process is about providing endless opportunities for children to get curious, ask questions, follow their interests, test ideas, learn from their mistakes, solve problems, and make decisions, all while feeling excited about learning.
We encourage children to make connections to the world around them by understanding the interconnectedness of all things through inquiry-based learning. We believe children are innately curious and are always seeking answers to their own questions.
Each child is acknowledged for their individual abilities, strengths, interests, and perspectives. We make sure learning is collaborative and cooperative where children can develop into confident and capable learners who believe in themselves.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
Heart
Emotions are essential to the learning process and impact perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning, and problem solving. Therefore, engaging the heart of the child to generate positive emotions is necessary for a well-rounded educational experience.
We believe that teaching to the heart of the child is about inspiring them to be the best versions of themselves, encouraging autonomy and choice in what they want to learn, welcoming self-expression, talking about their feelings, and creating a positive and fun environment so they feel excited to be at school and learn.
We believe children connect naturally to the heart through spending time in nature and being creative and self-expressive artistically. This is why the arts and land-based learning is such a critical part of our program.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
Spirit
Human beings are seekers of meaning, purpose and connection in their lives. It is through developing a strong relationship with our inner self and the outer world that we are able to have transformational learning experiences and personal growth.
We define spirituality as . . . discovering meaning and purpose in one’s life,
growing love and compassion in one’s heart, seeing all living beings as interconnected, contributing to the well-being of others, connecting to one’s own essential nature, developing peace of mind and happiness.
Engaging the spirit in the learning process provides opportunities for children to get to know themselves better from the inside out, develop meaningful and loving relationships with others, see a world full of possibility rather than lack, and have a burning desire to contribute generously to something beyond themselves and their own needs.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
BODY
Children who are encouraged to experience learning through “doing” have an enhanced mind-body connection where their cognitive, physical, mental and emotional needs are given equal importance for development.
We engage the body of the child by creating a learning environment that encourages movement throughout the day both indoors and outside.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
MIND
We encourage children to make connections to the world around them by understanding the interconnectedness of all things through inquiry-based learning. We believe children are innately curious and are always seeking answers to their own questions.
Each child is acknowledged for their individual abilities, strengths, interests, and perspectives. We make sure learning is collaborative and cooperative where children can develop into confident and capable learners who believe in themselves.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
HEART
We believe that teaching to the heart of the child is about inspiring them to be the best versions of themselves, encouraging autonomy and choice in what they want to learn, welcoming self-expression, talking about their feelings, and creating a positive and fun environment so they feel excited to be at school and learn.
We believe children connect naturally to the heart through spending time in nature and being creative and self-expressive artistically. This is why the arts and land-based learning is such a critical part of our program.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
SPIRIT
We define spirituality as . . . discovering meaning and purpose in one’s life, growing love and compassion in one’s heart, seeing all living beings as interconnected, contributing to the well-being of others, connecting to one’s own essential nature, developing peace of mind and happiness.
Engaging the spirit in the learning process provides opportunities for children to get to know themselves better from the inside out, develop meaningful and loving relationships with others, see a world full of possibility rather than lack, and have a burning desire to contribute generously to something beyond themselves and their own needs.
Download our Parent Handbook to read more.
We are often asked, “Do you follow the Ontario Curriculum?”
The simple answer is, “Yes and no.” We use the curriculum as a guideline and not a checklist while also drawing on holistic curriculum from other sources.
Here is how we exceed expectations in the Ontario Curriculum:
- Children spend two thirds of the day in nature engaging in risky play, playing creatively, being mindful, and experiencing hands-on lessons so they can feel joy at school and maintain a love for learning.
- Our three and five day program include one full day spent outdoors per week, immersed in nature as part of our Wild Wednesdays.
- We nurture physical development all day long to support a healthy brain, improve fine gross motor skills, balance, and coordination, reduce stress, develop resilience, and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
- We embed social and emotional learning into every aspect of our day to help children develop self-awareness, healthy relationships, empathy, emotional regulation and problem solving-skills to name a few.
- Children learn at a slower pace so they can confidently explore ideas, ask questions, make connections, and deeply understand concepts, which strengthens their problem solving skills.
- With small and multi-aged classes we are able to meet the needs of every child, encourage leadership roles in older children, and create a collaborative, flexible, inclusive, and respectful learning community.
- Children regularly learn life skills such as self-care, body awareness, cooking, baking, shelter and fire building, carpentry, gardening, as well as everyday tasks such as cleaning and yard work.
- A huge part of our program is play as it supports student-led and inquiry based learning, creativity and imagination, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, conflict resolution and friendships.