Embracing the notion of slowing down childhood.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” -Lao-Tzu
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Program Details
Turtle Run Nature School is an early learning program offered at our homestead in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. With the support of adults we allow children the opportunity to direct their own learning and exploring while being present in nature. We aim to build a positive relationship with our students by allowing our curriculum to change based on the student’s interests.
Our days will mostly be spent outside near our small pond where we will be learning and playing together in nature. The start and end of the day will take place in our cozy learning room. This will also be our classroom on days when the weather is too harsh for our outdoor play.
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Schedule
Our program is designed for early childhood learners ages 3-5. *Children must be potty-trained.
Program runs:
Monday-Wednesday
9:30am-1:00pm
Sept-May
*Currently accepting applications for 2024-2025 program
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About us
Molly is the founder of Turtle Run Nature School. She has had a life long love for children and nature. She has three young children and has worked as a Registered Nurse for 13 years. While her career and education and been based in healthcare, Molly has always had a strong passion for nature and educating children. When life or work became too much, Molly began to realize how powerful being in nature can be to easing stress. Gardening was always therapy for her, which led to the start of a small cut flower business in Linwood, studying herbal medicine and then to the dream of owning and starting a farm.
In 2020 her and her husband, Brian, bought an old farmstead in Egg Harbor Township. Since stepping foot on the property they knew it was special. Molly’s dreams of working in nature with children will finally come to fruition in 2024. Her and Brian hope to allow others to experience how powerful being in Mother Nature can be. They plan to start with this small school to enrich the lives of some local littles.
As for the future, they hope to expand a program for older school-aged children and adults. They plan to provide nutritional and emotional nourishment for the community with farming pasture raised poultry, selling cut flowers and producing medicinal herbal products.
“Let the children be free; encourage them;
let them run outside when it is raining;
let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water;
and when the grass of the meadows is wet with dew,
let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet;
let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath its shade;
let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning.”
~ Maria Montessori
“The more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think the same is true of human beings.
-Henry David Thoreau
