On April 23rd, Sammie's Fawn Lilies went back to Horseshoe Lake for school. Quietly and respectfully, they watched with intent as they released their four beautiful Painted Lady butterflies that day, which they had nurtured in their classroom in the past months. They made nature collages with items they collected around camp, colored in the shade, and had silent reading time in the afternoon. Finally, they learned about the Legend of the Three Sisters, a Native American tale about companion planting, then they planted seeds of the oldest, Sister Corn.
On April 22nd, Earth Day, Jess' Starflowers visited Far View Ranch for their second Forest Day! What a way to spend Earth Day! We prepared mulch and cages for planting baby Blue Oaks, played games, soared on the big swing, got our heads wet under the 75 yr old water well, visited an old rock with Acorn grinding bowls, and enjoyed peaceful sit spots under the shade.
On April 2nd, Linda's Lupines enjoyed a Wildflower scavenger hunt, building a fort on the edge of the lake that's been visited by other classes, saving tadpoles and bullfrongs from a vernal pool, exploring and naming "raft world", a bed of Tule reeds, and getting plain old muddy!
On April 11th, Morgan's Poppys had their 2nd Forest Day! We enjoyed a beautiful and peaceful Sit Spot moment, collected beautiful Wildflowers to build Oak Folk, and an Oak Folk Village, played in the sun, and took a walk to the creek to get our hair wet! Another beautiful day of joy and cheer!
ANNOUNCING: The Wildflower North Valley Community Foundation Fund.
We are excited to announce a way for our community to financially support our innovative school model and philosophy. Through generous donors we can continue to provide a nurturing and dynamic learning environment for our students.
Donate here: https://www.nvcf.org/funds/wildflower-open-classroom-support-fund
Our 7th and 8th grade Adolescent Program had an amazing time on their annual San Francisco camping Immersion! Some of their experiences included: Old Town Sacramento River History, San Rafael Guide Dogs for the Blind, The Cal Academy of Sciences, a ferry ride and exploration of Angel Island, Japanese Garden, Miniature Golf at Scandia, and multiple trips to the beach.
"I learned on the trip that you don't need electronics every second of the day. Now I go outside more of the day and stopped being on electronics" - Seventh grade student
"I think immersions really change us as a class, community and family. Every time we leave for an extended amount of time, we all seem to make new bonds. Myself included." - Eighth grade student
A Forest Day for the Dandelions; Cassandra's 5th/6th graders enjoyed a windy day at Horseshoe Lake! We learned all about the scientific, medicinal, and cultural value of their classroom flower, the Dandelion, and after removing 6 trash bags of star thistle, we reseeded the area with thousands of Dandelion seeds and wishes! This class was the first class to use our new tent! It protected us from the 20 mph gusts of wind, so we could use hand microscopes to look at Dandelion's tiny parts. Another fantastic day at Horseshoe Lake.
Our Kindergarten Buttercup's Theme this year is Food: past present and future. This week they tried got to try qual eggs, and painted rainbows using natural dyes made from plants. Red = Beets, Orange = Carrot Juice, Yellow = Turmeric, Green = Parsley, Blue = Cabbage + baking soda, Purple = Cabbage.
Wildflower's Adolescent Program (7th & 8th grades) had a Forest Day at Far View Ranch where they have been doing Blue Oak Restoration over the past 4 years! On this particular day, they used manure to buffer the plants. Manure patties placed around growing plants helps in three ways: 1) helps keep water in the soil, 2) eliminates weed growth directly around the growing native plant, 3) offers nutrients to the plant! Our manure days at Far View Ranch are some of the most fun!
Sammie's Fawn Lillies experienced our first rainy Forest Day at Horseshoe Lake!
Buttercups at Horseshoe Lake - Kali's Kinders made V's in nature, laid 100 rocks in a row and then threw them into the water one at a time, practiced with tools, went on long hikes, colored under the sky, and sang lots of songs. Another wonderful Forest Day.
Forest Day at Far View Ranch in February! Last week Jess's 3rd/4th grade Starflowers installed bird boxes, hiked a couple miles, climbed the famous Lone Tree, learned about control burn piles, and played in the beautiful creek! The joy of learning was palpable! Huge thanks to Alex Palmerlee of Far View Ranch!
Dirty hands and belly laughs! That is a sign of a good day at Wildflower Open Classroom! Wildflower School is Butte County’s option for alternative TK-8 schooling models, including integrated-thematic open classroom, TK Forest School, and TK-8 Forest Days! Enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! Visit our webpage to learn more about us and enroll, or view the QR codes below!
Forest TK, February 3-7, 2025! What a week of rainy wonder! Our Forest TK kids are growing such grit, resilience and appreciation of all weather! And our teachers are such hero's as they show up for all that nature has to offer our litte ones!
Last Wednesday, Morgan's 3rd/4th grade Poppies had their first Forest Day at Horseshoe Lake! They created Oak Folk Villages. There was a whole excavation team to mine for stones, and a well organized bark gathering crew. There were engineers, builders, foreign relations (those who stole resources from other smaller villages and those who stole them back), two villages that became one larger village in order to pool resources, a horse stable, cemetery, living and sleeping quarters, and a main kitchen making village soup for everyone. All student-driven. It was spectacular the creativity and collaboration these kids showed. School in nature at its best 💚🍃🌳🪨🐇🐦⬛.
Wildflower Open Classroom is proud to offer our second year of Forest School for Transitional Kindergarten; the only free-to-public Forest School program in Chico! Enrollment is now open! Space is filling up quickly so secure your spot today! Lottery is on February 6th, 2025.
Come visit Wildflower as we host an open house on Wednesday, January 22nd between 9am and 2pm. Children welcome! Enrollment is now open for the 25/26 school year. Find the enrollment interest forms on our website https://www.wildflowerschool.com/
In case you missed it, check out the article featuring Wildflower in March's edition of the North State Parent Magazine:
https://northstateparent.com/article/wildflower-open-classroom-opening-minds-and-opening-future-doors/?fbclid=IwAR1OqCaIkD6pplZ36ELeA7wIvpIwLZKWjp2F7ufK0v-ppgNfiY8QHSlVZFs
Check out the article featuring Wildflower in this month's edition of the North State Parent Magazine:
https://northstateparent.com/article/wildflower-open-classroom-opening-minds-and-opening-future-doors/
Support Wildflower tonight 4 - 8 with some yummy food at the East Ave Chipotle!
