Wild Oak Explorers

08/27/2026

Our mission is to make sure children are not disconnected from Nature!! Do you see this happening? I have seen children come so far and a lot of times it's because a parent has instilled their own fear.

08/27/2026

This is absolutely amazing!!!

08/26/2026

I can't wait for our staff to start Rooted in Play cohort!

08/26/2026

When kids explore the outdoors, they sharpen their observation skills, strengthen their reasoning, exercise their curiosity, and grow in ways no screen can replicate.

Let them get curious, get dirty, and get learning—one moth, rock, or leaf at a time.

08/26/2026

Let them play 🫶🏻

08/26/2026

This is great! Are you looking for gear for the new school year??

08/20/2026

How do you cultivate wonder and curiosity?

How will you help cultivate this important sense of wonder, this affinity for Nature?

Let's start by simply getting outside.

08/16/2026

If you don't think your child is up for Forest School, that's okay! Instead, sign them up for A Learning Lifestyle happening in the same location, from 11am-3pm.

Pathways – Social & Executive Function SupportPathways provides a safe space for students to develop social-emotional and executive function skills through engaging games and collaborative team-building activities.A Learning Lifestyle is an approved Step Up For Students EMA Marketplace provider.Ag...

08/12/2026

Read that again!!!!

We are worrying about the wrong thing when it comes to “kindergarten readiness.”

Many adults are concerned with whether a child can read, write, and meet "academic expectations" by the time kindergarten begins. Those questions feel responsible. They are also incomplete.

The more important question is this: Am I willing to compromise my child’s ability to regulate, attend, and remain emotionally available for learning in exchange for early academic exposure that research shows does not improve (and can undermine) long-term outcomes?

Kindergarten has shifted from a developmental bridge to an academically intensified environment. Increased sitting, constant direction-following, early benchmarks, and reduced play are now treated as normal. Developmentally, they are not.

Self-regulation, attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility are still wiring in early childhood. These systems develop through movement, play, autonomy, and co-regulation—not through pressure or performance demands.

When academics are pushed before these systems are ready, stress increases, regulation stays external, and learning becomes fragile. Any early gains fade, while the long-term costs show up as disengagement, weaker executive functioning, and poorer academic persistence.

This is why research on delayed kindergarten entry consistently finds stronger self-regulation, attention, and emotional readiness for learning. Not because children missed academics, but because their brains were given time to build the foundation learning depends on.