Goldenrod Farm & Nature School

05/29/2024

Goldenrod will officially close June 1st. It is so bittersweet as the past 2 years have been truly amazing. I am eternally grateful for the support and love both the families and community have provided since the beginning!

We will miss Osceola and our beautiful home here, but we are excited to celebrate our upcoming marriage by starting fresh in Arizona where we will be near Mike's family and enjoying some more sunshine and new adventures!

If you are looking for nature-based childcare, there are many other wonderful options and more coming in the near future! Please feel free to continue to reach out with questions and I will support you all to my best ability!

We will be holding a closing and moving sale this weekend - Saturday and Sunday June 1st and 2nd from 8am to 4pm. Our home will also be going on the market June 19th!

Much love,
Sarah and Mike

Kind Roots Early Learning & Care LLC
Tamarack Nature Center
Wild Roots Childcare
Pilot Park Nature-Based Preschool
Project Wild Rooted
MN ECO: Minnesota Early Childhood Outdoors

03/27/2024

There are so many ways to approach sharing with children, but I can share what has worked for us here!

If a child has something and another child wants it, we encourage them to ask if they can play with them or have a turn next. The children are surprisingly good at finishing their turn and remembering who asked for a turn. They'll tell them it's their turn and everyone gets to enjoy it. I also make sure everyone knows it's OK to say no when someone asks to join them. You don't have to share just because someone else wants something. We do remind it's important to take turns, but allowing the first child to finish their turn or choose an amount of time to set a timer for really alleviates the stress they feel about losing control in a situation, and allows them to feel heard, cared about, and respected.

I love having a mixed age group as the older kids are understandably more consistent with things and help the younger friends remember how to "share".

Don't get me wrong, we still have daily arguments and elevated feelings, but we're all always working on being kinder and more empathic 😊

ETA - this is my approach here since none of the kids own the toys, and they belong to everyone. I'm not sure the same approach would work in a home setting or with your own kids, and it isn't necessarily the approach I used when I was nannying. Just good for thought!

03/03/2024

It's been a beautiful few weeks of tree climbing, puddle splashing, sand pit/mud kitchen creations, bike riding, and more!

01/11/2024

Between the holidays and Covid, I realized I haven't posted in a very long time! We have been enjoying the warmer winter, but hoping for some more sun and/or snow soon!

My two favorite things have been happening lately! The first is watching kids learn to do more things independently and feel proud of themselves. We have some newly potty trained friends who have been working on those skills, while others are learning how to put on their snow gear or hang it up when we come inside. They use scissors to open their snacks and help clean up spills and messes when they happen. It's so fun to watch their pride and excitement as they tackle each task and build up resilience for learning new things.

The 2nd thing is forming friendships. They all ask who will be here each day, and many have developed games they like to play with certain friends. They help each other reach things, pass the food at meal time, and give lots of hugs.

I hope 2024 is starting off well for all of you and that you're succeeding in these areas as well!

12/10/2023

10/30/2023

We have an opening starting November 7th! This is a bittersweet announcement as we will dearly miss our friend who is embarking on a new adventure.

This is a full-time opening from Tuesday to Friday. Hours between 8am and 430pm.

Tours are available this Wednesday, November 1st between 5 and 6pm and Friday, November 3rd between 430 and 6pm.

Please message or email [email protected] with questions or interest!

10/26/2023

This past week has been filled with fall and pumpkin fun!

We have enjoyed seeing all the different leaves and talking about how some plants and trees prepare for the winter.

We washed our pumpkins then did some awesome hand-eye coordination work by pounding jn golf tees! We also broke some pumpkins open to investigate the inside and feed them to the goats and chickens. Some friends also used pliers to pull the golf tees back out so they could hammer them in again!

We practiced our fine motor skills by cutting and ripping tissue paper to place inside different leaf shapes, then hung them in the window to enjoy.

The rain has also given us some new things to see and feel, including some really long worms!

10/02/2023

We have 3 new goat friends! The kids had fun meeting them this morning, and we are excited to learn about them and get to know them!

We have also been enjoying the variety of weather lately, from finally having some rain puddles to play in to these hot days for more water play, we are always finding ways to have fun outside!

08/29/2023

This past year has been nothing short of amazing. When I opened last September, I had 5 part-time kids. There were days I ended up closing because I would have 0 or 1 kid scheduled to come.

Eventually, those 5 were joined by many others, and our program has grown tremendously. Those 5 have all now moved on to "big kid school". I am SO excited for them, and grateful for their families for jumping in to this adventure with me.

Transitions bring about a lot of feelings. While I am definitely sad to say "see you later" to my first group, I am overwhelmed with happiness, gratitude, and excitement for what is now and yet to come.

Our group will shift a little, allowing new children to take on leadership roles and others to be guided by them. We will continue our days of belly laughs, self-expression, and discovery, playing barefoot in the sand pit or the sprinkler for these last weeks of summer ☀️ ❤️😊

08/15/2023

A few thoughts as we head into a new school year. Learning doesn't only happen in a classroom during direct instruction September to June, so let's not place so much pressure on kids to spend their time "learning", and pressure on ourselves about what kids "know".