What our days look like at River Valley Nature School

We believe a child centered educational experience is most beneficial for children. Therefore, our day flows with a rhythm that is flexible and adapts to the needs of the children and the weather to maximize opportunities for learning and time spent in nature.

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Rhythm of the Day

Arrival

Younger children arrive and engage with teacher designed invitations and dramatic play with peers, build with natural materials, read books, and create with art materials.

Older children arrive and read the message of the day, complete academically focused tasks, and take part in teacher invitations or free choice. This is often a time to craft and create.

Morning Gathering

Each class comes together for morning meeting.  We greet one another, share a mindful moment together, and sing our morning song.

Teachers read a book, and children have opportunities to share with the group.

Academic work

Our programs are literacy rich. Children have opportunities for nature journaling, read-alouds, and guided reading practice.

Teachers work with small groups or one-on-one to learn and practice numeracy skills.  Children learn math in concrete ways by using nature material manipulatives, playing games, conducting investigations, and reading math themed books. 

Based on child-interest, thematic studies is a deep dive into social studies and science that often integrates other subject areas such as math and art.

Free Play

We know that children benefit from large uninterrupted blocks of unstructured time and make this a priority each day. All classes offer significant time for free and imaginative play.

Classes are given opportunities to interact with older and younger friends through free play and other class projects, including cooking a special meal or treat for another class, presenting projects, or putting on a play.

Daily Reflection

We gather at the end of the day to reflect on our work and play and share what went well. We sing our closing song and often end with a game.




 
 

At a Glance

Description

River Valley is a progressive, non-public, co-ed school serving children age 3 through grade 8, expanding grades each year. We opened our doors in 2019.

Location

River Valley Nature School is located at 104 N 16th Street Lewisburg, PA 17837. Our schoolhouse is adjacent to the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail. We are a short walk to St. Mary’s Park and idyllic downtown Lewisburg. For deep engagement with nature, we regularly spend a few days each week at Catbird Farm about 6 miles from from our school.

Class Size

Because we value individualized learning, small class size is critical. Our student to faculty ratio is approximately 1:6.

Hours

School hours are 8:30am to 3:30pm.

Transportation

Surrounding school districts provide free busing for students in Kindergarten and above. For information about busing to River Valley, email info@rivervalleynatureschool.org.