At GNS children are treated as intelligent people with the ability to cooperate, create, and participate in their own care. Children help design and decorate classrooms, grow  and help prepare their own food, and use tools to build and to move earth, rocks, and water.

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Younger learners learn mainly through play and mimicry. Our teachers demonstrate how to respect ourselves and others, even in small things like how to treat bugs or how to dress for the weather. Our teachers are also active learners who engage with each situation creatively and consciously.

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We cultivate a community that supports children’s curiosity, imagination, and social skills, while also forming deep connections to nature. We create a home where children take pride in caring for their environment and themselves. Teachers don’t use time-outs or other punishments, just consequences that naturally arise. (For example, if a child won’t put her boots on, she won’t be able to participate in the activities outside.) We use routines that accentuate kids’ natural impulses: loving to learn, focusing on tasks, being helpful.

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