Willowell Foundation's Wren's Nest Forest Preschool

Wren’s Nest is a wilderness program for preschool-age children. Students at Wren’s Nest learn by interacting with the natural world. Willowell is proud to partner with Treleven Farm in New Haven to host Wren’s Nest Mondays through Fridays, from 8:00-2:30 with an extended programming option from 2:30-4:30.

Wren’s Nest is a holistic, interdisciplinary, and sensory-based approach to learning, and a companion program to Willowell’s nationally-recognized outdoor high school program, The Walden Project.  Wren’s Nest’s goal is to foster students’ independence and an initial understanding of their interconnectedness with the whole world. Kids come away with a deep level of comfort and love for the land they play and learn on. Above all, Wren’s Nest creates a space for children to cultivate their natural sense of awe and wonder.

The program incorporates specific themes rooted in the changing bounty of the land and the seasons. Areas of study include wild edibles, fire building, tracking, shelter building, sensory awareness, bird language, singing, movements and yoga, garden planting and harvesting, wetland walks, drawing, journal writing, clay work, nature sculpture, natural dyeing, indoor and outdoor cooking, scavenger hunts, storytelling, special guests, dancing, singing, and an age-appropriate end of year rite of passage.