Ages: 6 - 11 Years Old

Days: M, T, W, TH, F

Where: Bend 

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Now enrolling for:

 2024/25 & 2025/26,

 1st-5th grade program!

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Bend Forest School’s Primary Program

At Bend Forest School, we believe that childhood should be a time of joy, exploration, and connection with the outdoors. Our Primary Program is designed for students in kindergarten through 5th grade and offers a unique and transformative educational experience that fosters growth, independence, and a lifelong love of learning. It is built around our four pillars: Connection to Joy of Learning, Connection to Community, Connection to Self, and Connection to Nature. We invite you to join us in a place where children thrive amidst the beauty of nature and the warmth of a supportive and accepting community.

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Academics at Bend Forest School

Bend Forest School is a progressive academic program that is a unique blend of inquiry driven, nature-based, and experiential learning, designed to foster holistic development in each child both academically and socially. Our program focuses on the fundamentals - math, language arts, science, art, and music. Our curriculum emerges from the children's interests and the environment around them, with teachers artfully integrating academic concepts into hands-on explorations, play, and projects.    

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Nature is our classroom; children spend most of their day outdoors, exploring the forests, deserts, and mountains of Central Oregon.  Through these direct experiences, they cultivate observation skills, scientific inquiry, creativity, and a deep appreciation for the natural world.    

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The program embraces mixed-age learning, fostering collaboration, mentorship, and a strong sense of community.  Play is the cornerstone of learning, allowing children to develop essential skills like problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, and social negotiation.    

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Experiential learning is at the heart of the program, with children engaging in activities like nature journaling, shelter building, creating art with natural materials, identifying plants and animals, and learning wilderness skills.  Social-emotional development is also emphasized, fostering empathy, cooperation, communication, and self-regulation.    

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Teachers recognize that each child is unique and learns in their own way, providing individualized support and differentiated instruction.  Inquiry-based projects allow children to delve into topics that spark their curiosity, engaging in research, exploration, and creative expression.    

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Bend Forest School's academic program provides a rich and engaging learning experience that nurtures the whole child - head, heart, and hands.