Discover the Wonders of Westbrook
Westbrook Nature School Mission
Westbrook’s primary mission is to connect the young child with the beauty and rhythms of nature, bringing joy and vitality to their educational experience. Westbrook provides an alternative to indoor preschool instruction by allowing the freedom to learn through direct experience of the natural world. Through their deepening experience and kinship with nature, enlivened by song, poetry, dance, and storytelling, we guide the child toward resilience, balance, and social growth.
Westbrook’s success reveals a growing awareness of the necessity of authentic relationship with nature through experience and education. Because we seek to support the health and wellbeing of children, their families, and the local community, Westbrook looks to expand educational offerings, to parents, alumni, and the broader local community, through classes and workshops. This will establish Westbrook as a vital component in the growing effort to ensure the fundamental right of everyone to experience the natural world as part of their education. In doing so, we will fulfill our commitment to sustain, heal, and become stewards of the earth.
Activities
Most preschools keep children indoors for the majority of each day. Current studies show the stress this places on the young child's physical, emotional and cognitive development. In contrast, Westbrook, with its meadows, woods, and streams, gives children an opportunity to learn and develop in the environment they are made for.

Free Play

Circle Time

Woodland Adventures

Snack Time

Arts & Crafts

Story Time
Testimonials
Nature Education News & Research
WHY FOREST KINDERGARTENS ARE THE BEST SCHOOLS FOR OUR YOUNG KIDS
What if there were a better way to do early childhood education?
STUDY LINKS BEHAVIOR IN KINDERGARTEN TO ADULT SUCCESS
Kindergartners with good social skills are more likely to succeed as adults. Ability to share and cooperate in kindergarten was measured in 800 children over 20 years.
IT'S 'DIGITAL HEROIN': HOW SCREENS TURN KIDS INTO PSYCHOTIC JUNKIES
We now know that those iPads, smartphones and Xboxes are a form of digital drug.
NEW YORK TIMES: PRESCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS
Bundle up, buttercup. A growing number of preschools are situating their classrooms under the open sky and towering trees, regardless of weather.
TOP FIVE REASONS TO CHOOSE NATURE PRESCHOOL
Anyone who reads the volumes of research can easily see all the reasons why a nature preschool is not just a real preschool, but should be a standard for all preschool environments to aspire to attain.
THE NEW PRESCHOOL IS CRUSHING KIDS
Today's young children are working more, but they're learning less.
LET 'EM OUT! THE MANY BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR PLAY IN KINDERGARTEN
At Swiss Waldkindergartens, or forest kindergartens, children spend all their school days playing outdoors, no matter the weather.
EARLY ACADEMIC TRAINING PRODUCES LONG TERM HARM
Research reveals negative effects of academic preschools and kindergartens.
INTO THE WOODS: WHEN PRESCHOOLERS SPEND EVERY CLASS OUTDOORS
Does learning in the leaves offer an advantage that indoor classrooms can't match? A growing number of parents have decided to find out
LOOK UP FROM YOUR SCREEN
Children learn best when their bodies are engaged in the living world. We must resist the ideology of screen-based learning
WHAT FOREST PLAYGROUNDS TEACH US ABOUT KIDS AND GERMS
Children learn best when their bodies are engaged in the living world. We must resist the ideology of screen-based learning
Westbrook Alumni Summer Camp 2025 (Explorers: 6 – 8 year olds) Sold Out
Westbrook Alumni Summer Camp 2025 (Adventurers: 9 – 12 year olds)