Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Johnston
Hi Chelsea, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The dream for The Neighborhood changed a couple times over from the original thought but I’m so happy with where we have landed and where we hope to go from here. I came from a home daycare that my mom ran out of our house. You could say working with this age group is in my blood. From the time I was young I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Originally, my heart was set on becoming an elementary school art teacher, as art is a huge passion of mine, but found the public school systems to not put much emphasis or money into the subject. During my junior and senior years in college I found a preschool teaching job and fell in love. I worked my way up at a large childcare company in Connecticut, starting as a co-teacher coming out of college to becoming a lead, to an assistant director and then becoming the Curriculum Director, where I wrote the curriculum for all ages and trained all the teachers in best practices. While I loved working with teachers in this position, I missed having my own classroom and my own group of students to connect and grow with. When hands changed at this company and the time came for a change, I jumped into the public sector as a paraeducator so that I could pursue my master’s and focus on my goals of opening my own preschool.
The height of Covid and teaching preschoolers over a screen pushed my views on teaching young children and more importantly made me question what young children really needed right then and there. This led me to a newfound love for the outdoors. In a time of fear and uncertainty, I found peace in nature and watched as my own children flourished during our family hikes and outdoor adventures. I turned to a bookstore in search for nature-based learning and came upon many books by David Sobel, the founder of Antioch University’s Nature-Based Early Learning program. I was hooked and immediately applied. This was it: a nature-based preschool. Children needed space, time, nature and each other. That is what I would build. Through Antioch I found like-minded teachers and professors (my inspirations), the Reggio Emilia Approach to teaching (my inner teacher voice) and a new passion in teaching outdoors in and with nature.
While I searched for the perfect place to start my school, I explored my own property at home with my 4 year old. We climbed on boulders and up trees, made trails in the woods, visited the stream daily and dreamed about sharing these experiences with others. It was then we decided to start our school from home, where the dream began. We transformed our living room and entryway into a classroom, made more trails and put together an outdoor classroom complete with a mud kitchen, building area, circle time logs and hammock while applying for our license. My daughter, Kylee, was my first preschooler in year one, but we filled up soon after and are still full with a wait list going into year 3. Since we have opened we’ve added a climbing dome, tables, more mud kitchens, an easel and a xylophone drum to the outdoor classroom. We’ve explored further into the forest around us coming up with new adventures and nature spots to visit around our 7 acres of property.
One component I knew I needed at my program would be appropriate outdoor gear for all of my students so that we could be outside in all weather and still be comfortable. We still provide every student with head to toe trail suits and Oaki boots, along with a nature backpack filled with binoculars, magnifying glasses, sunglasses, journals with writing utensils and a compass. Along our adventures, many acorns, shiny rocks and cool sticks make their way in those bags too. My goal was for them to have anything and everything they needed to explore comfortably and confidently.
We spend most of our days exploring outside. The children are the true leaders in our adventures and our investigations. It’s their love of nature and questions that drive us and the curriculum. If they become very invested in watching squirrels hiding acorns, we will start to learn more about animals getting ready for winter and decorate our own acorns and play counting and hiding games with those acorns. Every year is unique because the children’s interests and curiosity changes, just like the seasons. I have watched so much growth take place in my students in the last 2 years. Each student that starts here has their own strengths and struggles that we share and work on together. Because the students are mixed ages, a lot of time they are learning from each other, and it is beautiful. It gives them confidence and makes them leaders. It has just been so amazing to watch the learning unfold so naturally.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
So far, our road has been smooth. Both my husband and I come from many years in childcare, so opening a small school for only 6 students seemed easy. I worried it would be harder to find families who sought out a nature-based preschool because our philosophy is so different from your KinderCares and BrightPaths, but our people found us and shared the news. Our families are very outdoorsy people who appreciate their children being outdoors and taking risks to build confidence. Our parents were not turned off by their children exploring in a mud kitchen, with YES MUD! They cheered on their children to try the tree swing and climb up Charlie the Tree. They happily sent in picnic style lunches so we could enjoy eating outdoors in the sunshine to easily continue our outdoor explorations. The calls from families kept coming at an alarming rate for spots that we didn’t have. It is a great problem to have but one we so desperately want to fix.
Our next step is much harder. With a huge outpour from many families who would like to join us but can’t, we hope to grow. To grow, we need to find a larger indoor space for more classrooms with the perfect piece of property that offers everything we have here. We need a large outdoor space with hills, water, boulders, trees for climbing and enough space for a fenced in outdoor classroom. Trying to find this in our area has not been successful so far, but we are hopeful we will find it so that more children and teachers can join our cause. Our hope is to offer current growing families space for their infants and toddlers as well.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our school is special because it is just for children ages 3-5 who love being outside in nature. We go out in all kinds of weather with our school Oaki trail suits and boots to keep us comfortable. Our goal is to spend as much time outside as possible. Any learning that can be done inside, can be done outside as well. I think how I teach also sets my program apart. When you look at other schools, there is usually a set curriculum in place. Everyone learns the same thing. Here, every year is different. Every child has different goals that they are working on, whether its language, potty training, entering play appropriately, understanding that letters hold meaning or developing fine motor skills. With a small program right now, I am able to focus my attention on my students, the goals I have in mind for them and what is peeking their interest outside. Our close relationships help my students feel comfortable, try new things and grow.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory was playing out back with the hose, buckets and nature. I would make soups and stews and try to feed them to anyone who came near and showed interest. Sometimes my brother would join in, but even without him, I could play outback with those materials for hours.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://neighborhoodelc.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNeighborhoodELC
