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NOW ENROLLING FOR WINTER/SPRING SESSION

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WELCOME TO WHISPERING PINES HOMESCHOOL VILLAGE!

Whispering Pines Homeschool Village is a community that supports  homeschooling families. We believe that it takes a village to raise a child and we want to be part of that village! We view ourselves as a forest school hybrid program, in fact it could be said that 50% of most days are spent outside on our 18 acres. We believe that learning should not be confined to four walls.  The outdoors lends itself perfectly to nurturing and building a child's emotional, physical, cognitive, and spiritual development, as well as supporting mental well-being.  We believe children learn best when they are given the opportunity to learn the way that fits their needs! We focus on project-based and place-based learning all while incorporating enrichment activities that focus on math, literacy, science, cooking, social studies, and more!

 

Here at Whispering Pines we offer a few options. We have a  one day drop-off  forest school enrichment program for families with children aged 4-8; we offer a two day option and a three day micro-school option for children aged 5-8. For families looking for a bit more support. Check out our "enrollment info" section for  more information. 

 

We also offer a family co-op on Thursday 

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Future: Fall of 2025 we will be adding 3rd grade to our drop off programs and a grade level each year after. 


our mission: 
To provide a space for homeschooled children, within nature, where they can be free to learn at their own pace, through hands-on, child-led, and place-based learning, all while cultivating meaningful friendships.

"Just as a bee needs a flower, a child needs nature" -Brandi Rondenelli

Our 
Story

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Hi! My name is Shawna Gass, the founder of Whispering Pines Village. In 2023 I started homeschooling my oldest son. He is a highly sensitive child and the pressure and rigidity of mainstream school was not a place we felt he would thrive in. While our homeschooling journey has been amazing, I felt it was lacking the social piece. I believe that our kids can learn so much more from their peers than they can from an adult at times. I have a younger son as well, and they both are eagerly wanting that interaction with others. Rewind even further; for the past 20 years I have been teaching and working with children in some type of capacity. I hold a bachelors degree in early childhood education (birth-3rd grade) and a masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction.  I am thrilled to be able to merge the two of these passions together (my own children, and teaching)! In 2016, I taught at a nature preschool for a few years. It was here that I fell in love with the nature-based learning philosophy! Going from teaching in traditional classrooms to a hybrid model of partially outdoors- I was hooked! There is nothing more rewarding than watching a child wander through a natural space and see the world from their eyes. I went down a rabbit hole of learning about forest schools, nature-based education, nature-based co-ops, etc.. It is then when I stumbled onto this idea of a homeschool collaborative, and found out many homeschooling families are looking for a hybrid model where their children can come and be a part of a community, in which they can learn and thrive together. That's where Whispering Pines comes in! Please take a look around the website to see if you think you want to be part of this village! 
 

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