The 12-Acre Classroom
Overview
In many ways, our campus embodies Maria Montessori’s vision of the perfect setting for a Montessori school, presenting many opportunities for students and staff to develop meaningful connections with the natural world while working and learning in our forest and wetlands, in our pollinator and vegetable gardens and with our pasture animals. Our campus’s power of place and capacity for connecting students to nature has long been apparent to those associated with our school’s location
As recorded in a 1977 King County, WA permitting document (before the establishment of CRMS at the site): “The 16 acre facility will be used to increase the young child’s awareness of the natural environment. A variety of animals will be observed and utilized in our outdoor program. An outdoor swimming pool will be used during the summer months to provide a well balanced PE program and introduction to water safety.”
Today this power of place informs the development of the 12 Acre Classroom as we work to ecologically restore our forest and wetlands to increase outdoor educational opportunities for our students and to steward health of our ecosystem and the Cedar River watershed. In 2017, our campus became a Washington State Stewardship Forest. Our forest stewardship plan guides the implementation of our ecological restoration plan. Cedar River Montessori was also the proud recipient of the King Conservation District’s Conservation Landowner of the Year award in 2016, following the implementation of our Farm Conservation Plan, which brought our pasture up to best management practices.
At Cedar River Montessori, our students connect with the outdoors daily, rain or shine. This daily connection, observation, and experiential learning allows students to grow to care about and to advocate for our natural world. As our students learn and play in our forests and wetlands adjacent to the endangered salmon runs in the Cedar River in the lower Cedar River watershed, this kind of scientific and environmental literacy has never been more important.
At Cedar River Montessori, our students connect with the outdoors daily, rain or shine. This daily connection, observation, and experiential learning allows students to grow to care about and to advocate for our natural world. As our students learn and play in our forests and wetlands adjacent to the endangered salmon runs in the Cedar River in the lower Cedar River watershed, this kind of scientific and environmental literacy has never been more important.
We are proud of our history of environmental stewardship, and invite you to explore the 12-Acre Classroom!
