Our Philosophy

Like the darling, curious Wombat, we know how important it is to be silly, follow the butterfly, smell a new flower, take our time or just run and run. We too seek new experiences and are excited to offer the opportunity to build and grow, with edible and flower gardens, wetlands, forest and farm land.

We also agree with our wombat friends that it’s most fun to learn through ‘paws-on’ exploration, and to be offered a wide range of new opportunities in a nature-based educational environment.

Our nurturing mentors are flexible and patient, understanding that every person learns and flourishes in their own way and in their own time.

Remaining the ever-learning students, our mentors draw inspiration from Montessori, Reggio, Waldorf, OT, and other alternative learning programs as well as staying in close connection with the community and surrounding schools.

Our motto is “We rise by lifting others up”, because we believe that personal connection and elevating our community are essential pillars of a child’s growth.

Wombat Hollow Farm takes joy in supporting our community as much as possible. We regularly volunteer to help the Maple Valley arts community, Girl Scouts troops and events, the Little Free Library program, women’s shelters, wildlife, farm, and pet rescues, and wetland and nature rehabilitation centers. (Keep your eyes out for baby squirrels in our registered release spots around the property!)

Our cozy school invites your child to listen and play music, create art from many different styles, to stretch in yoga time, to spend as much time outside as possible, to learn how to care for ourselves, our friends and our world.

We strongly believe in recycling and reuse to reduce our carbon footprint. We believe in taking steps to protect and learn about wildlife, bees, our community, the world and the incredible beauty that diversity brings.

Wombat Hollow offers the opportunity to learn about many cultures, countries and communities. We celebrate the unique.

Taking risks can be challenging for all of us at times, and under the watchful eyes of our experienced mentors, your child will be offered the opportunity to take these risks, in a safe and nurturing environment. We will take cues from your child and follow curiosity to encourage excitement for autonomous learning with patience, nurture, joy and support when they try new things.

We believe that growth happens when we learn to trust ourselves enough to fail and brush off our noses to try again.

“Children are always throwing out sparks of knowledge, curiosity, and inquiry and adults must be ready to catch those sparks. When the children are investigating and researching…this is what it’s like, little tiny sparks. You have to be ready to catch them as a teacher and blow on them to encourage them to grow bigger and ignite them further”. – Reggio teacher, Italy.