Who will be teaching?
All staff are background checked. All regularly teaching forest school staff are CPR/first aid certified.
Meet Niki
Niki is the founder, owner, and primary teacher of both the Forest School program and Friday parent and child classes. She is an outdoor educator with more than 9 years of experience who simply cannot keep herself indoors. Her passion in life is to foster the empowerment, emotional, social, and physical wellbeing of all students by teaching them in the best possible place, nature. She truly believes in being your authentic self and the joy of child-led learning. She earned her Master’s in Experiential Education from Clemson University and finally feels she has found her calling in what she’s doing. When she is not teaching, she is taking care of her two children; or can be found hiking, playing her flute in the Flutasia flute chior, and stopping to ID every bird she hears.
Meet Jesi
Jesi is a Tuesday teacher as well as a substitute for the other forest school days. She has a background teaching middle and high school. She has worked in the outdoor education field for over 20 years as an instructor and counselor. Her favorite things to teach are fire building, reading, art, and science. In a forest school classroom, what she enjoys most is the experiential and play based learning that can happen. She looks forward to what ideas students will bring to our democratic classroom this school year!
Meet Krissy
Krissy is a co- teacher at Squirrel Scout's Forest School program Mondays and Wednesdays. She is a wonderful asset to our team, and even better, knows the land firsthand as one of the owners of Hartland Farm. Krissy has a degree in elementary teaching in traditional and Montessori classrooms. However, she currently spends most of her time managing Hartland Farm's pumpkin patch. She loves being outside, spending time with her daughters, and leading her Girl Scout troop.
Meet Emmy
Emmy is a second-generation homeschooling mom of two. She has a BFA from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Emmy has previously taught all ages at The Dayton Art Institute, YMCA, Enchanted Care, and Mouth of the Wolf Productions. Emmy is 3-year veteran of the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge. She believes that children thrive in nature. Emmy loves to garden and share her flowers. She enjoys embroidery, art, and spending time with her family, tuxedo cat, and rottweiler mix dog.
Meet Maggie
Maggie is one of our co-teachers for Monday and Wednesday Forest School and a proud mom of four. After years of homeschooling her kids, she’s discovered that some of the best lessons happen outside—through curiosity, exploration, and play. She studied Parks and Museum Education at Hocking College to become a naturalist and is also a certified yoga instructor, weaving mindfulness and movement into her time with children. Maggie loves guiding children as they find their own rhythm and joy. When she’s not in the forest, you’ll usually find her camping, hiking, or road-tripping with her family to discover near landscapes across the county.
Meet Carly
Carly has an education degree from Ohio Dominican University and is a mom to three. Currently she is homeschooling all three of her children and loves the adventure it brings. She enjoys camping and feels most herself when she is outside. She loves watching children learn in a natural setting. She grew up camping and considers herself a life long learner. Some of her favorites things to learn about are plant identification and insects. She is a firm believer that there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing and won’t ever pass up an opportunity to play in the snow!