Forest preschool on Henderson Inlet adds Tuesday afternoons of shelter-building and spoon-carving for homeschoolers

Hidden Meadow School, an outdoor preschool on Henderson Inlet in the South Bay neighborhood, began a homeschool enrichment program Oct. 6 for children ages 6 to 12, teaching wilderness and homesteading skills on Tuesday afternoons, according to the school's website.

The program meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on the school's private 16-acre property, where forest trails, creeks, gardens and chickens serve as the classroom. Like the preschool, it spends nearly all its time outdoors, the school says.

What the kids make. The projects follow the seasons, the school says. While "the whole forest is getting ready for winter," children build shelters and learn how plants and animals prepare for cold. Next comes slow work close to the fire: fire making, cordage, oil lamps and candles, carving spoons and bowls, and outdoor cooking. When "the meadow wakes up," the focus turns to identifying and foraging plants. "The bowl a child carves in January is the bowl they eat from in April," the school's website says.

The same group of 10 children works together all year, according to the school. Its list of goals for each child includes building "a shelter that stays standing through a Washington winter," using knives and hand tools safely and starting a fire "with confidence, and know when not to."

Co-director Jake O'Rear leads the afternoons, according to the school. His biography on the school's website lists a two-year apprenticeship in primitive skills and ethnobotany, certification as a wilderness first responder and 16 years of work with children as a board-certified behavior analyst. The school says he teaches fire, knives and tools "slowly, and never before a child is ready."

The program is not accredited and doesn't issue grades or transcripts, the school says. Parents keep their own homeschool records, and the school says the afternoons touch several of the subject areas Washington requires for home-based instruction, including science, occupational education and health.

Tuition is $150 a month, month to month, plus a one-time $100 registration and materials fee.

Mornings for the little ones. The preschool serves children ages 3 to 6 Monday through Thursday, according to its program page, with a half-day program from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a full-day option until 3 p.m. A typical morning includes circle time, a daily adventure on the trails or along the creek, outdoor lunch and story time, according to the school. It follows the North Thurston Public Schools calendar for holidays and breaks.

The school's website lists a waitlist for the half-day program and says the full-day program is enrolling for 2026-27. For privacy and security, the school gives its exact address only to families who schedule a tour.