Explore with us!

Our Mission:

To connect children to nature through play and learning outside and to support the healthy development of young children by utilizing a developmentally appropriate, inclusive, play-based, emergent curriculum.

Our Vision:

To create and foster resilience in children and help to foster their innate eagerness for learning. Through providing a safe, warm and caring learning environment, children will have the ability to develop a sense of self confidence and of belonging in their community and in nature around them.

Our Goals:

  • Aim to spend at least 40% of each day outside rain or shine

  • Challenge and adapt to each child’s learning needs

  • Foster social skills and friendships through play and collaborative work

  • Develop self-confidence and independence

Ages We Serve:

We will have mixed age groups ranging between ages 3 and 6. This is a very common age grouping for Montessori, Waldorf and even some Reggio Emilia inspired programs. Mixed age groups offer a number of benefits, including allowing older students to sharpen their leadership qualities by helping to mentor younger students while the younger students can look to similar aged peers as role models and for support. This method mimics real world situations and interactions, where children will interact with people of different ages (within an appropriate age range) who have different abilities and experiences. When children are regularly interacting with peers of different ages, it can help them develop important social skills such as healthy negotiation and empathy. Studies show mixed age groups can help build self-confidence and can decrease competition and comparison among children. Mixed age groups also allow for stability and a strong sense of community because many children are with each other (and the same teacher) for multiple years, which allows for the opportunity to build strong relationships and a greater understanding of one another.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR FAMILIES CONSIDERING ENROLLING KINDERGARTEN AGED CHILDREN:

*Indiana residents with kindergarten aged children (5 turning 6) - mandatory enrollment for school begins at age 7. You will not be required to check with your school district or homeschool laws in order to enroll.

*Ohio and Kentucky residents with kindergarten aged children - It is important to consider if you are enrolling a kindergarten aged child (5 turning 6) that mandatory enrollment for school in Ohio and Kentucky begins at age 6 and you will need to make sure you are complying with homeschool laws for your state as The Learning Barn would be considered a homeschool enrichment program for your family.

Curriculum:

Our curriculum is emergent, meaning it is focused on the interests of children in the class in order to create meaningful learning experiences. As learning experiences are planned, we weave in Ohio Department of Education’s Birth through Kindergarten Entry Learning and Development Standards (comparable to Indiana Early Learning Standards) so your child will be well prepared for any kindergarten or educational environment following The Learning Barn. Above all else, we will have a healthy dose of unstructured free play each day!

Meet the Teacher

Hi! I’m Corrie and I’m a mom to two wonderful boys, who are responsible for me wanting to take the leap into outdoor learning. I was raised in Cincinnati and now reside in Lawrenceburg with my husband and our boys.

I taught for nine years, primarily as a kindergarten teacher, in public schools in the Cincinnati area prior to becoming a mom. When my oldest was still just a baby, I read the book There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather and I was hooked. I have always known how important play is to young children’s learning and have become fascinated with learning the many benefits of outdoor play. I am so excited to blend developmentally appropriate learning with nature and free play in our programs.

It is very important to me to make outdoor education accessible for all families and I am so looking forward to building a lasting community with the families who join us at The Learning Barn.


  • Founder

    B.S. Early Childhood Education

    K-12 Reading Endorsement

    Certified Outdoor Educator

    CPR & Wilderness First Aid Certified

Get outside!

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
— Fred Rogers

We all know that play is vital for children and what better place to play and learn than nature’s playground? At The Learning Barn, children will be able to work alongside similar aged peers and explore the many treasures nature has to offer. They will have many opportunities to engage in pretend play, invent games, spot and identify local plants and animal tracks and on occasion, observe some of the many wild animals residing on the land! We find amazing nature treasures every time we venture out!

Supporting Literature

If you are interested in this topic and want to learn more about the benefits of outdoor learning and unstructured play, check out: