Micro School at Oak Learners
A Reggio-Inspired alternative school for Kindergarten through Grade Eight Start Admission Process
How Oak Learners Approaches Curriculum
Oak Learners endeavours every day to inspire learning through an authentic skill-based curriculum. Our teachers nurture children’s natural curiosity about their world with student-centered experiences. Oak Learners’ progressive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based programming brings new learning opportunities and experiences through an integrated and immersive approach to education. Ontario Curriculum content and skill achievement guidelines are covered and enriched through a holistic approach to learning in a 21st century environment.
Oak Learners Micro School is a Reggio-Inspired alternative school for Kindergarten through Grade Eight. We are committed to providing a nurturing, engaging environment where children can learn, explore, and grow beyond the classroom. Our teachers nurture children’s natural curiosity about their world with student-centered experiences. Oak Learners was making the most of “Learning Pods” long before COVID made them popular. Small classes (6:1 ratio) allow for more hands-on learning experiences, more field trips, stronger teacher-student relationships and quality teacher-parent collaboration.
Our Ourdoor Learning program is based on the Forest School philosophy that academic excellence is enhanced with integrated with immersive Outdoor Education. This means that academic subjects like Math, Literacy, Science, and Social Studies are taught, explored, and shared in an authentic way: in the natural environment. Students spend 2-3 hours outdoors every day, all year round, engaging in a variety of Outdoor Learning activities that range from nature-based exploration, to academic programming delivered in the natural envronment, to physical fitness and sports programming.
Many research studies over the past decade link children’s mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health with time spent outdoors, experiencing nature. For example, students have been shown to have increased focus, confidence, self-esteem, and overall feelings of happiness and satisfaction with school.
At Oak Learners, we believe every child can be successful when they belong to a truly supportive educational community. Academic excellence is enhanced with 30-50% of our school day being integrated with immersive Outdoor Education. This means that academic subjects like Math, Literacy, Science, and Social Studies are taught, explored, and shared in an authentic way: in the natural environment.
Progressive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based programming in a student-driven, teacher-facilitated, alternative enrichment learning environment. Each learner goes through a cyclical process of identifying their unique strengths, needs, goals, and interests. Through collaboration with teachers, peers, parents and members of their community, they design an inquiry-based project to guide their learning over the course of a term.
Start the Admissions Process
We are currently accepting applications for the 2025-26 school year for all Grade Levels, JK through Grade 8.
Complete an Intake Questionnaire to begin the process today!
- The Kindergarten Program (JK-SK)
- Lower Elementary (Grades 1-4)
- Upper Elementary (Grades 5-8)
- Outdoor Learning at Oak Learners
- "Bridge The Gap": Part-Time Enrollment
Our Kindergarten program follows a skill-based curriculum through a cross-curricular and arts-based approach with a unique focus on outdoor education. Spending time in our community and in nature provides our students with unique opportunities to engage in a meaningful way with their environment and their peers.
Daily programming for Kindergarten students at Oak Learners includes blocks of time devoted to Core Skill Development (ie. Literacy and Math), Outdoor Education (ie. Ecology and gross motor development), and STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math). Monthly theme-based units guide the learning for the students and provide a foundation for project-based learning and a real-world application of learning skills.
Integrated Literacy
Overview
Reading and Writing are taught in an integrated and immersive program, including building phonological awareness and phonics skills. Writing skills are built through fine motor development and literature appreciation through storytelling.
Skills Gained
Students in the Kindergarten Program at Oak Learners will:
*Develop phonetic awareness with a focus on letter sounds
*Improve letter recognition in order to identify beginning, middle and end sounds in common and nonsense words
*Isolate sound combinations
*Learn in an environment which promotes re-telling stories and finding meaning in written text
*Use descriptive language to explain, explore and extend”
Teaching Strategies
The Kindergarten program at Oak Learners is delivered by teachers who are passionate about experiential learning and the Reggio Emelia philosophy. We begin with the tenet that children are curious and capable and we design learning experiences for them that enrich their understanding of the world around them. Provocations are set up to provide co-learning, child-guided learning experiences.
Mathematics
Overview
Oak Learners strives to expand the 4 walls of a classroom, and encourages students to find patterns and number representation all around them. Our goal is to develop mathematical skills that can be used in meaningful ways through play and daily living.
Skills Gained
Students in the Kindergarten Program at Oak Learners will:
*Count in order from 1-50
*Sequence, sort and classify varying materials
*Understanding 1:1 correspondence to determine quantity
*Represent numbers in different ways (e.g., tallies, numbers, graphs)
*Understand two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes
*Identify and create patterns
*Measure length, weight and capacity, temperature, time and money
*Complete simple number operations
*Use spatial relations, directions and maps
Teaching Strategies
The teachers will focus on manipulatives and loose parts provided as a way to encourage natural learning experiences. Teachers will introduce mathematics as a fun and interactive notion. The goal is for the children to comprehend the application of mathematics in real life scenarios so that they can use their knowledge to make decisions on the strategies they can use. Provocations will be set up to be inviting and play based. Matching numbers to sets of objects is a large element of the mathematics curriculum as it is a bridge to other skills such as counting and identifying patterns.
S.T.E.M *Science, Technology, Engineering, Math
Overview
The STEM program focuses on engaging all of our senses. The children will be collecting and organizing information through sorting, comparing and identification. The children can be introduced to 21st century sciences and technological developments. The goal is to engage them in theories that will be developed in later years of schooling.
Skills Gained
Technology is the future and although we cannot fully predict what the employment opportunities or challenges are that our students will face in the years to come, we can certainly prepare them to ask questions, engage in design challenges and think like innovators through an integrated approach. The most important skills that students will learn through engaging in STEM activities at Oak Learners are problem-solving, communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Through the encouragement to be comfortable with skills the children will need in upper years, kindergarten STEM is the foundational work, and instills confidence.
Teaching Strategies
Oak Learners encourages education in a fun and creative way. Exposure to sensory experiments not only improve dexterity and cognitive development but also ignites an excitement towards the sciences and maths aspects of school that the children will eventually be more involved with.
Arts
Overview
We believe that Arts Education plays a very important role in educating young learners. We make sure to integrate Art, Music, Drama and Dance throughout our days, throughout every subject area. The Arts brings learning to life and provides a context for deep emotional and social learning.
Skills Gained
In Visual Arts, students will gain skills in each of the five elements of art: line, colour, shape, form and texture and use these skills to create beautiful and functional art pieces that express creativity and individuality. In the Kindergarten program at Oak Learners, Eco Art and Digital art are also important components, where students will learn skills in art such as the different forms of it. This can include sculpting, collaging, painting, and uses the environment as a source of art supplies. In Drama, students will work collaboratively to learn skills in performance and improvisation, with the incorporation of dance routines and techniques. In Music, students will learn theory and composition through consistent enjoyment of songs that include layers and different sound textures.
Teaching Strategies
In the Kindergarten program, the students are immersed into the Arts in a variety of ways. Students are provided with diverse instructions that allow them to use their creativity and become comfortable with their own ideas. Oak Learners urges the students to learn a variety of art forms and techniques and allows the students to be expressive in whatever way they would like.
Outdoor Education
Overview
Outdoor Education is the centre of everything we do at Oak Leaners. Research has demonstrated that interacting with nature on a consistent basis is highly beneficial for the mental health and well-being of children and teenagers. In particular, the World Health Organization has found that children raised with exposure to green spaces are 55% less likely to develop mental health concerns, such as stress-related illnesses. Also, children have demonstrated improved concentration, increased productivity, better behaviour and more positive relationships amongst their peer group when frequently learning in an outdoor environment.
Skills Gained
Utilizing the outdoor classroom as the “third teacher”, students at Oak Learners have the opportunity develop skills in stewardship, navigation, observation and stewardship. Skills in other subject areas are not learned in isolation; rather, students see how they are used in the community to ask questions and devise plans to solve real-world problems.
Teaching Strategies
All subject areas can be taught in an outdoor environment; however, the learning involves interaction with the outdoors and using our natural world as an opportunity for deeper understanding. Through Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and the Arts, students gain knowledge about their role as stewards and take responsibility for their role in preserving their environment. In particular, students are given many opportunities to see ‘treasures’ and ‘troubles’ in their community and work towards devising solutions.
Student Project Showcase
Read about how our students hatched Ducklings in the spring of 2018 as part of an amazing Inquiry-based unit on animal life cycles and eco-systems. CLICK HERE for the whole story!
Oak Learners offers progressive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based programming in a student-driven, teacher-facilitated, alternative learning environment.
Each learner goes through a cyclical process of identifying their unique strengths, needs, goals, and interests. Through collaboration with teachers, peers, parents and members of their community, they design inquiry-based projects to guide their learning over the course of a term.
Each day at Oak Learners brings new learning opportunities through an integrated and immersive approach to elementary education. Ontario Curriculum content and skill achievement guidelines are covered and enriched through a holistic approach to learning in a project-based inquiry model, leading to a much deeper and richer learning experience for the students.
Integrated Literacy
Overview
Reading and Writing form the building block for communication FOR and ON learning. At Oak Learners, reading comprehension and oral communication skills are taught within other subject areas, such as Science or Social Studies. Children develop strong literacy habits and communication skills through meaningful experiences with text.
Skills Gained
Students in the Primary Program at Oak Learners will:
*Develop a deep phonetic understanding and expansion of language use, This includes spelling, sounding out, pronouncing and reading words and sentences.
*Engage in more advanced communication via use of new words, sounds and verbal comprehension.
*Use advanced descriptions and expanded terminology, along with the ability to distinguish between nouns, pronouns, adjectives and other types of words.
Teaching Strategies
The lower elementary school program is delivered by passionate teachers that use an alternative and experiential learning tactic in order to influence the most beneficial learning for your child. Through years of experience, the teachers continue to instill confidence and comfort in the school environment while encouraging the children to expand their knowledge and understanding, inside and outside of the classroom. The encouragement of curiosity in an educational setting will only help the children find the passion for school that Oak Learners strives for.
Mathematics
Overview
Math is all around us and students at Oak Learners are taught to recognize Mathematical patterns and apply problem solving skills through real-world applications. Mathematics instruction at Oak Learners takes a very hands-on approach, using manipulatives as well as leveled workbooks to provide an enriched approach to learning Math.
Skills Gained
Students in the lower elementary mathematics program are focusing on a continuum of learning. Every skill is scaffolded off of a successfully learnt topic in math. Key concepts they will learn are:
*counting everyday objects
*learning concrete versus regular concepts within math, and how they expand off of each other
*applying skills into everyday items, such as counter, objects for measurements, etc.
*learning about more abstract ways of collecting units of measurements
*understanding how mathematics evolve and build off of each other -> perfecting addition and subtraction, and beginning the introduction into multiplication and division
*focus on topics such as collecting data, organizing and displaying data, interpreting data, probability, properties of geometry, units of measurement, location and movement, counting, estimation, place value, fractions and decimals, among other topics as well.
Teaching Strategies
Each Mathematics class in the Lower Elementary program will follow a three-part lesson: 1) Minds On (i.e., activating prior knowledge); 2) Action (i.e., students have the opportunity to work in small groups to solve a problem and share their strategies, via “”conference style””, with teachers and peers); 3) Consolidation (i.e., independent practice with teacher support). Many Math classes will take place within the community so students can witness the subject in real-world contexts.
S.T.E.A.M. *Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts Math
Overview
At Oak Learners, we believe that STEAM Education plays a very important role in educating young leaders of the 21st Century. The more students can observe, explore, question and design the world around themselves, the more they have the opportunity to construct true understanding of new concepts.
Skills Gained
Technology is the future and although it cannot be fully predicted what the employment opportunities or challenges that our students will face in the years to come are, we can certainly prepare them to ask questions, engage in design challenges and think like innovators through an integrated approach. The most important skills that students will learn through engaging in STEAM activities at Oak Learners are problem-solving, communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Through hands-on skills such as website and app development and design, coding, building and engineering, students will feel confident in bringing their STEAM skills to life.
Teaching Strategies
Oak Learners takes a hands-on, experiential, project-based approach when teaching STEAM so that students can be fully immersed in each step from start to finish. Each design challenge begins with a question and students, as innovators and creative thinkers, devise ways to solve the problem.
The Arts
Overview
We believe that Arts Education plays a very important role in educating young learners. We make sure to integrate Art, Music, Drama and Dance throughout our days, throughout every subject area. The Arts brings learning to life and provides a context for deep emotional and social learning.
Skills Gained
In Visual Arts, students will gain skills in each of the five elements of art: line, colour, shape, form and texture and use these skills to create beautiful and functional art pieces that express creativity and individuality. In the Lower Elementary program at Oak Learners, Eco Art and digital art are also important components, where students will learn skills in art such as the different forms of it. This can include sculpting, collaging, painting, and uses the environment as a source of art supplies. In Drama, students will work collaboratively to learn skills in performance and improvisation, with the incorporation of dance routines and techniques. In Music, students will learn theory and composition through consistent enjoyment of songs that include layers and different sound textures.
Teaching Strategies
In the Lower Elementary program, the students are immersed into the Arts in a variety of ways. Students are provided with diverse instructions that allow them to use their creativity and become comfortable with their own ideas. Oak Learners urges the students to learn a variety of art forms and techniques and allows the students to be expressive in whatever way they would like.
Outdoor Education
Overview
Outdoor Education is the centre of everything we do at Oak Leaners. Research has demonstrated that interacting with nature on a consistent basis is highly beneficial for the mental health and well-being of children and teenagers. In particular, the World Health Organization has found that children raised with exposure to green spaces are 55% less likely to develop mental health concerns, such as stress-related illnesses. Also, children have demonstrated improved concentration, increased productivity, better behaviour and more positive relationships amongst their peer group when frequently learning in an outdoor environment.
Skills Gained
Utilizing the outdoor classroom as the “third teacher”, students at Oak Learners have the opportunity to develop skills in navigation, observation and stewardship. Skills in other subject areas are not learned in isolation; rather, students see how they are used in the community to ask questions and devise plans to solve real-world problems.
Teaching Strategies
All subject areas can be taught in an outdoor environment; however, the learning involves interaction with the outdoors and using our natural world as an opportunity for deeper understanding. Through Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and the Arts, students gain knowledge about their role as stewards and take responsibility for their role in preserving their environment. In particular, students are given many opportunities to see ‘treasures’ and ‘troubles’ in their community and work towards devising solutions.
Oak Learners offers progressive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based programming in a student-driven, teacher-facilitated, alternative learning environment.
Each learner goes through a cyclical process of identifying their unique strengths, needs, goals, and interests. Through collaboration with teachers, peers, parents and members of their community, they design inquiry-based projects to guide their learning over the course of a term.
Each day at Oak Learners brings new learning opportunities through an integrated and immersive approach to elementary education. Ontario Curriculum content and skill achievement guidelines are covered and enriched through a holistic approach to learning in a project-based inquiry model, leading to a much deeper and richer learning experience for the students.
Integrated Literacy
Overview
Reading and Writing form the building block for communication and learning. At Oak Learners, we approach literacy through an integrated approach, which means that reading and writing skills are taught within other subject areas, such as science or social studies. Children develop strong literacy habits and communication skills through meaningful experiences with text.
Skills Gained
Students in Upper Elementary at Oak Learners will:
* Develop a life-long love for reading, which will be used as a basis for reading instruction
* Engage in a variety of meaningful discussions and written activities to improve reading comprehension
* Enhance reading comprehension strategies and vocabulary development through explicit instruction
* Use cooperative learning to promote reading development and positive peer relations
Teaching Strategies
The Upper Elementary program at Oak Learners is delivered by experienced teachers who have a passion for instilling the love of reading and writing in adolescents. Through many years of experience, the teachers recognize that the middle school grades are often the time that a love of reading truly develops and needs to be fostered in a way that inspires curiosity and confidence, as well as a way to navigate the world around them.
Mathematics
Overview
At Oak Learners, we feel that all students have the capability to thrive in Mathematics through research-based teaching practices, a positive classroom environment, and opportunities to develop and communicate strategies. In Mathematics at Oak Leaners, students value math, develop a deep understanding of the connections among concepts and the real world and, are confident using mathematics as a way to solve problems.
Skills Gained
Students in the Upper Elementary program at Oak Learners will:
* Compare and order integers, decimals and fractions in a variety of contexts
* Develop a deep understanding of equivalent fractions and decimals and utilize the knowledge to investigate community issues
* Understand the relationships between operations to solve problems involving whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and percentages
* Identify, create, extend, and predict patterns in natural environments
* Analyze and use data to make informed decisions and convincing arguments (e.g., bar graphs showing more litter in certain areas as an argument for having another garbage can)
* Read and utilize coordinates on a Cartean plane to locate objects and complete challenges
* Determine, compare, and estimate measurements in various contexts (e.g., estimating the height of a tree to determine ground cover)
* Use a variety of coding languages to build and solve problems
* Identify financial goals and work toward achieving them
* Maintain positive motivation and perserverence, while effectively coping with challenges related to Mathematics
Teaching Strategies
Each Mathematics class in the Upper Elementary program will follow a three-part lesson: 1) Minds On (i.e., activating prior knowledge); 2) Action (i.e., students have the opportunity to work in small groups to solve a problem and share their strategies, via “conference style”, with teachers and peers); 3) Consolidation (i.e., independent practice with teacher support). Many Math classes will take place within the community so students can witness the subject in real-world contexts.
S.T.E.A.M. *Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math
Overview
At Oak Learners, we believe that STEAM Education plays a very important role in providing young leaders with 21st Century learning, problem-solving, collaboration and critical thinking skills. The more students can observe, explore, question and design the world around themselves, the more they have the opportunity to construct true understanding of new concepts.
Skills Gained
Technology is the future and although it cannot be fully predicted what the employment opportunities or challenges that our students will face in the years to come are, we can certainly prepare them to ask questions, engage in design challenges and think like innovators through an integrated approach. The most important skills that students will learn through engaging in STEAM activities at Oak Learners are problem-solving, communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Through hands-on skills such as website and app development and design, coding, building and engineering, students will feel confident in bringing their STEAM skills to life.
Teaching Strategies
Oak Learners takes a hands-on, experiential, project-based approach when teaching STEAM so that students can be fully immersed in each step from start to finish. Each design challenge begins with a question and students, as innovators and creative thinkers, devise ways to solve the problem (e.g. Is there a way to design an app that will help ensure clean drinking water to remote Indigenous communities?).
The Arts
Overview
We believe that Arts Education plays a very important role in educating young learners. We make sure to integrate Art, Music, Drama and Dance throughout our days, throughout every subject area. The Arts brings learning to life and provides a context for deep emotional and social learning.
Skills Gained
In Visual Arts, students will gain skills in each of the five elements of art: line, colour, shape, form and texture and use these skills to create beautiful and functional art pieces that express creativity and individuality. In the Upper Elemetary program at Oak Learners, Eco Art and digital art are also important components, where students will learn skills in photography, such as lighting, framing and compositon, while exploring a variety of editing software programs. In Drama, students will work collaboratively to learn skills in performance and improvisation, with the incorporation of dance routines and techniques. In Music, students will learn theory and composition through the playing of a recorder.
Teaching Strategies
In the Upper Elementary program, the Arts are taught in a variety of ways- sometimes involving explicit instruction, whereas other times allowing for collaboration and experimentation. Students will learn a variety of art forms and techniques and use these to create expressive pieces of art.
Outdoor Education
Overview
Outdoor Education is the centre of everything we do at Oak Learners. Research has demonstrated that interacting with nature on a consistent basis is highly beneficial for the mental health and well-being of children and teenagers. In particular, the World Health Organization has found that children raised with exposure to green spaces are 55% less likely to develop mental health concerns, such as stress-related illnesses. Also, children have demonstrated improved concentration, increased productivity, better behaviour and more positive relationships amongst their peer group when frequently learning in an outdoor environment.
Skills Gained
Utilizing the outdoor classroom as the “third teacher”, students at Oak Learners have the opportunity to develop skills in navigation, observation and stewardship. Skills in other subject areas are not learned in isolation; rather, students see how they are used in the community to ask questions and devise plans to solve real-world problems.
Teaching Strategies
All subject areas can be taught in an outdoor environment; however, the learning involves interaction with the outdoors and using our natural world as an opportunity for deeper understanding. Through Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and the Arts, students gain knowledge about their role as stewards and take responsibility for their role in preserving their environment. In particular, students are given many opportunities to see ‘treasures’ and ‘troubles’ in their community and work towards devising solutions.
Welcome to our Forest School in the City!
Oak Learners endeavours every day to inspire learning through an authentic skill-based curriculum. Our teachers nurture children’s natural curiosity about their world with student-centered experiences. At Oak Learners, we believe every child can be successful when they belong to a truly supportive educational community.
Outdoor Education Plays a Key Role in Child Development
Playing and exploring outdoors are experiences that most adults today grew up with. Yet, in the past few decades, the amount of time that children spend outdoors and the ways they experience their neighbourhoods have changed drastically. Much of the recreational time of today’s children is spent on indoor pursuits, even among children who live in rural areas. Many research studies over the past decade link children’s mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health with time spent outdoors, experiencing nature. For example, students have been shown to have increased focus, confidence, self-esteem and overall feelings of happiness and satisfaction with school. Even something as simple as looking at a tree can have surprisingly calming effects! In addition, directly observing plants and animals helps children develop an understanding of “systems”, that is, the relationships and processes in nature, while building their connections to the community. Not only that, but learning outside is fun! Students are excited and enthusiastic to try new activities and discover new things. This type of experiential, “hands-on” learning often reaches students who don’t thrive in a typical classroom setting.
Nature as the Primary Teacher: Experiential Learning and Inquiry
Oak Learners champions nature as an expansive and dynamic classroom, purposefully extending the learning environment beyond conventional indoor settings. Local parks, schoolyards, and various natural spaces become integral components of the educational landscape. This approach prioritizes direct, hands-on exploration and project-based inquiry, allowing children to physically engage with their surroundings and construct knowledge through authentic experiences.
The practical application of this philosophy is vividly illustrated through several examples. In one instance, students embarked on a plant-based inquiry unit by dissecting an almost-dead daffodil. This tactile interaction enabled them to physically examine plant parts and generate questions, underscoring the importance of close, physical engagement with the subject matter. Following this initial exploration, students planted various seeds and observed different stages of plant growth. This process naturally fostered individual inquiry, as exemplified by a student whose fascination with diverse bean varieties led to independent research on differentiation, non-fiction reading, report writing, scientific diagramming, and measurement skills. This demonstrates how learning within a natural context organically integrates multiple disciplines, blurring traditional academic boundaries.
During spring, neighborhood walks allowed students to observe crocuses and tulips, while visits to High Park facilitated studies of cherry blossoms, budding trees, and newly arrived birds. Recognizing the abundance of dandelions in a local park, students decided to investigate their uses beyond being a mere weed, specifically exploring their potential as a natural dye. They responsibly collected dandelions, ensuring an ample supply remained for pollinators, then examined the plant parts and chose to use only the flowers for a more vibrant yellow. By blending the dandelion flowers with water to create a paste for play-dough, students engaged in a multi-sensory, tactile learning experience that visibly incorporated natural elements, reinforcing understanding through direct engagement.
Hands-on Learning Outdoors Increases Student Engagement and Inquiry
The emphasis on hands-on engagement and students pursuing their own areas of inquiry suggests that nature-based learning is not solely focused on what is learned, but profoundly influences how it is learned. The direct, tactile experiences inherent in interacting with nature naturally ignite curiosity, which in turn motivates students to ask questions and independently seek answers. This shifts the educational paradigm from one primarily driven by teacher instruction to one powered by student-driven exploration. This method cultivates intrinsic motivation and self-directed learning skills, which are essential for lifelong learning and adaptability in a constantly evolving world. By allowing students to explore their surroundings intimately and follow their emerging interests, Oak Learners fosters intellectual autonomy and a genuine love for discovery, moving beyond rote memorization. This also implies a flexible curriculum that can adapt to student interests, a hallmark of progressive educational practices.
Furthermore, the integration of physical and cognitive engagement in nature is a crucial aspect of this model. The physical acts of dissecting a plant, planting seeds, or creating dandelion play-dough are directly interwoven with cognitive processes such as questioning, researching, problem-solving, and conceptual understanding. It is not merely physical activity within nature, but rather physical activity serving as a direct pathway to deeper cognitive understanding. This suggests that for Oak Learners, the body and mind are intrinsically linked in the learning process, particularly when situated in a natural environment. This holistic integration of physical and cognitive engagement likely contributes to more robust memory formation, deeper conceptual understanding, and a more embodied form of knowledge acquisition, contrasting sharply with purely abstract, classroom-bound learning. It reinforces the understanding that learning is an active, rather than passive, endeavor.
Embracing Risky Play for Resilience
Risky Play at Oak Learners is defined as exploration or activities that involve an element of risk or exposure to new, challenging situations, where children are encouraged to push their boundaries and discover their capabilities. It is important to clarify that this does not imply dangerous activities but rather situations that challenge a child’s perceived limits in a controlled environment. Examples include children attempting to balance on stepping stones or climbing high on a play structure at a park.
This form of play is considered essential for a child’s comprehensive development. Cognitively, it teaches children about the world, sharpens critical thinking, and enhances problem-solving skills. Physically, it helps children understand their own limitations and abilities, while developing gross motor skills and perpetual-orientation skills. Socially, engaging in risky play with peers encourages conflict resolution and communication skills. Psychologically, it provides a safe context for children to manage their emotions and confront fears. As Sandseter & Kennair (2011) are quoted, taking risks “provides the child with an exhilarating positive emotion and expose the child to the stimuli they previously have feared. As the child’s coping skills improve, these situations and stimuli may be mastered and no longer be feared”.
This emphasis on positive emotions and mastering previously feared stimuli reveals that risky play is not merely about physical safety but profoundly impacts psychological growth. It functions as a calculated pedagogical tool, a controlled exposure to challenge that, when successfully navigated, builds self-efficacy and emotional regulation.
Cultivating Community and Environmental Stewardship
A fundamental tenet of Oak Learners’ philosophy is “community,” which views students as active and vital members of the local community. This commitment is reinforced by the regular utilization of local parks and natural spaces as integral components of their Outdoor Learning curriculum, thereby strengthening students’ connection to their community and environment.
This dedication to community involvement and environmental responsibility is vividly demonstrated through the annual Earth Day shoreline cleanup. On Monday, April 22, 2024, the entire student body and staff participated in a significant shoreline cleanup at Colonel Samuel Smith Park. The primary objective of this activity was to contribute to keeping the shoreline and park free of litter, directly impacting the local ecosystem.
Participation in such community cleanups is considered integral to teaching students that “even small efforts can make a significant difference”. This practical engagement serves as a powerful lesson in civic responsibility and collective action. By actively participating in the cleanup, students are not just learning about environmental issues; they are acting as responsible citizens, directly experiencing the impact of their collective efforts. The concept that “small efforts” can lead to “significant difference” directly imparts a sense of agency and impact, which are foundational elements of civic engagement. The event also reinforces crucial lessons in Outdoor Education, particularly the principle of “leave no trace”. The school’s philosophy extends beyond a single event, emphasizing that for Oak Learners, “Earth Day is every day,” signifying a continuous, embedded commitment to environmental stewardship rather than a one-off annual observance. This approach fosters active citizenship and a profound sense of collective responsibility from a young age, cultivating values such as stewardship, community contribution, and environmental consciousness, thereby preparing students to be engaged and responsible members of society.
At Oak Learners, we understand that every child learns differently and we love that!
Many families who seek out Oak Learners have experienced the trials of parenting a child who needs something “more” than what is traditionally offered by both public and private educational institutions. The answer for many families lies in an alternative learning environment that encourages individuality, curiosity and creativity through unique learning opportunities.
While acknowledging the importance of ensuring our students are meeting or exceeding the Ontario Curriculum, Oak Learners provides an enhanced alternative education program which draws from the educational philosophies of Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Waldorf, Unschooling and Constructivism. Our program is enriched through the Arts, outdoor exploration and through encouraging the natural curiosity of our learners. We believe in a wholistic approach to growth, taking into consideration the whole body, person, or unit, the mind, body and spirit, emphasizing the importance of the whole as well as the interdependence of its parts.
The Bridge the Gap program is intended to supplement an existing school program, including homeschooling. Students attend Bridge the Gap for one, two or three days per week and participate in programs that will support their challenges or enhance their strengths. During the intake process, our Principal will work together with the student, their family and teachers to design an individual program that complements the rest of their school week.
Highlights from Oak Learners Micro School
Augie and Me: A Book Review by Yusuf, an Oak Learners student
The book Augie and Me by R.J Palacio is a sequel to the book Wonder. The book Wonder is about a...