ACORN Nature School

ACORN Nature School is a preschool in Ithaca, NY. The school offers play-based full-day preschool, afterschool, and summer camp programs for children. Its approach emphasizes abundant outdoor time, imaginative self-directed play, and hands-on exploration. Experiences in literacy, math, science, art, and music are integrated into daily indoor and outdoor activities. The curriculum is designed to foster kindness, curiosity, connection, resiliency, flexibility, independence, inclusion, and joy. By spending time together in the forest, fields, and garden seasonally and yearly, students develop a sense of community and their place in the natural world. The school holds a 5.00 rating based on 26 reviews.

The school operates out of a bright, spacious indoor schoolhouse situated on 22 acres of forest and fields. This property includes eight outdoor classrooms where children spend their days. Beyond these primary spaces, children explore the woods, harvest wild edibles, enjoy a seasonal creek, work in a garden, play on a playground, sled down a dedicated hill, and visit neighboring goats. The environment is described as nature-rich, supporting the belief that there are immense benefits from spending ample time outdoors in all sorts of weather. The school focuses on supporting children to develop social skills of working together and solving problems as they create, imagine, and explore.

Located at 35 Turkey Hill Rd, the school sits about a tenth of a mile from the Varna Volunteer Fire Company. It is approximately three-tenths of a mile from Dryden Road. The site is about seven-tenths of a mile from the Turkey Hill peak. The Varna Community Center and Fall Creek are both located about nine-tenths of a mile away. Cascadilla Creek is situated about 1.1 miles from the school.

The business is known for a positive rating from the customers who have reviewed it. Parents have noted that the teachers are caring and attentive, creating a supportive community for both kids and parents. Children have become more confident, curious, and independent through the school's emphasis on outdoor learning and exploration.

ACORN Nature School provides a distinct educational environment in Ithaca, NY, where children engage deeply with the natural world through structured outdoor play and exploration.