Bravely Return to the Earth


Breathe



Mission and Vision



Breathe Preschool is an interdisciplinary program that instills a love of diversity and learning, while creating intelligent peacekeepers who move through life grounded in their connection to the natural world.



Philosophy



At Breathe Preschool, caring teachers create a container balanced with safety and freedom where warmth and love is harnessed, while providing enough time and space for holistic learning and development to occur. Teachers and nature unite to provide materials and loose parts that support the age-appropriate development of the whole child. Breathe is a place-based, holistic, year-round, play-based program. By helping our students learn healthy habits patience, cooperation, peacemaking and resourcefulness, the children develop a sense of self agency, awareness and reliance. Having Breathe outside allows children to inherently build a treasure chest of knowledge and understanding of the natural world and feel confident wherever their journeys take them. Natural connection to the Earth, themselves and each other is easily found by having the program take place outdoors with an intimate 1:6 teacher to student ratio.




Community



We believe growing strong community is essential to living closer to the Earth, and have created a curriculum founded in community involvement. Each day, the youngsters participate in a shared work experience; helping to prepare their lunch or conquering cleanup afterward. This added responsibility helps children take ownership for their learning environment and the care of those around them. Every morning we also offer an opportunity for someone from the larger community to come out and teach a passion or skill to the children as a way to continue strengthening community. We call these generous folks morning mentors, and are excited to see all the connections that are made with this aspect of the program.



Love of Diversity



We believe all life is precious and biodiversity is vital to this life on our planet. Through acknowledgment of this, we hope to foster an indiscriminate love for diversity that can be found in all aspects of the natural world, including our own humanity. Exposure to diverse areas of thought and cross cultural human perspectives through natural science, history, crafts, nutrition, music and mindfulness will serve as our gateway into encouraging acceptance, understanding, compassion, empathy and gratitude for life. An aspect of our program that highlights this is our companion animals, that the children care for on a daily rotating basis. Forming genuine connection to non-human beings comes naturally to most children, and at Breathe, there is intentional space for these connections to happen.



Accessibility



Our long term (ten year) goal is to have at least half of our pupils attending our programs for no cost to their family. We hope to achieve this through grants, fundraising and scholarships that can be obtained by help from the community at large. We also aim to reduce the cost of this program by sourcing our needs locally and sustainably and living within our means.

We also have a vision and desire to make holistic place based education accessible to communities across the United States. By creating and offering a model we feel could be replicated in a community with a few key ingredients: children, land and community members who are willing to step into mentorship roles, then this vision will come to fruition.



Parent/Nurturer Participation



At Breathe we believe teachers and parents should maintain an active and open line of communication throughout their children's time with us. This creates a cohesive support system for the child and enables growth whether at school or at home. By maintaining close communication with parents we can gain important insights into individualized learning preferences and prepare the teacher to adjust lesson plans accordingly.

Another core mission is to make nature connection accessible to families outside of program by providing a bundle of tools to the parents on orientation day. These materials are intended to help the parents stay connected to their child's education and give them the opportunity to learn with their child, and from their child! We call this aspect of our program parent continued education.



Equal Exchange



We value the opportunity to use alternative forms of exchange when available and appropriate. We encourage a bartering community and accept as many goods and services in lieu of monetary payment as possible. We are passionate about modeling this to the children and their families and understand this is a necessity in creating a resilient community.



Feeling Abundant?



Consider making a donation along with your enrollment tuition, choosing the higher sliding scale option or share Breathe's mission with others who may be interested in supporting the work we do. Money raised will go directly towards land usage fees, supporting administration costs, scholarships for children in need and shared class enrichment materials.



We Can really use your support


Donate now :)
Email: bravelyreturntotheearth@gmail.com



Mailing Address:
2099 CR 16
Watkins Glen, NY 14891



Breathe- Learning in Connection