"Little Neverland" Open!

When I first arrived at the school, I was struck by the natural beauty of the surrounding countryside here in Washington. Unfortunately, because of the way the school is situated and how the property is laid out, there hasn’t been much opportunity for the kids to get access to all that's around us. Up until now, we have had our building, our fields, and our playground—and that’s about it as far as activity settings go. Places like nearby Carpenter Park are wonderful, but getting anywhere on foot from the school can be a tricky prospect with no sidewalks along the main road.

Now, a year later, I have come up with what I feel is a pretty good solution to the problem:

Introducing “Little Neverland.”

Little Neverland is located in the wooded part of the school property that runs along the stream. Previously, dense brush made this area all but inaccessible to us, but I recently spent some time creating a path that winds through the trees and along the water. Now, the kids have a place right here at the school where they can be in nature while playing or participating in activities.

This week was the official opening of Little Neverland, and, as you can see from the video, the kids love it so far. But having access to this new setting also means that we need to be prepared to be safe in a terrain that is a bit more rugged than what we’re used to.

Going forward, we will have some specific rules in place for whenever we visit Little Neverland. One of these rules is that children only enter if they have appropriate footwear—there are stumps, prickers, and sharp rocks along the trail, so bare feet are definitely not an option! The kids also love to wade up to their knees in the stream, so they ideally should have shoes that can get wet.

Please, if you would like your child to be able to play in the woods/stream, have him or her bring a pair of crocs, a good pair of sandals, or a pair of old “beater” shoes to ONWARD this fall.

Thank you!

Yours,

Ryan