WILD LIFE FOREST PRESCHOOL at Earth Native
The vision of the forest preschool at Earth Native is simple - every child can find themselves in the forest.
OUR TEACHING METHOD
At Earth Native, our unique teaching method centers around the "Eight Shields Mentoring Model", a method of teaching and learning rooted in human history that puts student inspiration at the forefront of every experience. Our “invisible school” teaching philosophies are based on natural learning cycles that use your child’s passions and natural inspirations as the spark that drives their education in the outdoors.
Wild Life Forest Preschool at Earth Native is Central Texas’s first true forest preschool. Set in the hardwood forests of Bastrop along beautiful Cedar Creek, our forest preschool offers children ages 3-5 the chance to take their first steps towards long term nature connection.
Like forest preschools in Europe and around the world, Wild Life Forest Preschool at Earth Native is play-based, child-led, and earth-conscious. Children learn as the mammals do, by following their satisfaction through play, by challenging their bodies, and by experiencing the patterns of their environment, both natural and social, in a forest they themselves care for.
Numbers are learned by needing more rocks to build a dam. Shapes by squeezing sticks and stones through holes in logs. Colors by climbing the same tree again and again throughout the seasons. Your child will build the foundations of writing, science, math, art, and physical development – even confidence and happiness – by exploring the forest with their friends.
Instructors will guide their exploration by engaging in each child’s curiosities, be it faerie home building, bug catching, or something entirely unthought of. We will stoke their fires, offer wisdom, security, and wonder, the tools of language, but never mandates, or rules without reason. Instructors will follow the children into their forest.
And of course, Wild Life Forest Preschool will make certain your child’s first adventures are considerate, careful and safe. Nature connection, and ultimately all learning, happens best once a comfortable space has been established. We will start with trust, then work our way outward. Our adventures will start small, and just like our bodies, hearts, and minds, get bigger!
The vision of the forest preschool at Earth Native is simple - every child can find themselves in the forest. We believe each child is already equipped with the tools to learn through play, exploration and natural curiosity, and that the best way to bring out the unique spirit of each child is to allow them to be free in the forest.
OUR PROGRAMS
Box Turtles - Class 2 days a week on Tuesday and Thursday from September to May. See calendar below. - Program is full, Join Waitlist
Tree Frogs - Class 2 days a week on Wednesday and Friday from September to May. See calendar below.
Spiny Lizards - Class every other week on Mondays from September to May. See calendar below. - Program is full, Join Waitlist
PROGRAM INFO
Location: Our beautiful wooded campus between Austin and Bastrop at 137 Woodview Lane, Bastrop, TX 78602. Click here to read more about our campus.
Ages: 3-5 (Students must be at least 3 yrs by September 1, 2025 to attend the 2025-26 school year.)
Class Times: 9:00am - 2:00pm
Class Dates: School year will begin in September and will end in early May. See program calendar below.
Registration Fee: $200 or $300 non-refundable registration fee due at the time of enrollment.
Tuition: See below section below in green labeled "TUITION"
VISIT US
If you are interested in visiting Wild Life, please click here for more info and to sign up for a tour in March!
ENROLLMENT
ALL PROGRAMS ARE FULL AT THIS TIME FOR 2025-26
2025-26 INFO
2025-26 CALENDAR
First Day of class:
Box Turtles - September 2
Tree Frogs - September 3
Spiny Lizards - September 8
Last Day of class:
Spiny Lizards - May 4
Box Turtles - May 7
Tree Frogs - May 8
Spiny Lizard Class Dates
9/8, 9/22, 10/6, 10/20, 11/3, 11/17, 12/1, 12/15, 1/12, 1/26, 2/9, 2/23, 3/23, 4/6, 4/20, 5/4
Holiday Breaks - No Classes
Thanksgiving Break - November 24-28
Winter Break - December 22-Jan 2
Spring Break - March 9-20
PROGRAMS
BOX TURTLES
Class every Tuesday and Thursday
TREE FROGS
Class every Wednesday and Friday
SPINY LIZARDS
Class every other Monday
NOTE: If this is your 3 year old's first year with us, we ask that you only enroll in one program. If you have a 4-5 year old, and would like to enroll in two programs, you can enroll your child in either Box Turtles + Spiny Lizards or Tree Frogs + Spiny Lizards. We do not allow kiddos to enroll in both the Tree Frog and Box Turtle programs. Please reach out to info@earthnativeschool.com if you would like more information.
REGISTRATION FEE
A $300 registration fee per program spot is required at the time of enrollment for Tree Frogs or Box Turtles.
A $200 registration fee per program spot is required at the time of enrollment for the Spiny Lizards.
This fee is non-refundable and non-transferable should you withdraw any time after enrolling for any reason.
TUITION
INSTALLMENT PLAN
SPINY LIZARDS, $121/month:
After paying your $200 registration fee, your tuition can be paid in 8 installments of $121 each month from September- April.
TREE FROGS or BOX TURTLES, $445/month:
After paying your $300 registration fee, your tuition can be paid in 9 installments of $445 each month from September- May.
PAY IN FULL
SPINY LIZARDS: Tuition is $888 PLUS the $200 registration fee per program spot, if paying in full at the time of enrollment or by 8/1.
TREE FROGS or BOX TURTLES: Tuition is $3915 PLUS the $300 registration fee per program spot, if paying in full at the time of enrollment or by 8/1.
Meet the 2025-26 Team
CALLIE LILLEMOEN
FOREST Preschool LEAD
Callie was born and raised in the east Texas Piney Woods. Her love of nature blossomed at an early age listening to the woods come alive in the morning with bird songs and squirrel chirps from her grandparents’ back porch. Callie’s childhood was divided between time spent in the woods with her brothers creating hideouts that felt like a whole different world, and the basketball court.
Callie’s early childhood experiences outdoors inspired her to study Geography at the University of Texas where she majored in geography on the landscape ecology tract and minored in geography.
In the early 2000’s, Callie discovered permaculture and began studying the practice through the Austin Permaculture Guild, eventually receiving her Permaculture Design Certificate. To this day she remains fascinated by the natural rhythm that Permaculture provides not only to agriculture but to permaculture communities themselves. Callie is continuously striving to live connected with the land in her off-grid home in Caldwell County. Her dream is to one day live in a Permaculture Paradise.
HANNAH MALDONADO-LOVELAND
FOREST PRESCHOOL Instructor
Hannah was born and raised on the crystal clear headwaters of the Guadalupe, deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. From an early age her dad taught her how to ID wildlife, forage, catch snakes, and read the stars. She spent many summer evenings swimming in the river with her brother and sister, and flipping over rocks to find critters. These intimate encounters with the natural world led to a deep love for the ecosystem we are all a part of.
Hannah brought her love for the natural world with her when she studied Art Education at UNT, incorporating ecological themes into her body of work, and later when she took a three year break from art school, traveling and learning about sustainable agriculture.
Her travels brought her to intentional communities in the piney woods of Pennsylvania, the rolling prairies of the Midwest, and the open skies of the Southwest deserts. Hannah continued her agricultural education as a farm intern on Shaw Island in the Pacific Northwest.
While living and teaching in Mexico, Hannah fell in love with permaculture, and the concept of incorporating more native species into her agricultural practice. She learned traditional native farming techniques from experienced women in the rural village of Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco. The link between sustainable agriculture and native foraging was a big game changer for Hannah!
Her time spent in Mexico working with kids inspired her to return to school to finish her degree. After graduating she worked as an Outdoor Education Instructor at Mo Ranch. She especially loved teaching native botany, freshwater ecology, gardening, and sustainability.
She also spent several years teaching fourth grade at a Nature Based Charter School in Austin, where she loved hiking with her kids in the woods and teaching Math through the lens of Texas Animals statistics. Hannah is so happy to have returned to her roots as an Earth Native Instructor in her Central Texas homeland. There are few things she loves more than working with kids, playing in the woods, and inviting others to be curious about the beautiful world around us.
MICHELLE NGO
Forest Preschool Instructor
Michelle grew up on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, where the suburbs of a big city left little room for nature. Still, her innate curiosity for wildlife, nature, and the world never wavered. In her free time, she would spend hours exploring her own backyard, digging up dirt to make clay bowls, and watching the tadpoles slowly metamorphosize day after day in the pond. Her fascination grew and grew, and she decided to explore the world even further by pouring herself into National Geographics, learning about every animal fact she could from wildlife books, and "traveling" across the globe from oceans and deserts to mountains and valleys through nature documentaries on Animal Planet.
As she grew older, Michelle discovered a deep passion for working with children. Volunteering every summer at CAMP Camp, a summer camp for kids with special needs, fueled her love for education and childhood development, inspiring her to earn a degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Texas Christian University.
After college, she embarked on a big adventure: moving to Madrid, Spain to teach at a bilingual STEM primary school. It was a life-changing experience that shaped her as a teacher, a life-long learner, and human in this world. During the weekdays, she honed in on her teaching skills, focused on creating an immersive, engaging, and loving learning environment for her students. While on the weekends, she spent her time exploring the world like she always dreamed of as a kid; traveling to new countries, making new friends, reconnecting to nature through wild adventures, and maintaining her child-like wonder and curiosity for it all every step of the way.
Upon returning to Texas, Michelle was determined to build a fulfilling life rooted in her passions for education, exploration, nature, music, and meaningful connection. Through many twists and turns, her journey led her here to Earth Native, where she found the perfect place to combine her passions and serve her students, community, and the world around her.
