Renewed Roots Forest School

Two birthdays in a row at Renewed Roots?! 🎉

Yesterday we celebrated our wonderful Camp Guide, Ms. Eve… and today it’s my turn!

And really, we’re making it three in a row because tomorrow we get to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States. ❤️🤍💙

What a gift this year has been. A year of building, dreaming, praying, problem-solving, opening gates, welcoming families, and watching this little forest school come to life on land that already means so much to us.

I’m heading into this next year grateful for the people beside me, the children filling this place with wonder, and the chance to keep growing something rooted in faith, family, freedom, and childhood adventure.

Happy birthday to me, happy belated birthday to Ms. Eve, and happy almost-birthday, America! 🇺🇸🌲

💙Danielle

🎉 Happy Birthday to our incredible Camp Guide, Ms. Eve! 🌲💚

If you’ve spent any time at Renewed Roots this summer, you’ve seen firsthand the joy, patience, and kindness that Eve brings to camp each day. Whether she’s leading messy art projects, encouraging a nervous camper to try something new, caring for our animals, or laughing alongside the kids, she pours her whole heart into this place.

Our campers absolutely adore her, and we are so grateful for the calm, encouraging, and adventurous spirit she brings to our little community.

Please help us wish Ms. Eve the happiest birthday! We hope this next year brings as much joy to you as you’ve given to so many children already.

Happy Birthday, Eve! We’re so lucky you’re part of the Renewed Roots family. 🌿🫶

🌿 Forest School Update 🌿

Only 8 founding student spots remain for our inaugural school year, and our hearts are so full.

We are incredibly honored to have two exceptional licensed teachers joining the Renewed Roots team, and we cannot wait to welcome our founding families this September.

Scheduled tours are available every Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 PM.

If you’ve been curious about Forest School, wondering if it might be the right fit for your child, or simply want to learn more, I’d love to meet you. Message me here or email [email protected] to schedule a tour.

I also have three parent inquiry call appointments remaining this week for families who would like to learn more before visiting the property.

We are grateful to offer a limited number of partial scholarships this year for qualifying families.

At Renewed Roots, children receive a complete education rooted in strong academics, meaningful relationships, and real-world learning. If you’ve been searching for a different educational path for your child, we’d love to show you what we’re building. 🌿

🏕️ Week 4: Fort Builders 🔨🌲

This week, our campers didn’t just play in forts…

They became the builders.

Armed with hammers, drills, teamwork, and plenty of imagination, our Owl Tribe and Fox Tribe took on the challenge of restoring two forgotten forts deep in the woods.

Each team began by studying their fort, sketching ideas, and creating a plan. With a limited budget of Builder Bucks, they shopped at the Fort Depot, rented tools from Grandpa Dan’s Tool Shop, and learned that every decision mattered. Should we buy another pallet? Save money for decorations? Spend $5 on saw cuts? Every choice required teamwork and problem-solving.

Over the next few days, loose boards became sturdy walls. New railings made climbing safer. Shelves, benches, lookout stations, signs, flags, and countless small improvements slowly transformed each fort into something special.

Along the way, campers discovered that building isn’t just about wood and screws.

It’s about listening to one another.
Sharing ideas.
Trying again when something doesn’t fit.
Helping a younger camper hold a board.
Celebrating someone else’s success.

By Friday, the tools were put away, the forts officially opened, and the builders finally got to enjoy the places they had worked so hard to restore.

Perhaps the most meaningful part of the week is that these forts won’t disappear when camp ends.

Future campers will climb them, imagine in them, and add their own improvements for years to come. Our Fort Builders left a lasting legacy on the land; one that will continue to grow, one board at a time.

Because that’s what stewardship looks like.

🌲 Leave it better than you found it.
🛠️ Build with purpose.
❤️ Build together.
🌿 Leave a legacy.

The bridges were never the goal.

Confidence was.

Before we ever stepped onto Meadow Crossing, the Goatwalk, or Rootbridge, the campers drew their ideas on paper. Every bridge they crossed this week first existed in their imagination.

As the challenges grew, so did their confidence.

By the time we reached Rootbridge, a fallen tree spanning our stream, the children knew exactly what they were capable of.

We had spent hours making the crossing as safe as we could by improving the footing and engineering a more secure path. The risks were small: muddy shoes, a wet foot, maybe a bruised ego.

The reward was much bigger.

Every single camper chose to cross.

Some ran across with excitement.
Some paused for a long time.
Some needed a hand the first few steps.

But every child found the courage to make it to the other side.

That’s the kind of learning we hope children carry with them long after camp is over.

Sometimes confidence doesn’t come from hearing, “You can do it.”

Sometimes it comes from standing at the edge… taking one careful step… and realizing you already did.

🌿

Swipe to see the campers’ original bridge drawings, followed by the real adventures they imagined into existence.

🐐❤️ There wasn’t enough room in our weekly recap to honor one of the most beloved traditions at camp…

Extra Animal Snuggle Time.

Each morning, our campers complete animal chores before spending a little time visiting with the animals. But on Fridays, something special happens.

If campers have shown consistent care, responsibility, and attention to their husbandry tasks throughout the week, they earn extra time with the animals. That means sitting with the goats, holding them in their laps, and taking out all of our young chickens for some one-on-one attention.

And let me tell you… those chickens have become celebrities.

Out of our 18 young chickens, nearly every one has been given a camper-approved name. From Cloud and Ice Cream to Nightwing and Batman, the campers have formed friendships with every single one.

What might look like simple animal snuggles is actually so much more. It’s learning gentleness. Building trust. Practicing responsibility. Slowing down. And discovering that caring for another living thing can be one of the most rewarding parts of the day.

The bridges may have been the big project during Stream Builders Week, but the animals quietly stole a few hearts along the way.
❤️🐐🐓

🌊🌉 STREAM BUILDERS WEEK 🌉🌊

This week our campers became engineers.

Not the kind who sit behind desks.

The kind who climb fallen trees, test ideas, solve problems, get muddy, and aren’t afraid to ask, “How can we make this better?”

Throughout the week, Stream Builders explored crossings all over the property.

They balanced on logs, crossed fallen trees, tested foil boats, tackled leaky bucket challenges, and discovered how water shapes the land around us.

But perhaps the most important job of the week was studying four different crossings and deciding what each one needed to become safer and more accessible.

At Meadow Crossing, Goatwalk, Combine Bridge, and Rootbridge, campers observed, discussed, tested, and designed solutions.

Should we add rails?

Should we clear branches?

Do we need steps?

How can we help younger campers cross safely?

Then they got to watch those ideas come to life.

Together, we cleared loose branches and bark, added rails and a rope handrail, built log steps, improved trails, and transformed a fallen tree across the stream into a destination now known as Rootbridge.

Of course, Mother Nature had one final engineering challenge for us.

The rain moved our ribbon-cutting ceremony into the barn, but nobody seemed to mind the adventure.

After all, the rain was doing exactly what we’d spent the week learning about; replenishing the very stream flowing beneath Rootbridge.

By week’s end, campers had crossed logs they once thought looked impossible, encouraged nervous friends, solved real problems, and left behind improvements that future campers will enjoy for years to come.

On Friday, our Stream Builders proudly earned their 🌉 Stream Builder Patch and celebrated a week of curiosity, teamwork, stewardship, and adventure.

The best part?

Rootbridge isn’t something they brought home.

It’s something they left behind.

And that’s a pretty special kind of project.

Next stop: 🏕️ The Outpost.

Fort Builders Week begins now! 🤩

🌊🌉🌲🐐

🏕️ Is summer boredom starting to set in?

There’s still time to join the adventure at Renewed Roots!

🦊 Fort Builders begins tomorrow and has just 4 spots remaining!

Campers will help restore two real forts at The Outpost, design fort flags, complete fort challenges, play fort games, and celebrate with a grand opening and ribbon cutting at the end of the week.

🌲 Forest Quest begins July 6 and has 5 spots remaining!

Campers will explore trails, discover hidden places across the property, navigate crossings, visit Rootbridge and The Outpost, and complete their greatest adventure of the summer.

If your child loves exploring, building, creating, getting muddy, making friends, and spending their days outdoors, these are weeks they won’t want to miss.

Message me directly for weekly rates and enrollment information.

🌿 Small groups.
🌿 Real adventure.
🌿 Childhood unplugged.

The Stream Builders are so excited for the week ahead!! We can’t wait to tell you all about it!
🪵🌊⚖️🌉🚸

🌱🌻 Before we jump any further into Week 3, we owe Week 2 a proper recap! 🌻🌱

I had every intention of posting this over the weekend, but after 12 straight weeks of preparing the land, animals, schoolhouse, curriculum, and camp, our family took our very first weekend off.

Well… mostly off. 😅

We still found ourselves working on the farm a little, but we also spent time at the lake, slowed down, relaxed, and simply enjoyed being together. It was exactly what we needed.

Now that we’re back, it’s time to brag about our amazing Garden Lab campers!

What a week.

Our young gardeners spent the week digging, planting, building, creating, exploring, and learning what it means to care for something that will continue growing long after camp is over.

This week campers:

🌻 Started and planted sunflowers

🪱 Built compost bins and learned how food scraps become healthy soil

🌿 Explored pollinators and the important role they play in our gardens

🏡 Created bug hotels to provide shelter for beneficial insects

🪴 Helped build and fill our new garden beds

🌱 Learned about soil, seeds, roots, and plant life cycles

🐝 Completed pollinator scavenger hunts and nature investigations

🎨 Created nature suncatchers from treasures collected on the trail

🌾 Worked together to build our camp scarecrow

🐐 Cared for animals, completed daily chores, and continued growing as members of their Trail Tribes

🌻 We were also incredibly lucky to have my wonderful aunt, Lisa Cerini, join us as our volunteer missionary and resident garden expert for the week. As an avid gardener and kitchen connoisseur, Lisa shared her passion for growing food, caring for plants, and creating beauty from the harvest. Our campers loved learning alongside her, and I loved getting to share a piece of our family with them.

Most importantly, they learned that gardens don’t grow because someone plants a seed. Gardens grow because someone keeps showing up to care for them.

On Friday, campers proudly earned their 🌱 Green Thumb Patch, recognizing a week of stewardship, teamwork, curiosity, and hard work.

Watching these children take ownership of the garden spaces they helped create has been one of the highlights of our summer so far.

And while the gardens continue to grow, so does our little forest school community.

Today we officially kicked off Week 3: Stream Builders, where campers are becoming engineers, problem solvers, explorers, and bridge builders as they discover how water moves through the land and how people create pathways across it.

The garden may be planted, but the adventure is just beginning.

🌱🌻🌿💚