Whidbey Forest Friends

About Our Philosophy:
We believe that children thrive when they are immersed in nature. Our outdoor classroom provides endless opportunities for exploration, discovery, and sensory experiences. We encourage children to connect with the natural world, fostering a sense of wonder and respect for the environment.

Art is woven into the fabric of our program. We believe that art is not just about creating beautiful pictures; its about fostering self-expression, developing fine motor skills, and igniting imagination. Through a variety of art mediums and projects, children are encouraged to explore their creativity and express themselves freely.

We also recognize the vital role of parent or caregiver in a child's development. Our program is designed to be a shared experience, strengthening the bond between parent and child through shared exploration, learning, and creative expression. 

As we have our own unique program, we do follow the key principles of the Reggio Emilia approach.  See here                                   for more info on this curriculum.


Info The Journey:
Whidbey Forest Friends is the culmination of a journey that has woven together my passions for Art, children and nurturing their growth. It builds upon years of experience with raising my children and my previous ventures in mind. I would like to create enriching and inspiring experiences for children to build a strong foundation to grow their minds and make those important social and emotional connections in a calm supportive environment. To form positive relationships through outdoor learning and give them a place of freedom and joy to use their imaginations while surrounded by nature.
Most importantly fun and laughter! There's nothing like the belly laugh as a child is jumping in a puddle and the water is splashing around them. Or the excited happy squealing and screams as a child is rolling down a grass hill. It makes me so happy when the child can truly be a child and enjoy all these precious moments. 
 
- Teacher Meagan :) 
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Classes nature and Art:
Our classes are Pre-school based Learning.
with child-Driven Activities. 
I can plan and implement the perfect lesson plan- have it all set up and ready, then a Giant frog jumps by! Suddenly the whole class runs over there, and we end up having a great discussion about where the frog lives and if it has a family and what it skin feels like (this is a true story lol) 
This is what Child-Driven means. I plan a curriculum, and we may follow every detail of it most days of class but sometimes the lesson is something amazing your child discovered that day while on our adventure. 
 
Here's an example of our schedule for a class:
This is how I plan the time:)

10:00am families arrive to Art time set up 

10:00-10:30 Art Time
(Themed project set up on table or ground, depends where we are that day)
estimated Time -sometimes art is longer or shorter

10:20/10:30-10:40 Circle time for welcome-music/singing talking about the theme for the day or about where we are and our walk or short hike

10:40-11:20 we go on our walk or hike
(somewhere in middle we may do a story with snack time, again at the rate of children that day and where they may stop and explore and play)

11:20-11:30 Walk back together to our beginning spot and time to go home.
(or sometimes families stay and play together and eat lunch, your call)

Schedule for specialist:
We will have at least 3 specialists for our class time in the 8 weeks. 
The schedule is up to the specialist. The start time will remain the same. 
We will meet somewhere local and have a special event class that day!
Note: This class could end up running longer that day, you are always welcome
to leave at regular class time.

*For location each week I will always email you detailed info by:
-(Monday) before class, if it's a Wednesday class
-(Thursdays)before class if it's a Saturday class 







Meet the Founder and Teacher:
Meagan Buckmaster-Larson who grew up in the Pacific Northwest is a dedicated mother of four grown children with a passion for the outdoors and the arts. With degrees in Early Childhood Education and Art, she has successfully owned and operated two Art studios and contracted out multiple classes offering preschool classes and creative Art for ages 12 months old to adult. Meagan has extensive experience as a birth and postpartum Doula and understands the importance of nurturing and supporting families. She has been teaching sensory Art classes, led parent/child classes at an outdoor preschool for several years, and has taught Art and Drama in multiple grade schools. This further enriching her understanding of community-based programs.

Currently not only is she Director and Teacher at Whidbey Forest Friends she inspires the next generation of young artists conducting art workshops around the island and teaching in the afterschool Art program at the local Whidbey Waldorf school contracting for WILASC. 

Since moving to Whidbey in 2023 with her husband, they have started a small farm and are enjoying the close-knit island community. 




 

​The Pure Joy of Creating-

Personal expression can get messy

when the artist has a hand in the paint. 

by: Stephanie Dunnewind March 8, 2003, Publication Seattle Times

(for full article see Seattle Times Archives)

The babies wearing white T-shirts and diapers-no pants or shoes-were a tip-off this wasn't going to be a prim art session with watercolors and pencils. Indeed, just minutes into the class for 12–24-month-olds at Art Experiences in Redmond, the 15 toddlers had used their bodies as canvases for tempura paint as much as they had the paper provided.

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"After the first class, you know what to expect," said Dana Adams of Kirkland, whose son, Trent, 19 months, had one leg painted in red and one in white, as well as (washable) red paint on his shirt, his toes and in his hair. "You know to have them come in a diaper and shirt that can be destroyed"

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This is art as sensory experience: Gushing between fingers and tickling with brushes.

It is experts say, exactly what art for young children is supposed to be.

​"Art is about the process of using materials on their own" said Hether Reed, Frye Art Museum educator for school and family programs. "Kids won't experience that if parents are superseding their ideas and correcting them. They need to be left alone to do that."

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​Art Experiences and new programs at local museums offer parents of young children several options for immersing kids, both literally and figuratively, in art. Art museums that started targeting elementary-school children years back are now lowering their sights to the preschool set.​ For very young children, art goes back to the basics: red versus green, rather than Picasso versus Monet. At Art Experiences in Redmond Town Center owners Meagan and Adam Buckmaster set out materials such as paint, play dough, sticky paper and tinsel on tables and on the floor for kids and parents to explore at their leisure. Kids can also play in plastic swimming pools filled with such things as cotton balls, corn meal, flour and oatmeal.

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​"Babies naturally love to get messy. "Said Kathleen Miller of Sammamish, who brings her 15-month-old son, Mychal, to Art Experiences. "He gets to do all the things he needs to do developmentally-but it's not getting all over my floor."

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Stephanie Szot of Redmond gives 17-month-old daughter Audrey pens and other art supplies at home but "I have to be more controlled with it," she said. "I can't put paint on the floor and let her roll in it"

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​And at no surprise: At the end of the hourlong session, the Art Experiences floor is covered with colors of paint, pieces of paper, tinsel, cotton balls, corn meal, oatmeal and sticky cotton balls. "Young children are so creative," said Meagan Buckmaster, who lives in Sammamish. "It's great when parents say, "Go for It" rather than saying "Stop, stop "all the time. Here they can make a complete mess and then just walk away."