Our Nature Philosophy
Children need the opportunity to grow up experiencing the joys of outside play.
We strive to provide our preschoolers the space and time for outside exploration, discovery, and imaginative play every single day, in all different types of weather.
We believe that quality time in nature provides a vast number of benefits, including strengthening physical development, building spatial awareness and problem solving skills, and opportunities to grow lifelong skills used for mindfulness, awareness and self-regulation. We also see nature as playing a positive role in the social-emotional development and relationship building between children as they develop empathy and relationships with one another, while also allowing children to form a positive and meaningful relationship with the natural world.
When Epiphany Preschool was founded more than 50 years ago, it was connected to Epiphany United Methodist Church. The church has since dissolved, and Epiphany preschool is now and independent, non profit nature preschool.
About our School
Epiphany Preschool is play-based, and inquiry-based, with our curriculum focused on the natural environment around us. We use the changes of the season along with the interests and abilities of the children in our care to guide our explorations and lessons together. In addition to the playground, our property has a large vegetable and flower garden, a mud kitchen, a wooded area, a sensory garden, an open field, and many other places to explore.
Our Time Together, and Daily Routines
We are a 9-month program, with optional Spring Break and Summer Camp programs. Our current hours of operation are 9am-3pm. Each school day includes a Morning Gathering, Read-Alouds and Classroom Rituals, Morning Snack, Open-ended Exploration (uninterrupted discovery), Focused Small Group Activities, Lunch, Quiet Reflection Time and Naps/Rest Time, Stories and Songs, and Closing Circles.
Children at Epiphany spend a large portion of their day outdoors, with at least 45 minutes on the playground. In addition to their playground time, students can be found working in the garden, taking a nature walk around the property, following animal tracks in the woods, riding bikes on our blacktop, or cooking up a feast in our Mud Kitchen.
Teachers and Classes
We believe that all children should feel seen and represented in the stories that we share, and the books that we read together. We have an extensive library of children’s books for use in the classrooms, as well as a parent resource library.
At Epiphany we believe that respecting and honoring children is integral in building the kind of school community that we want to be a part of, and that we want to welcome children and families into.
Our teaching staff is carefully selected for their warmth, love, and understanding of children. Teachers at Epiphany meet the educational and work experience requirements and personal attributes as set forth by the Director and Preschool Advisory Board.
Our Outdoor Bill of Rights
Every Epiphany Preschooler should have the opportunity to:
Discover, explore and connect with natural spaces and wild places close to home, in neighborhoods, and at school.
Play in a safe place outdoors.
Camp under the stars, learn to swim, ride a bike.
Use their senses to experience the natural world.
See how food is grown, and grow something themselves.
Explore a stream, stomp in a puddle, play in the mud.
Hike in a natural area and follow a trail.
Roll in the grass, play in the sand, climb a tree or search under a log.
Share nature with a parent, guardian, mentor, teacher or environmental educator.
“What can be done inside can be done outside.”
Our Schedule
Epiphany Preschool follows Fairfax County’s school calendar. Our first day of school is the Tuesday after Labor Day and we close the Friday before Memorial Day.
We follow Fairfax County School weather closings. If FCPS closes, we close. If FCPS opens on a delayed schedule, Epiphany opens at 10:00 a.m.
Enrichment Programs and Field Trips
Our students occasionally take field trips throughout the year. Parents are needed to volunteer to drive and chaperone as they are able.
We schedule a variety of enrichment programs, which have previously included storytellers, a mobile aquarium, interactive plays, a one-man band, and a reptile expert.
Meet Jason, our Director
I am someone who grew up in Arlington, VA with an urban landscape as my front yard and a forest as my backyard. I feel so lucky to have grown up in the best of both worlds and to have the anchor of the natural world to fall back on during tough times. I have been an Early Childhood Educator for over 20 years. During this time I have worked in almost every teaching role there is as well as many different administrative positions. I began my journey into Nature Based Education 7 years ago. During those last 7 years I have grown a greater appreciation for the magic that I had been observing in Early Childhood settings and the impact that we as educators can have on developing resilient well-rounded people and students of life!
I have a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education, and I am one semester away from earning my Master’s degree in Curriculum Design. I am also a level 2 certified Nature Based Teacher. Most importantly, I am a husband, and a father to two young children of my own, ages 5 and 7!
