About Us
Ferntop Nature School is a unique, Christ-centered school serving children ages 3-14 years. It is on an eight-acre farm in rural Williamson County. Ferntop is located on the property of Mrs. Clare and Mr. George’s home, providing delightful opportunities for discovery, creativity and play.
Since 2014, young children have been walking together here - in the woods, through the creek, with the goats - in wonder and gratefulness for all God has made. None of this would be possible without teachers of unique interests and passions, who themselves deeply love God’s creation and the magic it unfolds for young children, guiding them to explore, to respect nature, to assess risks rather than to fear them, and to invite each other into play.
As these children have grown, we’ve experienced how empathy builds supportive community, how gratefulness brings families together, and how curiosity makes fertile soil for lifelong learning. Many Ferntop families who choose to homeschool love their children to return here to study the flora and fauna, to act in theatre productions together under the trees, to have their Latin word roots come alive in the outdoors, or to hone their writing skills with a little up-close nature investigation. We love to welcome new families too, and we’re so grateful to discover together that curiosity is not just a phase of development but a way of experiencing life abundantly.
MISSION
Ferntop’s mission is to celebrate and explore the wonder of God’s creation and to lovingly provide time, experiences and opportunities for children and their families to explore, play and make connections with each other and the natural world.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
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We believe that the Bible is God’s Word, inerrant and lovingly filled with His wisdom for us. It is the authority for the other things we believe.
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We believe that God created all things, including us. As part of His plan for the family, He created people as unchangeably male and female, and He created marriage as the joining of one man and one woman.
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We believe that none of us makes the best choices all the time, that we all - whether we realize it or not - desperately need God’s forgiveness and God’s help.
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We believe that God loves us so much that he sent His only son, Jesus Christ, for exactly this reason. Jesus has lived the perfect life that we could never live, and then He gave that life on purpose so that you and I - if we choose to trust Him with our lives - will one day live with Him forever.
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Although we cannot see Him, we understand that Jesus has not left us alone, but has filled His Word and His world with mercies new every morning. With the Bible as our guide and Jesus as our example, we desire to live out Jesus’ love as we encourage one another to stop and consider the wonders of God.
GOALS
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To gently teach respect and love for God, His creation and each other
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To offer a safe, inspiring, grace-filled atmosphere for the children and their families
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To meet the developmental needs of the whole child through unique learning opportunities
VALUES
Ferntop is built on these values and it is through these values that we view education
Empathy
We work to understand and share the feelings of ourselves, and one another. We also want to cultivate empathy within the context of the natural world, teaching children that they are caregivers, and that their loving attention makes a difference.
Community
We share this inspiring and loving space with one another, and grow together; emotionally, cognitively, spiritually and physically, as our eyes are open to the world God has made.
Wonder
Because God has given us such rich imaginations, we are able to delight and become connected to all that is around us. Our wonder drives our questions, our play and learning.
Play
Play is at the heart of all we do. We see play as the most important task a child has. Children make sense of their world through play, and development, on every level, is enriched by play.