Sandy Toes Nature School

Our Teachers

Mia La Londe is a seasoned early childhood educator. She has been teaching for close to 20 years. She has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and an A.A. in Early Childhood Education. Her experience includes working in an international school in China, private schools in Hawai`i, and a top lab school in California. She has a passion for bringing best practice to her classrooms, always putting the children’s interests first. She believes all children deserve a safe and supportive childhood that allows them to explore their interests.

Mia has grown up in Southern California, in San Diego, and Capistrano Beach where her extended family has deep roots. She and her son live a walk away from her beach school site.

After years of working in the classroom she is excited to start Sandy Toes Nature Preschool. Along with her passion for early childhood, she has a passion for the environment. She belongs to a couple environmental groups and you can often find her picking up trash along the shoreline. She abides by the Native American saying, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” Connecting children and nature has become increasingly more important in helping future generations better understand themselves and the world around them.

When she is not working with children she loves cooking, hiking, and spending time with her son and their dog Nala.

Philosophy

Sandy Toes Nature Preschool believes in child-centered inspired learning.

We believe each child holds their own unique talents, abilities, and interests.

We believe in honoring children’s unique qualities by listening, observing, and engaging with children in our care.

We believe children’s early years are critical to a child’s development and maintain best practices with our educators to best support children’s growth.

We support a positive relationship with families of children in our care. Keeping open and clear communication to best serve the children.

We believe in outdoor learning and learning in nature to inspire a deeper connection with the world around us.

We believe in calculated risk to encourage growth and expand abilities.

We believe in the benefits behind forest and nature preschools (++https://www.theforestschoolfoundation.org/research-resources++ , ++https://www.growingwildforestschool.org/post/the-forest-school-way-education-childcare-in-a-covid-future++ ). We believe working and learning outdoors supports children’s growth, gross motor, fine motor, focus, health, self-esteem, confidence, compassion, creativity, and connection to the natural world.

Location

Located on the shore in small town Capistrano Beach.

About our program

Sand Toes Nature Preschool School is the first of its kind in south Orange County. Living in a beach community we have access to one of the greatest resources, the Pacific Coast. Hosting camp classes at our little beach offers a unique opportunity for learning outdoors. The beach setting offers endless options for open-ended play, connection to nature, and compassion for our local community. Instagram: @sandytoesnature

Admissions

Join the Sandy Toes Nature School community in three easy steps:

1. Explore our website

We’ve provided information about our philosophies and offerings to help you decide if our program may be right for your family.

2. Tour our program

Come see what makes Sandy Toes Nature School unique. If we are currently hosting tours, you can request or schedule a tour at the top of this page. If we are not currently hosting tours, you’ll see a “Request Info” button at the top of this page; if you submit your information using this button, we will notify you when we start host tours again in the future.

3. Submit an Enrollment Application

If you would like to enroll, please submit an application at www.wonderschool.com/sandy-toes-nature-school-9217/apply – note that we require tours for all prospective families. Please do not submit an application if you have not visited the program.