Luna and Eagle Nature School

Our Teachers

Sandra is the director and head teacher at Luna and Eagle. She is a parent, organizer, and community advocate. Mother Earth and Indigenous teachings are at the heart of her work. She has traveled Turtle Island from the rainforests in Costa Rica, to the revolutionary jungles in Mexico, to Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. She created art camps for children in her parent’s backyard, while she was studying human development in college. She has a 13 year old daughter who draws, dances, cooks, and washes her own clothes with no assistance from mom. She recently found out that her 10 year old son is a writer. Soon she’ll be editing stories about long walks and zombies. Her greatest joy was reading to her children every night. Now, they prefer reading on their own. Making and preparing food is a healing process for her that can be a struggle or a source of strength depending on the day. She recently discovered making tacos off a rotisserie chicken from the market. Favorite hard thing to do: dead bugs and RDLs at the gym. Fun fact: She sang songs from the traditional pop and jazz era as a kid and still sings her way through life.

Folks from all walks of life are growing children in this concrete coastal chaparral. We’re learning everyday how to care for each other and for the natural world in our backyard. I welcome you to join the Luna and Eagle Nature School community!

Music of the day: Blackbird and Somewhere Over The Rainbow by IZ

Book of the day: I Know the River Loves Me / Yo se qué el río me ama

Tip: Tea parties with children is a good way to give them herbal teas from plants containing vitamins and minerals. Make it fun!

Philosophy

At Luna and Eagle, we believe that children are born intuitive, and connected to themselves. Children become disconnected when we tell them not to feel their feelings or not to engage with the world around them. “It is our goal to provide an environment that helps each child to feel confident and capable, and allows children’s own interests to help facilitate their learning and engagement. We believe that children grow, learn and thrive by exploring the world around them.”

We believe children are wired for empathy, connection, cooperation, and kindness, and we encourage positive behavior. We understand that every child is an individual with a unique way of interpreting the world and their emotions. Teachers observe how a child responds to their environment, validate every emotion (anger, frustration, fear, sadness), and guide children back to a sense of harmony with themselves, others, and the environment. We practice breath work (e.g. Bunny breath and dragon breath) or a 1 minute meditation daily.

At Luna and Eagle, children are developing a relationship with the natural world in a backyard ecosystem, and an indoor nature and play-based learning environment. Children who see Water, Air, Fire/Sun, and Earth as relatives, develop a respect for the environment that creates a lifelong emotional attachment. Our program models the Haudenosaunee philosophy (as well as other Indigenous philosophies across Turtle Island) of reciprocity with nature by expressing gratitude, and taking care of the land. We connect with nature through science, art and play!

Our focus is on developing a healthy body, mind, and spirit.

**Please note: We are a small class size. We are only accepting 7 children into the program daily. Smaller class sizes mean better interpersonal relationships.

Location

Luna and Eagle is nestled on a tree-lined street in the Cal Heights neighborhood of Long Beach (Puvungna).

Our indoors learning environment is crafted so that children may explore various activities based on their interests. Some of our favorite areas include a makerspace for tinkering, engineering, drawing & painting, dramatic play area (for social and emotional development), and light exploration area (sparks children’s creativity and investigation).

Housed in the art and science area is our guinea pig habitat. Children can practice empathy for one of nature’s smallest furry creatures by occasionally adding pellets to the habitat or feeding our sow, Tofu, a carrot or strawberry tops. Children share the responsibility for the care of the guinea pigs and some of the houseplants. Stormy and Cleo are house cats who sometimes think they’re guinea pigs by laying with Tofu in her habitat.

Children have outdoor time everyday. We are currently developing the backyard patio space What’s in store for the future? A tiny backyard ecosystem featuring a diversity of habitats: vegetable garden, herbal garden, fruit tree, berry shrub, and compost bin. A water feature, sand table, and outdoor chalkboard. Depending on the day, children will have the opportunity to walk (or ride in a wagon) for a sound walk, sight walk, or bird watch. Seasonally, we can observe how crayons melt in the sun (solar energy), leaves change colors, and the clouds grow dark.

A spider, roly-poly, grasshopper, or lizard are relatives and we treat them respectfully. At one time we had a resident alligator lizard, Mulch, living in the compost bin for almost 2 years. She was joined by another alligator lizard, Asparagus, before the heatwave in 2022 sent them packing.

Donations list:

Garden tools

Rain barrel

Wood for building mud kitchen

Rain jackets (sizes 3T - 12)

Rain boots

Seeds

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About our program

Turtle Island Foodway

At Luna and Eagle, we serve a healthy snack and lunch. We believe there is a direct link between nutrition and brain/gut health in children. We serve mostly organic fruit and vegetables, free range turkey, chicken, wild caught fish, a variety of grains, beans, nuts and seeds. A diet beneficial for the micro-biome in our belly and for the care and protection of the earth.

As the school garden grows, we will offer a farm to table menu. Eating locally and seasonally is what we strive for! A house chef is on the horizon.

As the program grows, we will invite a music specialist, a yoga instructor, and a Spanish immersion teacher to the team.

Admissions

Join the Little Luna and Eagle Eco-School community in four 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 Little Luna and Eagle Eco-School unique. Please schedule a tour or attend an Open House event.

3. Submit an Enrollment Application

If you would like to enroll, please submit an application. Please note that we require tours for all prospective families. Please do not submit an application if you have not visited the program.

4. Enroll

After reviewing your application, we’ll send an enrollment invitation. Upon accepting your invitation you’ll pay your enrollment fee, fill out enrollment documents and review our Parent Handbook.