Heart Rock Forest School

Our Teachers

Marie Harper is the founder of Heart Rock Forest School. She is a certified Outdoor Classroom Project Specialist with Level III training. She holds a California Child Development Director Permit and Dual Masters in Human Development and Early Childhood Studies from Walden University and Pacific Oaks. She has over twenty years of working with children. After several years of experience working inside the classroom and trying to get the children to thrive outdoors, she decided to develop her own nature-based program. She is a trusted teacher in the Pasadena and surrounding neighborhood communities and has guided children of all ages on educational hikes and community explorations.

​

Testimonials

Marie was our son’s pre-school teacher for two years.  We absolutely love her respect for children, her sense of fun and adventure, her calm demeanor in times of stress and her teaching philosophy.  She is really talented at holding space for kids and at the same time letting them explore.  We felt so safe and happy knowing she was caring for our son.  Five years later we are still friends! - MB

I can’t think of a better teacher/guide for a child than Marie Harper. We. trusted all ours with her and were always impressed and grateful! - JB

We had the great fortune to be a part of a co-op led by the Heart Rock Forest School’s program director, Marie Harper, when my son was little – and we still look back on those years as the most engaged and creative and empowering, school-wise, to date!  Marie created the perfect blend of structure and creative freedom.  The kids spent the day outside, which I loved, integrating their surroundings into the day’s adventure in learning.  Her students had vastly different personalities, and Marie handled them all with deftness and ease, encouraging each of them to express themselves with kindness and respect.  Because our great outdoor classroom was free of the encroachment of those plastic noise-making toys that often fill the school settings of young learners (and believe me, we have many of those noise-makers at home :)) – but because they weren’t part of the school setting, the kids were able to focus on the seemingly simpler, but far more engaging, tasks of using water, wood, paint, cardboard, and other bells-and-whistles free objects – to create.

Marie always led with kindness, while keeping the kids safe and respectful of one another.  She encouraged their love for nature, tapping into the natural curiosity of young people in an outdoor setting.  We feel immensely fortunate that we had the years we did with Marie in the co-op learning setting, and only wish Heart Rock Forest School had existed sooner! - SK

Philosophy

At Heart Rock Forest School, we connect children to nature with great care and affection for their developing needs. Studies have shown the negative impact of nature deficiency on a child’s development. We aim to solve this problem by making the beautiful and sensorial Arroyo Park our classroom setting. Our program is designed by a director who is an expert in child development and outdoor learning. We are influenced by the books Last Child In The Woods and The Importance of Being Little.

Our mission is the following:

*Create a school life where children absorb the many health, cognitive and social benefits of the great outdoors. *Empower children to feel connected to their community and protective of their world. *Infuse academic learning through exploration and non-rigorous routines. *Employ caring educators with dual experience in the natural sciences and social-emotional development. *Develop a program where parents can feel assured knowing that their children are connecting with nature, developing friends and receiving exceptional care from involved teachers.

​

​

Location

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1343883,-118.2870353,12z

Heart Rock Forest School is located in Lower Arroyo Park in Pasadena. It includes 19.9 acres of improved parkland, picnic areas and beautiful undeveloped lands, and a flood channel. This diverse park is well maintained by the Parks and Facilities. It is an actual and metaphorical passageway between wildlife and people. You can find more about Arroyo Park and what makes it a wonderful classroom setting here.

​

​

​

Admissions

Join the Heart Rock Forest 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 Heart Rock Forest 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.

​