September/October Beans For Bags Spotlight: Heartberries Playschool

News

Sep 19

Heartberries is an all outdoors program for children ages 2-5 based at Peace Hill and Shy Acre Farm in Port Townsend, Washington. We seek to provide affordable care that is nature immersive, multi-cultural, cultivates the imagination, and encourages children's natural inclinations towards love and kindness.

Most parents with young children in the Port Townsend area have felt the struggle to find high quality, affordable childcare. Day care and preschool options are limited and expensive, and families looking for a setting focused on holistic development rather than academics and screen time find themselves with few choices. At Heartberries, families will find a multi-cultural group of teachers grounded in both their love of nature and their love of children. A place that cherishes the magic of imagination and connection with the natural world during early childhood. A family-like environment where children lead and adults nurture.

Heartberries is a nascent program based right in the middle of Port Townsend on Peace Hill, also known as Shy Acre farm, and was founded by a group of parents motivated to provide safe and affordable care for their young children during the pandemic. It has developed into an all-outdoors nature program currently serving twelve families in this community with plans to expand. Affordability and accessibility are core values. This year we plan to provide four full scholarships and in order to keep tuition low we ask the greater community to share the costs. To fund the scholarships, as well as administrative and start-up costs, we have established a fundraising goal of $24,000. We express our deep gratitude to all who contribute to our school.