Painted Oak Nature School began as a small, intentional community nestled in a sweet suburban woodland. Founded in 2012 by Nicole Langdo, an innovative educator frustrated by the constraints of traditional schooling and inspired by her own childhood spent exploring the wild, she created a simple yet bold vision:
a nature-based preschool where learning happens outside - in all weather - in all seasons
For 13 years, Painted Oak Nature School was a home for children and families who believed learning could be joyful, wild, and deeply connected to the earth. Though our doors closed in June 2025, our spirit continues through The Painted Oak Project.
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Our Mission
Painted Oak Nature School was a nurturing community of learners that valued kindness, cooperation, curiosity, imagination, and respect for all living things. We cultivated habits that instilled confidence, capability, and self-reliance.
Through daily interactions with the environment, our school promoted a holistic, nature-based education for preschoolers, grade schoolers, and their families that fostered deep connections with the natural world—and with each other.
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Our Values
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Kindness
We believe kindness is the foundation of all learning. At Painted Oak, children practiced empathy and compassion daily — whether helping a classmate, tending to an injured creature, or welcoming new families into the community.​ -
Cooperation
The forest taught us that nothing thrives alone. Children learned to work together to build shelters, solve problems, share tools, and care for the land. Cooperation was woven into every experience, showing them the power of collective effort. -
Curiosity
Questions were celebrated, not rushed. We encouraged children to look closely, wonder deeply, and follow their own ideas. From examining a tiny insect to mapping animal tracks in the snow, curiosity was the spark that guided discovery. -
Imagination
Childhood is meant to be magical. Whether transforming sticks into fishing rods or meadows into kingdoms, children were given the freedom to dream and invent. Imagination wasn’t an “extra” — it was central to how they learned and expressed themselves. -
Respect for All Living Things
Painted Oak children came to understand their place in a greater web of life. From the smallest beetle to the tallest oak, from classmates to community members, respect guided how we treated one another and the world around us. -
Confidence, Capability, and Self-Reliance
By climbing trees, navigating trails, or trying new skills, children discovered their own strength. They left Painted Oak believing in themselves, knowing they could face challenges with courage and resilience.
Our Impact
(2012 - 2025)
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Thousands of children grew up exploring woods, fields, and streams as their classroom.
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Families found a community that honored childhood and reimagined what education can, and should, look like.
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Educators discovered new ways of teaching rooted in inquiry, respect, and the natural world.
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A generation of children developed resilience, creativity, independence, and problem-solving skills by navigating challenges outdoors in all seasons.
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Lifelong friendships were formed through shared adventures, collaboration, and play.
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Painted Oak inspired a wider movement of nature-based education, serving as a model for schools and programs beyond our community.
​Painted Oak was more than a school—it was a movement toward saving childhood.
Our Next Chapter
Though the school has closed, the Painted Oak Approach lives on.
The Painted Oak Project now brings this work to a wider circle —
supporting schools, educators, parents, and organizations to reimagine learning
in ways that honor children and the natural world.
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As environmentalist Rachel Carson reminded us:
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder… he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it.”
~ May WE ALL be those adults ~
TM