Q: In addition to your new role as Associate Director, you'll be returning to the role of Educator in the forest. What is your favorite part of working directly with young children?
A: Exploring the natural world with young children is, hands down, the most rewarding part. Witnessing genuine awe, curiosity, and empathy for what many older folks would only glance at momentarily fills me with joy. There have been many days in the woods where a student finds a mushroom or insect and everyone gathers around to examine and ask questions. It never gets old!
Q: What qualities, skills, and values do you hope to cultivate in the children you work with? What benefits do play and/or the natural environment contribute to teaching those skills?
A: There are so many qualities, skills, and values I hope students learn throughout my time as their teacher; so many that I don’t even know where to begin. For students to begin to understand that: they are an integral part of our community’s web; the way they interact with each other and the natural world can have long lasting affects, both positive and negative; communication is monumental at building relationships.
My ultimate hope is that the children I work with have such awe inspiring experiences, that they enthusiastically share those experiences through stories with their families, and those experiences continue to grow deep roots in their imagination and inner worlds, providing happiness throughout their lives.
Q: You've worked in outdoor education for a long time! Tell us the story of how you came to this work and the path that led you to Athens Forest Kindergarten.
Kylie in 2019 at our original school site, Earthsong
A: Whether it was sparked by collecting roly polies in my grandpa’s rhubarb patch to show my siblings or making a small birthday banner for my dad with grass and glue, I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be outside and share my love for the outdoors with others. Through my youth, my family spent weekends and summers camping and hiking. My favorite books were field guides and I spent hours pouring over nature encyclopedias. During college, I spent summers on Tybee Island as a 4-H Camp Counselor, teaching kids about Marsh and Beach Ecology. After graduating from Warnell with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources, I pursued my love for environmental education as a 4-H Extension Agent in McDuffie County. Starting a family in 2012 solidified my desires for a sustainable outdoor life and I began homesteading fulltime. In 2018, I returned to the workforce as an educator for both Athens Forest Kindergarten and School of the Greenwood. My roots in Environmental Education grow deeper with every student I work with and learn from!
Q: Describe your perfect weekend day. What do you and your family do for fun?
A: My kids (Matilda, age 8, and Silas, age 5) and I love canoeing and camping down the Chattoooga river with friends. Though we haven’t been able to do much of that in the past year and a half, it certainly still makes for the perfect weekend! We enjoy tending our chickens, splashing in our backyard’s creek, and continuing to rebuild our homestead.
Thanks for all you’ve given to help build Athens Forest Kindergarten so far Kylie! We can’t wait to see what the Associate Director position brings to your future and the future of this work!