Breathe- Learning in Connection

The land you see above is Braided Root Waters, home of Breathe: (Bravely Return to the Earth and Teach Holistic Education!) We are a land-based home preschool program fostering love of diversity and learning. By helping our students learn healthy habits, patience, cooperation, peacemaking and resourcefulness, the children develop a sense of self agency, awareness and reliance. We are incorporating multiple education modalities (Montessori, Waldorf) to cater to the holistic child and deliver core academics through the lens of nature. Inherently the children build a treasure chest of knowledge and understanding of the natural world, and feel prepared wherever their journeys take them. By having program on Braided Root Waters, over 100 acres with an intimate 1:4 teacher-to-student ratio, natural connection to the Earth, themselves and each other is found. When the children are at Breathe, they know they are with their other family. 


Thank you for visiting our campaign page!  This is to raise money for a young school called Breathe, located in Schuyler County, NY.  We currently teach children ages 3 to 7 in an outdoor setting spending only a few days a semester indoors and have zero screen time.

Officially opening in March 2018 and teaching through the summer semester, we are now coming up to our first full year and we have all learned so much! Here are some brief reflections on the year.
We have served 17 children accepting 5 on an equal exchange for tuition (meaning no monetary contribution). 
Some of our favorite activities were exploring the land and discovering basecamps and hideouts, tracking through mud and snow and observing signs of life. Learning to identify helpful child safe plants, harvest and use them in simple herbal preparations and in cooking! They love having a fire and making wild tea, planting, tending and harvesting from their garden, giving gratitude and singing all throughout. 

With help from wonderful community members we hosted a fundraiser in September that raised $800 towards building a schoolhouse for Breathe!  


We hope you are considering learning more about our mission, dream and passions and can do so better through our website and facebook page. 

Website:  www.bravelyreturntotheearth.org
Facebook: Breathe Bravely 

Please also take a few minutes to watch this collage from our pilot program which ran from 9/17-3/18 affectionately called Baby Breathe. https://vimeo.com/251904984 

If you would like to see even more moments from Breathe this year, please visit our facebook page albums! 

Our hope is to fund the beginning stages of a building that will serve as a school house for the Breathe preschool with room to grow into a home school space serving children ages 8-14. The building will be located on the West side of Braided Root Waters which will allow easier access to the forest, companion animals and heart of the land.  A basic outline of what we are fundraising for:

$8-10k for digging a well

$10k for foundation

$10-12k for initial building permits, planning, construction team and some materials

We are hoping to build a net-zero building using sustainable and locally sourced materials.

**If you are considering donating a larger percentage of our goal and wish to see an itemized list of projected costs/expenses, please do not hesitate to ask!