Our Story

Six of us gathered every day in a field during the summer of 2020.

Our story begins before that, though; it began in a kindergarten classroom where I was volunteering in high school. It began while we were floating in the lake, trying to figure out the best career path to the vision. It began in Spain when I so dearly missed the dirt. It began when we thought of the name “Barefeet Farm School” in the stairwell at Fairhaven College. It began in an ECEAP classroom.

So in 2020, we created a temporary outdoor classroom with no fence or shade or shelves. We played in the woods almost every day! We had hot chocolate for breakfast when it rained and we built lots of obstacle courses out of cardboard. We probably caught all of the bullfrogs in the pond. It was all kinds of wonderful. I had no idea what it would become but I stood behind it wholeheartedly.

In 2021, we built a fence! We bought a boat playhouse! We created an outdoor classroom, a shelter for gathering, and the best darn outhouse in the county. We grew the team. We were ready to welcome full classes of kids: Barefeet Farm School was ready for a school year! A winter!

2022 brought us the end of our first school year, the beginning of the next, more summer camp wonder, toddler playgroups… what else will there be?

I believe so strongly in the power of early childhood education. I think it’s one of the things our world needs the most. I believe that children who learn to speak to each other with respect, who learn to sing and play and ask great questions, who know what their feelings feel like and what to do with them, are children who are happy. When we share these tools with them, we pave their roads.

I have been officially teaching preschool for six years, and I have been teaching kids in various settings for many years before that. This includes facilitating the preschool and music program for a summer camp in Idaho since 2016 (job title: Music and Fun) and directing a children’s choir. I am a mother, songwriter, dreamer, and lover of all things fun and growing. I have a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Fairhaven College with a concentration in community education. Teaching preschool is my passion.

It sounds like a dream… because it is. Barefeet Farm School is made up of so many of my biggest dreams. All of the “we’s” in the story are different people who have inspired and grown the dream, too. This is my school but it is all of ours. I am so glad you have joined us.

-Erin Majeske, director