Primary Program

Becoming Confident, Curious Learners

Nature-based Primary Grades Program

Busy Feet

Active Minds

Elachee Nature Academy allows children the chance to ‘find their place’ in the real world, at their own pace.

Students benefit from guided exploration and play along the hiking trails and in the streams of the 1,440-acre Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve and around the grounds of the Elachee Nature Science Center campus.

Spending the majority of their school day in brains-on/hands-on activity, not busy work, primary grade-level students delve into topics made fun by teachers who do not ‘teach to the test,’ but rather encourage independent thinking and problem-solving.

Primary Program

At a Glance

Elachee Nature Academy’s nature-based primary grade level programs are affiliated with the only SACS/Cognia-accredited nature center in the southeastern U.S., Elachee Nature Science Center.
We teach students using a STEAM-based, nature focused curriculum specifically designed to expose students to concepts that go beyond basic Georgia educational standards’ requirements.
Certified teachers lead classes, each with a low teacher to student ratio.
Students spend some 75-percent of each instructional day outdoors in experiential learning and physical activity, rather than sitting at desks.
Indoor, open concept classrooms invite children to engage in creative and cooperative learning or to find a private nook for quiet, independent play.

A Nature-Based Education:

Gives students a quality, academic foundation.
Helps students become independent thinkers and problem-solvers.
Encourages students to be part of a group.
Teaches students to how to follow directions.
Provides students with opportunities to share materials and engage in meaningful interactive play.

Managed and operated by Elachee Nature Science Center in Gainesville, Georgia, this nature school is part of Elachee’s quality environmental education programming, a source of delight and inspiration since 1979.