Growing Green

Imagine grade school if Ranger Rick were the headmaster. The result might resemble Raintree School (2100 S. Mason, 314-858-1033, undertheraintree.org), which opened its new location earlier this year. Nestled in11 wooded acres in Town & Country, the state’s only Forest School emphasizes the outdoors. Children from ages 2 to 6 play on logs and boulders, rather than slides and monkey bars. They help grow their own food on-site, and prepare it in a teaching kitchen led by a chef. They follow the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, choosing their class projects and gaining essential skills along the way. “Our belief is that if you can learn it inside, you can learn it outside,” says president Ilya Eydelman. “It’s more than just a school with trees around it—although we do have more of that than most.”