Eastern Ridge Nature Preschool

Posted: April 15, 2025

As a parent with one daughter who’s already graduated from The Eastern Ridge School and another in her second year, I can honestly say this place has been amazing for our family. The school’s approach is all about letting kids explore, ask questions, and learn through hands-on experiences—most of it outdoors, which our girls have absolutely loved. It’s thoughtful, nurturing, and really focuses on helping each child grow in their own unique way. We feel so lucky to have found it.

Posted: April 15, 2025

Posted: April 15, 2025

Posted: April 15, 2025

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Posted: February 28, 2025

ERS is a nature gem in our suburban/urban busy neighborhood. I have watched my children flourish and grow in some of the most magical ways since joining ERS, learning in a unique way, gaining a deep appreciation for nature including stillness and quiet and curiosity, and discovering their own independence and personality. I highly recommend ERS!

Posted: February 28, 2025

Posted: February 28, 2025

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Posted: February 28, 2025

Posted: February 5, 2025

Eastern Ridge is childhood at it's most magical. It's play-based but certainly not hands off; the teachers and staff put SO much thought into everything they do. They really respect the children as people and meet them where they're at. And the community aspect is something I don't think you get at many places. I love that my daughter can do so much exploring and adventuring while at school instead of climbing the same jungle gym day in and day out. I wish all children had the opportunity to go to ERS; we're so thankful to have found it!

Posted: February 5, 2025

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Posted: July 23, 2024

Amazing school! We have absolutely fallen in love with the program and the growth it has provided to our daughter. The small size and unique teaching style has helped our daughter thrive!

Posted: July 23, 2024

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Posted: October 18, 2020

The school is *too* hands-off. My child was repeatedly teased to the point of tears and when I asked the teacher what could be done to help address this, she shrugged it off and said the school allows kids to work these things out on their own. Really? Why do they have teachers then if the teachers don't provide any guidance or boundaries?

Posted: October 18, 2020

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Posted: August 5, 2017

Posted: August 5, 2017

Posted: August 5, 2017

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Posted: August 5, 2017

Posted: August 5, 2017

We had a wonderful experience at Eastern Ridge school. My son went there for three years and aged out. Although we left two years ago, he still laments wanting to be there. My son learned so much. We love the project-based approach and how the school embraces the outdoors.

Posted: July 31, 2017

My child has attended Eastern Ridge School from the time he was 2 years old and is now entering the kindergarten program this fall. We feel so fortunate to have found this gem of a school within the (in our opinion) overly achievement-oriented Northern Virginia community. It was important to us to find a place where our child could play, discover, learn, and develop strong relationships at his own pace. ERS has exceeded all of our expectations, with extraordinarily caring teachers and staff who are like family. We have had the good fortune to have a classroom experience with each and every current teacher, and while each has their own approach and style, our child has had wonderful experiences and learned so much from each of them. We are the proud parents of an articulate, curious, empathetic, healthy, nature-loving 5 year old, and we attribute this in large part to ERS. We will be sad to leave when our child ages out of the program next summer.

Posted: July 31, 2017

ERS does not have homework, but does ask families to participate in volunteer days and other events to build community and show the children that their parents care and invest in the place where they spend so much of their time

Posted: July 31, 2017

ERS teachers are experienced, caring and supportive, each bringing unique talents and styles to the school and supporting children in their own way

Posted: July 31, 2017

Social emotional skill building is one of the key pieces of an ERS preschool education

Posted: July 31, 2017

ERS leadership is caring, committed, and communicative

Posted: July 31, 2017

ERS is entirely child-paced. Children of all abilities can learn and thrive in this environment.

Posted: July 31, 2017

ERS focuses on providing children with the social emotional scaffolding and skills to work together to solve problems

Posted: July 8, 2017

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Posted: July 8, 2017

Posted: July 8, 2017

Posted: July 8, 2017

I caution anyone looking into Eastern Ridge School or camp especially those with younger children. My daughter came home with terrible diaper rash and they refuse to use the special diapers we've provided instead putting her in pull-ups. We were not told until her second day that they can not use diapers because of a "licensing issue"? They damaged our backpack, lied about her wearing a sun hat and she was so upset by the time I went to pick her up she was hyperventilating. We are now out $1640

Posted: May 9, 2015

My three-year-old daughter has been attending the Eastern Ridge School for a year now. She is a shy and quiet girl and I was really worried how she would handle preschool. I am very impressed by her progress, growing independence, confidence, curiosity and overall development. My daughter loves her school a lot and even asks to go there on the weekend. The teacher to student ratio is very good, and the teachers are all wonderful. We enjoy seeing daily pictures and videos, as well as reading journals from the school. Kids spend a lot of time outside in the huge nature-based area every day, enjoying unstructured play as well as working alongside their teachers to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Also the children have very healthy organic nutritious food at the school. We are very happy with the Eastern Ridge School!

Posted: May 15, 2014

My elementary aged children have been here since preschool, and they have thrived in every way. They are compassionate, creative, independent learners who love to go to school every day. The teachers are exceptional, the campus is lovely and the community of parents is a welcome reprieve from the overstressed, pressure that can sometimes take over in metro-DC.

Posted: April 27, 2014

My 5 year old boy/girl twins attend Eastern Ridge School, in the elementary program. The school offers an educational experience like no other school in Northern Virginia. My children spend hours outdoors ever day in all kinds of weather where they are learning through nature and arts at their own pace. The teachers are amazing and extremely responsive to the children's needs. They act as facilitators to learning and exploration. There are animals, large open green space, gardens, pot bellies pigs, a sand pit, a mud pit, climbing areas and much more. All of this is for the children to learn and explore along side their peers. Combine this with healthy food and healthy snacks (no sugar) and my children have a wonderful rich environment to explore the joy of learning! We review the online journals the teachers post each day with photos of what all the children of done for the day. Dinner time at our home is always lively when we review the on-line journals and their events for the day. I'm grateful to have found a place where my children can be children and learn in this environment!

Posted: April 24, 2014

My children have thrived at Eastern Ridge. The teachers are insightful and nurturing and seem to instinctively know what each child needs. It's wonderful to see them come home every day happy, healthy and sometimes muddy!

Posted: April 24, 2014

Both my 2 year old and 5 year old attend Eastern Ridge, in the toddler and elementary programs, respectively. The school offers an educational experience we haven't found elsewhere in Northern Virginia. It is primarily focused on nature and arts, and the kids spend hours outdoors each day in all weather. The teachers are exceptionally responsive to the children's needs and act as facilitators to learning and exploration. The school has animals, a large garden and several acres of undeveloped land, all of which provide areas for learning and discovering. We have been really happy with the focus on helping the child develop at their own pace, in all ways, especially the recognition of different learning styles, social/emotional development, etc.