What We’re About
Our History
The Great Wide Open was established by Danae Robinson, a Pre-K teacher with a life-long love of inspired learning and a fierce dedication to allowing children to learn by means of exploration, curiosity, and natural inclination.
After more than 20 years of teaching preschoolers, Danae had aspirations of starting her own preschool. Additionally, the Covid pandemic gave way to a renewed interest in homeschooling, and Danae was inspired to cultivate a space for parents who want to homeschool their children, but are restricted by work schedules and other barriers.
Our Mission
To serve children at all levels of early education and provide an alternative to public school through a holistic, hands-on learning environment that supports homeschooling families.
Our Philosophy: Not All Classrooms Have Four Walls
The world around us is an incredible classroom and nature is an amazing teacher! We spend as much time as possible learning in the great outdoors. Children need to be able to explore, imagine, play, climb, build, create, laugh, scream, express their joy and sorrow and anger, and to be noisy and loud and happy and free. This is who they are and how they learn. This is their job. They need to look forward to life every single day with curiosity and excitement, and anticipation for what fun things could happen today. When they do, they will learn automatically.
Teaching in this way recognizes every child as an individual with specific developmental needs, whether emotional, physical, or cognitive. It allows children room to learn and explore based on their own personal likes and dislikes and provides freedom and space for all personalities. All of this fosters a love of learning that will last a lifetime.