Turn Back Time

Turn Back Time Turn Back Time’s mission is to help people recognize nature’s ability to teach and heal. Turn Back Time operates on a 58 acre homestead in Paxton, MA.

This property boasts a Turn Back Time (TBT) is a non-profit nature-based education center located on 58 acres in Paxton, Massachusetts. Our mission at Turn Back Time is to help people recognize nature’s ability to heal and teach with a commitment to offering programs to under-served populations.. We align with this mission through educational programs, nature play, and farm education. We connect p

articipants with nature through thoughtful and engaging programs, blending structured and unstructured exploration of the outdoor world within a welcoming and harmonizing environment. The property has expanded from humble beginnings to now include an active beaver pond, an extensive forested trail system, and a fully functional working farm. The farm includes a barn with classroom space, stables, green house, commercial garden beds, and a milieu of farm animals to interact with. Our in-resident animal friends include a whole clan of chickens (most uniquely named by children!), a horse, pony, goats, and a miniature donkey named MoMo, who all adore attention and care from our students and guests. Together, within our varying programs, we have the opportunity to witness nature’s splendor as it changes throughout the seasons; engaging our imaginations, activating our senses, and deepening our inquiry and knowledge of the natural world through active investigation. Our programs create resiliency as we build a relationship between the learner and the natural world; providing opportunities to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to ourselves. These opportunities in nature give individuals of all ages the time, space, and permission to learn, gain new experience, and grow in confidence and love for themselves, for others, and for this earth we call home.

🐿️ The Brown Museum Our preschoolers set out on a late-fall hike and quickly noticed something subtle but important: the...
11/06/2025

🐿️ The Brown Museum

Our preschoolers set out on a late-fall hike and quickly noticed something subtle but important: the forest had shifted almost entirely to shades of brown. Leaves, branches, soil, seed heads! Everything around them reflected this quiet seasonal transition. 🍂

To build awareness of these changes, the children created a “Brown Museum.” They mixed paints to discover how different pigments blend into brown, then curated their own exhibits using the natural treasures they collected! Bark, leaves, dried grasses, acorns, soil, even homemade cinnamon playdough!

Through this work, they practiced close observation, color awareness, and early scientific thinking. By studying the forest’s palette, they learned that nature communicates through pattern and change, and that even the most understated colors tell a story about the season. 🍁

The Power of Simple Play 🐌At forest school, play is purposeful. When children splash through puddles, dig in the mud kit...
11/06/2025

The Power of Simple Play 🐌

At forest school, play is purposeful. When children splash through puddles, dig in the mud kitchen, or explore the farm, they are doing far more than “just playing.” These hands-on experiences are how young children learn best, through movement, imagination, and connection with the natural world.
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Simple, unstructured play in the forest nurtures sensory awareness, strengthens coordination, and builds confidence. It encourages problem-solving and creativity, while the ever-changing environment offers endless opportunities for curiosity and discovery.
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Amid the trees and puddles, children develop resilience while learning to navigate both the landscape and their emotions. What looks like play is truly the foundation of lifelong learning, grounded in nature’s rhythm and simplicity!

Our homeschool program explored the full life cycle of the garden through seed saving!🌻After reading The Sunflower House...
10/29/2025

Our homeschool program explored the full life cycle of the garden through seed saving!🌻

After reading The Sunflower House and Every Little Seed, the children shared their wonderings about how seeds grow and rest through the seasons. Then, with curious hands, they carefully dissected flower heads from around the farm, discovering where each plant’s story begins. 🪴

We collected and dried seeds for next spring and tended the garden by pulling old sunflower stalks and enjoying the scent of fresh herbs.

A gentle reminder that every ending in nature holds a new beginning! 🌱✨

❤️

🎃 🍂This week, our preschoolers explored the garden and pumpkin patch on the farm, an experience that engaged every sense...
10/22/2025

🎃 🍂This week, our preschoolers explored the garden and pumpkin patch on the farm, an experience that engaged every sense.

As they opened their pumpkins, they investigated texture, temperature, and scent which encouraged sensory awareness and fine motor coordination while observing the inner life of a seasonal plant.

Through hands-on discovery, the children deepened their understanding of nature’s cycles, connecting to the rhythm of harvest and the wonder of transformation from seed to fruit. ✨

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🌧️ Rain gear on, we headed into the forest to explore how the land changes when it’s wet — how the earth smells richer, ...
10/21/2025

🌧️ Rain gear on, we headed into the forest to explore how the land changes when it’s wet — how the earth smells richer, how colors deepen, how sound softens.

🌲 At the base of the pines, we discovered something new, white foam resting along the roots. Together we wondered what it might be, learning that it forms when pine sap meets rainwater, creating a natural foam. It’s part of the forest’s cleansing process!

When pine trees are touched or wounded, they release sap to protect and heal themselves. When rainwater mixes with that sap, it creates this natural foam, a little sign that the forest is doing its quiet work of renewal.

Through play and curiosity, the children experienced science and spirit woven together and just how the forest breathes, heals, and transforms. ✨

#ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴘʟᴀʏ

🍂 Nature as Our Teacher 🍂This week, both our Preschool and KinderKamp classes explored the changing season through the l...
10/15/2025

🍂 Nature as Our Teacher 🍂

This week, both our Preschool and KinderKamp classes explored the changing season through the language of leaves.

Our Preschoolers observed the many colors found in fall leaves, using paint swabs to color match each hue. Through this simple yet intentional activity, they practiced close observation, fine motor coordination, and color recognition—while strengthening their sense of connection to the natural world. Their leaf collages became a reflection of fall’s beauty and their own growing awareness of nature’s patterns.

Our KinderKampers collected and sorted leaves of all shapes and colors, learning to identify similarities and differences in texture, size, and form. They then practiced the process of wax dipping—preserving the leaves and deepening their understanding of change, transformation, and care for the natural materials they work with.

Nature-based learning allows children to explore concepts of science, art, and mindfulness in a living classroom. Each season offers lessons that can’t be found in books—only in experience, observation, and wonder. 🌿

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🍂 This week we honored the beautiful autumn leaves as they drifted to the forest floor by reading the beloved book Leaf ...
10/11/2025

🍂 This week we honored the beautiful autumn leaves as they drifted to the forest floor by reading the beloved book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. 🍁

The transformation into whimsical Leaf Man creatures gave everyone a smile! 🌿✨

Through art and nature, they discovered creativity, connection, and how the natural world can become the canvas for their own storytelling! 🍂

Last Saturday we had the pleasure of hosting our annual golf tournament to raise funds for our scholarship program. It w...
10/08/2025

Last Saturday we had the pleasure of hosting our annual golf tournament to raise funds for our scholarship program. It was an amazing day and we raised over $8K! Thank you to all the golfers, to everyone who helped out and donated raffle prizes, but especially to our sponsors listed below. We couldn’t do this without all of you. See you next year!

Platinum
Fidelity Bank
Gold
Cornerstone bank
Safety Northeast Insurance
Silver
B & D supply Inc.
A&H Services
Pepin Companies
Bronze
Cournoyer Vegetable Farm
The RV guys LLC
J&J Cazares
Holden Grange #78
Bruce Coffin CPA
Hansson Lawn Maintenance
Ballard Trucking

🪶🍄 Nature’s classroom magic!Our Kinderkampers explored black ink cap mushrooms, discovering how their inky caps can be t...
10/07/2025

🪶🍄 Nature’s classroom magic!

Our Kinderkampers explored black ink cap mushrooms, discovering how their inky caps can be transformed into natural art.

Using feathers from our farm goose as quills, they created beautiful drawings straight from the earth’s own materials.

Learning through curiosity, creativity, and connection! 🌿✨

#ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴘʟᴀʏ

Learning and Growing in the garden! 💚Our young gardeners have been busy harvesting veggies from our garden. Sorting by c...
10/05/2025

Learning and Growing in the garden! 💚

Our young gardeners have been busy harvesting veggies from our garden. Sorting by color, noticing ripeness, using problem-solving skills and teamwork along the way. 🍅🫑🥕

Together, they’ve learned to share the abundance by offering fresh produce to our families. Cultivating not just plants, but community!

Our gardens on the farm have giant gorgeous sunflowers & our students have been exploring their beauty, patterns, and seeds — connecting what they see outdoors to hands-on learning. 🌻

Through daily moments like these, children learn directly from nature ~ observing, caring, wondering, and growing in harmony with the world around them. 🌎✨

What a gift it is to witness education rooted in the earth. 🌱

Join us THIS Saturday, October 4th at Templewood Golf Course and help us reach our $15,000 goal! ⛳️🍂💚✨ Shoutout to our G...
10/02/2025

Join us THIS Saturday, October 4th at Templewood Golf Course and help us reach our $15,000 goal! ⛳️🍂💚

✨ Shoutout to our GOLD sponsors ✨
🏦 Cornerstone Bank + 🌟 Safety Northeast Insurance Agency!

✨ Huge thanks to our SILVER sponsor ✨
⚙️ B&D Supply

Your generous support helps power our Annual Benefit Golf Tournament and fuels our scholarship fund! 🙌
Because of partners like you, we can continue helping people recognize nature’s ability to teach and heal. 💚🍂

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✨ Shoutout to our PLATINUM sponsor ✨Fidelity Bank 💙 for their incredible support of our Annual Benefit Golf Tournament! ...
09/29/2025

✨ Shoutout to our PLATINUM sponsor ✨
Fidelity Bank 💙 for their incredible support of our Annual Benefit Golf Tournament! ⭐️

Thank you for backing our mission + fueling our scholarship fund! 🙌
We couldn’t do this without you! ⛳️🍂💚

Because of partners like Fidelity Bank, we’re able to grow our scholarship fund and continue our mission of helping people recognize nature’s ability to teach and heal. 💚

Join us on Saturday, October 4th at Templewood Golf Course and help us reach our $15,000 goal! ⛳️🍂

⛳️

Address

250 Marshall Street
Paxton, MA
01612

Telephone

+19787603707

Website

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