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.

At Turn Back Time, we feel so honored to welcome interns who come to learn, observe, and truly experience nature-based e...
12/08/2025

At Turn Back Time, we feel so honored to welcome interns who come to learn, observe, and truly experience nature-based education in action. What makes this especially meaningful is that our program isn’t just a school! It’s a living, breathing model of what childhood can look like when rooted in nature, rhythm, and real-world experiences.
🌲
What our interns learn here is more than teaching strategies. They learn how to listen deeply to the needs of children, how to read the landscape as part of the classroom, how to bring reverence and wonder into everyday moments, and how to build connection through meaningful work.
🌞
Many will become educators, caregivers, clinicians, or future directors of programs of their own. And they will carry with them the seeds planted here.. respect for childhood, love for the Earth, and the belief that nature is one of our greatest teachers.
🐓
We are so grateful to be part of their journey, and even more grateful knowing that the ripple effect of this work will reach far beyond our farm and forest!

❄️ Season by season, Nature models something extraordinary for the developing child: transformation is natural, expected...
12/03/2025

❄️ Season by season, Nature models something extraordinary for the developing child: transformation is natural, expected, and even joyful. When the world changes, we don’t resist it… we explore it. We step into it with curiosity. We let it spark our senses awake.

The first snow invited the children into a whole new kind of learning today. Snowflakes became science. Footprints became storytelling. Cold air became a reminder to listen to our bodies. And play..pure, excited, full-body play became the bridge between wonder and understanding.

Mother Nature never stays the same, and that’s her greatest gift. She shows us that change can be magical, purposeful, and full of possibility. And today, watching the children laugh through their first snow of the season, we felt that lesson in the most joyful way. ❄️🌲✨

🌲 Gathering, Making, Sharing 🌲Last week Kinderkamp slowed down and practiced the art of creating and being together. The...
11/24/2025

🌲 Gathering, Making, Sharing 🌲

Last week Kinderkamp slowed down and practiced the art of creating and being together. The children churned their own butter, simmered cranberry sauce, baked cornbread, and harvested white pine needles to brew a gentle forest tea.

These simple, hands-on tasks support so much learning for the developing child:
• Sensorimotor exploration as they shake, stir, pour, and knead
• Real-life problem solving through measuring, waiting, and following steps
• Nature connection by understanding where our food comes from
• Social-emotional growth as we set the table with intention, practice manners, and share gratitude

When children are invited into meaningful work, they naturally settle into a peaceful rhythm. As we gathered around our table with tea cups, sugar, and cream, the group became calm, proud, and present.

✨ These moments of togetherness teach children that community is created through shared effort, gratitude, and mindful joy ✨

This week our preschoolers made Snow Cake Garlands! A simple, seasonal activity full of learning. 🧊We began by foraging ...
11/20/2025

This week our preschoolers made Snow Cake Garlands! A simple, seasonal activity full of learning. 🧊

We began by foraging for nature treasures, inviting children to slow down, observe closely, and connect with the landscape. Back at the farm, they arranged their finds in muffin tins, practiced fine-motor skills, and explored textures and design.

After adding water and threading yarn, we left the tins to freeze. By morning, the children discovered their creations transformed! A hands-on lesson in temperature, change, and the magic of winter science.

Hanging their snow cakes as garlands strengthened their sense of wonder, patience, and connection to the earth’s seasonal rhythm

#ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴘʟᴀʏ

🍂As the season shifts and the earth slows down, we spend time in our school and homes talking about community and gratef...
11/19/2025

🍂As the season shifts and the earth slows down, we spend time in our school and homes talking about community and gratefulness. For one another, for our families, and for the land that nourishes us! 🌎
⠀
In Kinderkamp, children explore the work and wonder behind preparing a meal—making butter, stirring cranberry sauce, baking cornbread, blending herbs, and discovering the science tucked into every step.
⠀
In Preschool, we’ve been learning about the many shapes families can take, including our own farm school family. Miss Veda shared that a family is like a big bowl of soup—each of us an important ingredient. We passed a bowl and spoon as a talking piece and shared what we each bring to our “family soup”!
⠀
Preschoolers also created beautiful table centerpieces from our Brown Museum to take home and reflected on how kindness grows within a community! 🍂
⠀
This season reminds us that gratitude is something we practice, not just something we feel and that when children learn to contribute, collaborate, and care, they discover their place in the world’s bigger circle. ✨

#ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴘʟᴀʏ

✨Community Appreciation✨Turn Back Time extends a huge THANK YOU to Owen Sanford and Troop 121 from Auburn! Not only did ...
11/13/2025

✨Community Appreciation✨
Turn Back Time extends a huge THANK YOU to Owen Sanford and Troop 121 from Auburn!
Not only did Owen raise money and dedicate numerous hours to building our animals a new feeder, he donated all additional proceeds to TBT!
Having attended TBT as a young child, Owen’s love and passion for working with animals blossomed. When planning his Eagle Project, Owen knew he wanted to partner with us to support our educational programming and our animals.
Thank you to Owen and his extended community for your continued support!

🐿️ 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.
🌲
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.
🌲
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. ✨

🎃

🌧️ 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

Address

250 Marshall Street
Paxton, MA
01612

Telephone

+19787603707

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Turn Back Time posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Turn Back Time:

Shortcuts

Share

Category