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.

SPRING POP-UP! 🌷Come celebrate spring with us!Enjoy the beautiful weather, wander through the forest, greet all the farm...
04/24/2025

SPRING POP-UP! 🌷

Come celebrate spring with us!

Enjoy the beautiful weather, wander through the forest, greet all the farm animals, and end the day with a barefoot dance party under the blue sky! ☀️

Tomorrow! FRIDAY, April 25th from 10-12!

It is completely FREE and all are welcome! 🤗

See you there! 🌱

☀️

🐈 Welcome to the farm sweet kittens! As a non-profit we are occasionally gifted charitable donations from families of pa...
04/22/2025

🐈
Welcome to the farm sweet kittens!

As a non-profit we are occasionally gifted charitable donations from families of past and present students.
A donation we received this week made it possible to adopt 3 barn kittens to add to our TBT community!

We are super grateful for this opportunity-baby kittens on the farm—sparking giggles, cuddles, and sweet little moments that help our kids grow kind hearts and caring hands.

We can’t wait to watch them grow!

🐈‍⬛

Farm Service Day is right around the corner. (May 3rd from 9-12) What an important day to come support the farm and help...
04/21/2025

Farm Service Day is right around the corner. (May 3rd from 9-12) What an important day to come support the farm and help us get ready for the growing season. We will also have on the spot interviews for anyone who is interested in applying for a summer camp position. Children are welcome but must be supervised at all times as this is a workday. Register with the link below.

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/jhwgtx2

❗️We’re Hiring❗️Turn Back Time is looking for camp counselors for our nature-based summer camp. Applicants must be age 1...
04/19/2025

❗️We’re Hiring❗️
Turn Back Time is looking for camp counselors for our nature-based summer camp. Applicants must be age 17 and up. Salary is based on experience working with children. Positions include Mornings M-th from 8:30-1:15, Afternoons M-Th from 1-5:30 and Full Day M-Th from 8:30 -5:30. Camp starts July 7th and ends August 14th. Applicants are expected to be able to work all 6 weeks, but we may make exceptions. On May 3rd we will have our annual volunteer day and will be holding on the spot interviews. If you are interested in volunteering or interviewing stop by May 3rd between 9-12.

🌷Springtime on the farm is more than blooming flowers and baby animals—it’s a season of growth for little ones, too. As ...
04/17/2025

🌷
Springtime on the farm is more than blooming flowers and baby animals—it’s a season of growth for little ones, too. As the farm comes to life, so do young minds—learning through every muddy step and sun-filled adventure.

It offers rich opportunities for child development—hands-on activities like planting, feeding & caring for animals, and exploring nature, which supports motor skills, responsibility, sensory development, and curiosity.

🌿
Through play and hands-on experiences, little ones build confidence, curiosity, and a deeper connection to the world around them!

📣 SUMMER CAMP OPENINGS✉️ Please reach out to Lisa at lisab@tbtinc.org if you are interested in any of these summer camp ...
04/16/2025

📣 SUMMER CAMP OPENINGS
✉️ Please reach out to Lisa at [email protected] if you are interested in any of these summer camp spots!

▫️Week 1 (7/7) Afternoon
▫️Week 2 (7/14) Farmer in Training
▫️Week 2 (7/14) Afternoon
▫️Week 4 (7/28) Farmer in Training
▫️Week 4 (7/28) Afternoon
▫️Week 5 (8/4) Afternoon
▫️Week 6 (8/11) AfternoonS

🪿 🐥 Newest additions to the farm! Hatching week for baby chicks and goslings! We are over the moon excited! ☀️          ...
04/08/2025

🪿 🐥 Newest additions to the farm!

Hatching week for baby chicks and goslings! We are over the moon excited!

☀️

🪺We are fully immersed in all things spring on the farm this month! Kinderkamp & Preschool are both studying eggs and ne...
04/02/2025

🪺We are fully immersed in all things spring on the farm this month!

Kinderkamp & Preschool are both studying eggs and nests. Providing this hands on experience, the children can identify and observe the different shapes, sizes, textures and materials.

Learning about eggs and nests provides children with opportunities to explore, ask questions, and gain a deeper understanding of the world around them in both educational and emotional ways.

Spring is a beautiful time for noticing! Our curiosity is in full bloom! 🌱

🌱 The afternoon homeschool group started our new theme on seeds! 🌱 We read Every Little Seed by Cynthia Schumerth, which...
03/31/2025

🌱 The afternoon homeschool group started our new theme on seeds! 🌱

We read Every Little Seed by Cynthia Schumerth, which included the fantastic diagram of a seed. From this illustration, we discussed the three main parts of a seed: the embryo (the baby plant!), the endosperm (the baby plant's food), and the seed coat (the protection for the baby plant and its food).

The acorns that fell around the farm last fall are starting to split open and sprout, which offered us the perfect emergent opportunity to break one open to clearly see the three parts of a seed. We looked at one acorn together, and then students had a chance to work in pairs to dissect acorn, bean, and pea seeds to find each of the three parts on their own. We drew and labeled the seeds together, discussing the shape of each seed and seed coat, as well as the size and shape of each embryo.

Students had the opportunity to use glue, paper, and a variety of different seeds to make a craft of their choice. Some chose to add lots of glue and seeds all at once, while others glued each individual seed exactly where they wanted it on the page. This activity encourages children to notice the similarities and differences in seeds, from size to shape to color. It also gives us the chance to be silly and have fun with seeds before we get into some gardening.

This work of learning what is inside a seed gives us a foundation for moving into planting season. Now that we have a common understanding of what is going on inside a seed, we can more deeply discuss what is happening when we start planting and sprouting seeds in the coming weeks!

🌱

🍁 The Tuesday homeschool class gathered around the campfire to start a day all about maple sugaring! One of our homescho...
03/26/2025

🍁 The Tuesday homeschool class gathered around the campfire to start a day all about maple sugaring!

One of our homeschool families, the Hensels, taps maple trees at home for sap and makes maple syrup. They generously shared their knowledge and materials with us so our class could learn about the art and science of sugaring! 🍁

They created a storybook just for us about the entire process of sugaring, from identifying a maple tree to canning the syrup. Our student described his family's process for making syrup, and he held a Q&A where others asked him about everything from how much syrup his family makes to how many gallons of sap it would take to fill a five gallon bucket with syrup!

He led us to a maple tree and showed us the tapping process by drilling a small hole in the side of the tree. Then, he gently hammered a black plastic tap into the tree. Some of the other students got to help with this part! The tap is connected to tubing that feeds the sap right into a bucket for collection!

The student's family supplied us with samples of syrup in three different stages -- the sap straight from a maple tree, sap that had been boiled halfway to syrup, and completely finished maple syrup! Everyone had the opportunity to try each stage, as well as sugar-on-snow maple candy that we made over the fire!

Turn Back Time's focus on emergent curriculum gives us the opportunity to follow students' interests in seasonal occurrences. This sugaring lesson gave a student the chance to share his knowledge, made us all more in touch with seasonal changes, and brought our classroom community closer through shared curiosity and peer learning.

Thank you, Hensel family, for such an incredible opportunity! 🍁

Join us tomorrow, Thursday 3/27 at 5:30 for a family picnic on the farm. Participate in a scavenger hunt and be entered ...
03/26/2025

Join us tomorrow, Thursday 3/27 at 5:30 for a family picnic on the farm. Participate in a scavenger hunt and be entered to win a $25 farm store gift card!
The Dogfather food truck will be there serving up some delicious hot dogs!
The weather looks great for lots of mud play!
See you there rain or shine.
Open to the public!

Check out tbtinc.org and tbtpto.com for more information!

*Sponsored by TBT PTO*

Attention attention attention! Updates on open program spots ! We currently have space in our April Mini Camp during sch...
03/19/2025

Attention attention attention! Updates on open program spots !

We currently have space in our April Mini Camp during school vacation. This year we are running mini camp with two groups, our typical 3 to 8 year-old camp and our Farmers in Training camp. What a great way to spend April break outside in the forest and in the garden! You can register for April mini camps by navigating to the events page on our website. Click over to the April calendar.

Summer camp spots: we still have room in Farmer in Training morning session and afternoon 3 to 8-year-old camp spots! Register for summer camp by navigating to the July calendar on our events page.

Lastly, our Wednesday Critter Catchers class is full, but we still have space on Mondays. Critter Catchets begins April 28 and runs through June 9. To register for Critter Catchers please email [email protected]

🦫 Beavers 🦫 One of the most beautiful locations on the farm is our beaver pond. It has a booming wildlife ecosystem that...
03/18/2025

🦫 Beavers 🦫

One of the most beautiful locations on the farm is our beaver pond. It has a booming wildlife ecosystem that we love to explore and learn! Birds of all shapes and sizes, amphibians of all kinds and of course, home to beavers!

🦆

Hiking the trails around the pond, the children will notice the beaver-gnawed trees and gasp! It really is a cool sight to see. When we go down to the waters edge the children practice calm bodies and quiet voices so that we don’t scare the beavers away, in hopes of catching a glimpse!

We were gifted an opportunity for the children to touch first hand what a soft beaver pelt feels like. We talked about how beavers have special glands called castor sacs that produce an oily substance called castoreum, which they use to waterproof their fur.

The big orange beaver teeth were definitely a topic of interest! We learned that their tooth enamel contains iron which makes them really strong! 🌲

We are really fortunate to be able to learn about our environment and the animals that live there in such a detailed, sensory rich way. This experience really allows a developing child to foster empathy, boost curiosity, encourages patience and understanding, promotes critical thinking and most importantly cultivates environmental awareness.

A child’s connection to nature is vital for their development! 🌿

☀️ The sun feels warmer, the ground feels softer and the bugs are coming out to greet us! 🐛 We made it through the depth...
03/11/2025

☀️ The sun feels warmer, the ground feels softer and the bugs are coming out to greet us! 🐛

We made it through the depths of winter. We are definitely more resilient and very excited for the spring equinox! 🍃

Sensory experiences like lifting logs, playing with dirt and climbing trees elevates the children’s play to a whole new level. Their spirits are high and their imaginations are blossoming! ✨

Address

250 Marshall Street
Paxton, MA
01612

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