Core Values

Inspired Learning: We believe children learn best when curiosity has somewhere to go. Our days make room for child-led play, meaningful projects, stories, questions, experimentation, and hands-on problem-solving. Rather than rushing toward outcomes, we give children time to wonder, revisit ideas, make connections, and build confidence in their own ability to learn.

Connection to Nature: Nature is not simply the setting for our program — it is part of the learning. Children spend time noticing seasonal change, weather, plants, animals, habitats, soil, trees, and the rhythms of the living world around them. Through repeated time outdoors, they develop observation skills, resilience, curiosity, and a deeper sense of relationship with place.

Whole-Child WellbeingWe support children as whole human beings. Learning is shaped by relationships, movement, rest, play, emotional safety, creativity, and a sense of belonging. Our rhythm protects space for children to regulate, connect, take healthy risks, navigate challenges, and grow at a pace that honors who they are.

Belonging and Relationships: Children learn in relationship. We intentionally create a mixed-age community where children practice entering play, building friendships, communicating needs, navigating conflict, caring for younger children, collaborating, and repairing when things feel hard.

Meet Alyson

Hi, I'm Alyson Krings, founder of Rooted Grove Collective, mother of two, and someone deeply passionat about creating a different kind of learning environment for children and community for families.

Before Rooted Grove, I worked in accounting, finance, and audit after earning my MBA and building a career in corporate consulting and healthcare finance. Becoming a mother shifted the way I viewed childhood, learning, and what children truly need.

I created Rooted Grove because I wanted a space where children could be fully themselves -- not labeled, rushed, or expected to fit inside a box that was never designed for them.

Many of the families who find Rooted Grove are searching for something deeper: more freedom, more connection, more alignment, and a learning environment that honors the whole child.

This community is something I've poured my heart into, and I'm so grateful to build it alongside incredible families who believe there is another way to learn and grow together.

Who we serve

Rooted Grove Collective serves children who thrive in a relationship-centered, nature-rich learning environment where play, curiosity, creativity, and meaningful exploration are protected.

Our mixed-age community is especially well suited for children who benefit from learning through hands-on experiences, conversation, movement, collaboration, imaginative play, and time outdoors. Children are given space to build confidence, independence, friendships, problem-solving skills, and a deeper connection to the living world around them.

We welcome families seeking a slower, more intentional alternative to conventional schooling — one that values both academic growth and the social, emotional, creative, and practical development of the whole child.

Rooted Grove also supports parents by creating space for work, rest, connection, and community while their children are cared for by trusted facilitators.

As your family’s rhythm evolves, Rooted Grove is designed to grow alongside you — offering a place to belong, explore, learn, and build the kind of village that makes family life feel more supported.

Where we are located

Bellevue, Nebraska

Logistics

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday | 9:00 AM–1:00 PM
Year-round programming

Families may enroll for one, two, or three days per week, based on availability.
Children ages 5+ may attend independently.
For newly enrolling children under age 5, a caregiver remains onsite during programming. Caregivers are welcome to work, rest, connect, or simply enjoy the space while their child participates.
Parents are not required to facilitate, teach, or lead activities. Rooted Grove programming is guided by our facilitators while families remain an important part of the broader community.
Our mixed-age group allows children to build relationships across ages while participating at a level that fits their individual development.

Meet our Facilitators

A facilitator at Rooted Grove Collective is a gentle guide who creates the conditions for children to feel safe, connected, curious, and capable.

Rather than directing every moment, facilitators observe closely, follow children’s interests, ask thoughtful questions, offer support when needed, and make space for play, exploration, problem-solving, and discovery.

They help children build relationships, navigate conflict, communicate their needs, take healthy risks, care for one another, and feel a genuine sense of belonging within the group.

Facilitators model calm, kindness, curiosity, and respect for the natural world while honoring each child’s individual pace and personality.

Their role is not to shape children into who they think they should be, but to support them as they grow more fully into who they already are.

Lead Facilitator

Nichole Beiermann

Nichole brings a rich background in education and holistic child development to Rooted Grove Collective. She holds a degree in Elementary Special Education and Early Childhood training with an emphasis on the Montessori Method and Positive Discipline. Her approach blends creativity, practicality, and a deep respect for each child’s natural curiosity—encouraging them to take the lead in their own learning.

A lifelong nature lover, Nichole enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, hiking, and exploring the natural world. Her passion for holistic well-being extends beyond education—she maintains a regular yoga and meditation practice and holds certifications in various forms of energy work.

Fun fact: Nichole once spent a summer as a ranch hand on an organic farm, where she learned plenty about caring for pigs and chickens!

Facilitator

Hailey Stolze

Hailey comes from a background in outdoor recreation and journalism. Most recently, she worked in management for Go Ape Zipline and Adventure Park. Before her ropes course career, she was a newspaper reporter in Sarpy County and coached youth poetry slam teams. In her spare time, Hailey enjoys writing, cuddling her cat and playing Sudoku. She loves being active any way she can, whether it’s swimming, yoga or dancing in her living room.

Deeply connected to nature, Hailey is passionate about helping others get off their phones and into the great outdoors. She believes stepping away from constant digital distractions can support a path toward greater fulfillment and inner peace. Hiking through the trees and meditating help her feel grounded, stay balanced and live fully in the present moment.

Facilitator

Meagan Levesque

Meagan is passionate and dedicated caregiver and early childhood educator with a heart for supporting children and families. I have experience working with young children of all backgrounds, including those in foster care and with special needs, and I strive to create a safe, nurturing, and engaging environment where every child feels seen and supported.

I have a deep love for nature and truly enjoy spending time outdoors with children. I believe that nature provides a powerful, calming space for exploration, creativity, and learning, and I love incorporating outdoor experiences into daily routines whenever possible.

I follow a child-led, connection-based approach, where emotional well-being and trust come first. Whether I’m guiding learning through play, encouraging curiosity in the natural world, or helping children regulate big emotions, I lead with patience, consistency, and compassion.

I’m also a wife and mom of two, which gives me a deep understanding of the importance of reliability, communication, and creating a sense of security for both children and parents. I take pride in being dependable, adaptable, and truly invested in the families I work with.

“Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.” — Ms. Frizzle

What makes us unique

At Rooted Grove Collective, learning grows through belonging, play, curiosity, nature, and real relationships.

We create an environment where children have time to explore ideas deeply, return to questions, build on their interests, and learn through meaningful experiences rather than rushed outcomes.

We offer invitations, not instructions.
Children are trusted to follow their interests, ask questions, experiment, create, and shape their own learning. Facilitators observe closely, ask thoughtful questions, and offer tools or resources when they help extend a child’s thinking.

We protect long stretches of uninterrupted time.
Play, focus, problem-solving, and meaningful projects need room to unfold. Children are given time to stay with an idea, work through challenges, collaborate, revise, and discover what happens when they don’t have to rush to the next thing.

Learning is woven into real experiences.
Literacy, math, science, creativity, communication, and practical skills are not treated as isolated subjects. They emerge naturally through storytelling, building, measuring, investigating, planning, observing, creating, and solving problems together.

Nature is an active part of the learning.
Weather, soil, trees, animals, seasons, water, and the changing landscape give children real things to notice, question, study, and care about. Returning to the natural world again and again helps children develop both knowledge and a sense of relationship with place.

We honor process over product.
The value is not only in what a child makes or finishes. It is in the questions they ask, the risks they take, the problems they solve, the conversations they have, and the confidence they build along the way.

Belonging is part of the curriculum.
Our mixed-age community gives children daily opportunities to build friendships, enter play, navigate conflict, communicate needs, care for younger children, collaborate, lead, repair, and experience the feeling of “I have a place here.”

Our rhythm leaves room for being human.
Movement, nourishment, rest, connection, reflection, and gentle transitions are part of the day. We want children to have enough space to listen to their bodies, settle into play, and engage from a place of connection rather than constant stimulation.

Rooted Grove is not a program children are meant to race through or complete. It is a place to belong, wonder, explore, create, and grow alongside others.