Once upon a time, there was a storybook A-frame in the woods, similar to the one used by the likes of Hansel and Gretel, the seven dwarves and Little Red Riding Hood.

Children come from all over Bainbridge Island to go to school there. They learn about nature on the 10-acre property by going outside and exploring. They plant and harvest a garden. They learn how to swim in an indoor pool. There’s also a covered sports area, a play shed and a country barn with a built-in theater. The children interact with animals like four Nigerian goats, two lop-eared rabbits and one giant Bernese Mountain dog named Wyatt, who has become the school mascot. This year they added Mason Bees to the collection of natural critters that pollinate the native trees surrounding the property.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

The story really starts in 1906 when Ollie Pedersen’s family homesteaded on BI from Norway. Their claim to fame is helping to build the Port Madison Lutheran Church.

One day, 46 years ago, Ollie met Janice, who grew up on a ranch in Montana on the Missouri River. They were married and raised a family of four on BI. Coming from Montana, “Living on an island was a real draw for me,” Janice said.

In 1989 they bought their dream property on Koura Road. Her grandma used to teach in a one-room schoolhouse so they named a stream on the property after her — Hazel Creek.

Growing up, Janice wanted to be a veterinarian, but while she did some work in animal husbandry once her kids started attending a Montessori school she decided she wanted to be a teacher there. After she earned her certification, Janice and Ollie Pedersen decided to start their own Hazel Creek Montessori School.

Children love Maria Montessori’s learning style. She believed that kids learn by actively manipulating interrelated materials. She observed that children have critical learning periods when they absorb lessons faster than they ever will again. Hazel Creek’s daily activities promote growth in academic, physical, social and emotional development. They also include race equality and social justice in their curriculum.

Janice likes how it promotes independence and self-confidence in children. “There is so much here to explore just on this piece of property,” she said. “Kids need to be outside as much as possible.”

Just that day, they went on about a 3-mile hike to some wetlands. The 3- to 5-year olds were “cheering when they saw the end of the trail.” On the hike, they learned about five species of trees, all kinds of plants, including invasive ones that can hurt an environment. And they learned about what Native Americans use bark and wood for. “These children just eat it up,” Janice said.

She added that in Japan they call it, “forest bathing. Receiving energy from the forest.”

Normally an administrator, Janice said she was excited to get back into a class as they were short-staffed that day. “They’re so eager to learn and participate.”

The children love the garden — where hundreds of sunflowers grow up to 12-feet tall and broccoli grows the size of a basketball – and that’s no fairytale. Some of the plants they can transplant at home. Others they harvest and make a salad right at school in a cooking class.

As might be expected, there is a waiting list to get into the school. Parents expecting a child now are checking to see if they might be able to get in by 2024.

“It’s not just our school,” Janice said. “There are not a lot of daycare schools (around) for the numbers of families that are moving to our island.”

She said it’s tough to start a childcare because of the expense, getting permits, licenses and such.

“We’re fortunate we did this early on. There are a lot of hurdles,” she said, adding Ollie did much of the work over 31 years developing the property. He also had a landscape business on BI for 40 years. “We couldn’t afford to do this if we hired it all out.”

Janice said she’s glad she has her own private school rather than dealing with the politics of public school, where they have issues like banning books. She said students appreciate the difference. “Kids in college write me letters saying it made such a difference in their lives,” she said.

Parent Julia Jolley said her family picked the school after moving to BI from Seattle five years ago and was delighted to pay half the price of what it cost there.

“There are so many perks of Hazel Creek including the farm feel,” Jolley said. “In the summer they help with horses who are boarding there and go down a slip and slide on the big hill.”

She said her kids even learned how to ride bikes at the preschool. “They are safe and have a blast.”

Jolley added that the school was a lifesaver for many when public schools shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said they hired extra teachers, opened up the Kids Country Barn, and set up small classrooms to help elementary kids with their online schooling.

“This allowed our kids to have the continuity of Hazel Creek and a small group of friends to interact with while taking the pressure off us to handle homeschooling during a really difficult time. When schools reopened, they went back to after-school care with no hiccups,” Jolley said.

Becky Smith, another parent, said the school is a dream come true for both her and her kids. “We love that Hazel Creek offers the kids time to explore outdoors, challenging them physically and mentally. Kids are allowed and encouraged to ‘be kids,’ which sounds simple, but doesn’t exist at every daycare.”

She said the school has been a big help during COVID. “The community at the school has been a lifeline for our family as we adjusted to life on the island and tried to return to some sort of normalcy during the pandemic. They explore in safe ways, ask questions and get detailed answers from their caregivers.”

And, more than anything, they are truly loved by their teachers, she said. “Our kids love the friends they make and come home talking about their exciting days everyday.”

Even though they’ve been doing this for a long time, the Pedersens are in no hurry to stop. At 67, Janice said she was thinking lately if she’d still be able to hike in her 80s and 90s.

“Like my husband says, ‘This is the most important work on the planet,’” Janice said. “We’re fortunate to be born with passion and motivation. When you have those things ingrained in you, you’re not going to lose that. This is our happy place.”

She said her staff of 20 for the 80 students is amazing. “We really, really love each other. We don’t have drama at our school.”

Justin Donais went to the school almost 30 years ago, and is back now to teach. He said he loved his two years there so much that after working in the culinary industry for a dozen years he wanted to return.

“I wanted to work in a more compassionate industry,” he said. “I learned a lot of my compassion from” Janice.

Some students enjoy the preschool so much they become part of the family, and want to return for after-school care. Stella McFarland is one of them. She was proud to say they made jewelry and sold it to raise funds to help elephants in Asia. She said it costs $112 to sponsor an elephant for a year, and they’ve raised over $200, with a goal of over $400.

The school goes year-round, except for two weeks at Christmas and federal holidays. In July and August it’s more like a camp.

While most of their life is devoted to the school, the Pedersens have two sailboats and like to play golf. They drive their sports car down the Oregon and California coasts to Carmel, CA for about a month each year to play at the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course in picturesque Monterrey. They also spend time with their two daughters who still live on the island and their eight grandchildren.

Regarding the villain of this tale, the COVID-19 pandemic, Janice said the school has been fortunate. It didn’t have to shut down for any length of time as there have been very few cases. Students are situated in small groups, and they spend a lot of time outdoors, which limits the chance of it spreading. They might have to shut down a class, but not the entire school.

“We’ve kept our population very safe. When you step into a classroom you wouldn’t know COVID exists, except for the masks. They still experience preschool as we know it,” she said.

Janice said they keep the kids busy all day. “If they’re not tired by the time they go home we haven’t done our job.”

As for a happy every after, Janice said they are making preparations to keep the property as is for perpetuity as a gift to the community.

Steve Powell/Bainbridge Island Review photos Kids enjoy playing with goats on the property.

Preschool students have fun running in the fields.

Steve Powell/Bainbridge Island Review photos Pavement is marked up with chalk as students let their imaginations run wild.

Swings are always popular with kids.

The indoor pool is shut down for renovations now, but will be ready by summer.

Justin Donais went to the school as a kid and returned almost 30 years later to teach.

Stella McFarland, left, and the other older students make jewelry for a fundraiser.

Boys roughhouse on a tire swing under a ladder and platform.

Some girls enjoy a playhouse at the school.

This A frame is the original schoolhouse. Courtesy photo

Students sit in a cozy classroom and learn about the months of the year. Courtesy photo