Welcome to Maple Wood! We’re located on the north Olympic Peninsula in Chimacum and Sequim; where nature provides an incredible outdoor classroom whether that’s in the woods, by a river, or at the beach. We’re dedicated to giving your child a positive learning experience that supports and develops his/her creative ideas, problem solving skills, and caring for others as well as the natural world. We are able to provide a small student to teacher ratio at an affordable cost for families that are homeschooling, or whose children are enrolled in a combination of alternative education programs.

Maple Wood began as Windward School in the spring of 2017. Homeschooling parents Danell and Aric Mackey who operate Northwest Discovery Lab, wanted to create a drop off alternative education program for elementary aged students. They wished to provide hands-on experiences in the arts and STEM, and a curriculum created with input from parents, students, and teachers. Frances Rice, an elementary educator with experience in teaching in homeschool groups and alternative programs was hired as the lead teacher. The program grew and expanded, and additional teachers were hired. In November of 2019 Danell and Aric Mackey decided to concentrate their educational efforts on leading robotics groups for homeschoolers at Northwest Discovery Lab. Frances Rice who passionately believes in the joy of playful learning, became the owner and educational director of the program, and continues to lead the educational experiences in Chimacum and Sequim. With the change in ownership came a change in the program’s name. As both program locations feature beautiful big leaf maple trees, the name Maple Wood was chosen. Originally the program provided a balance of indoor and outdoor activities. Due to covid the school closed to in person learning and adapted by offering a program on Zoom. In May of 2021 Maple Wood resumed in person instruction as a completely outdoor program. Our teachers are vaccinated and we are so happy to be back to working with students!