The Riselva School
Located in Castel Giorgio, just above Orvieto, the educational environment sits within a landscape of meadows, forests and wide open skies. Children spend their days immersed in natural spaces where birds, plants and seasonal changes become part of everyday learning. Nature is a living classroom.
Our early childhood education path follows a blend we call Curriculum Naturae - Montessori independence, Steiner rhythm and imagination, and Forest-School outdoor learning. Children spend much of the day outside, observing seasonal changes, tending the garden, exploring soil and water, and engaging with the natural world in real, hands-on ways.
Learning is practical and purposeful: preparing food, caring for plants and animals, building with natural materials, and taking part in meaningful daily tasks. Through this work, early literacy and numeracy develop alongside creativity, concentration, problem-solving and physical confidence. The environment is naturally multilingual. Italian, English and German flow through stories, songs and conversation, giving children everyday exposure to language in a calm, intuitive way.
This approach builds real skills of thinking, observing, creating and collaborating, while grounding children in nature and in their own growing capabilities.
“Growing capable, curious, and confident.”
Riselva School
Our Educational Approach
Independence
We design the environment so children can do as much as possible by themselves. Low shelves, carefully chosen materials, child-sized tools and clear routines allow children to choose activities, care for their space and complete real tasks from start to finish. Through dressing, pouring, cutting, tidying, gardening and simple problem-solving, they build concentration, coordination and genuine self-confidence. Adults guide with calm, precise support, stepping back whenever the child can act independently.
Creativity & Imagination
We protect time and space for open-ended play, storytelling, art and movement.Natural materials - wood, wool, fabric, clay, water, sand - invite children to invent, transform and express their ideas. Stories, songs and seasonal celebrations support inner images, emotional life and narrative thinking.This approach nurtures creativity as a lasting life skill and gives children the freedom to express their ideas with confidence.
Learning Through Nature
A large part of the day is spent outdoors in fields, forest and garden.Children experience weather, seasons, plants, soil, insects and animals directly, engaging all their senses and building a deep familiarity with the natural world. Walking, climbing, balancing, carrying, digging and building develop physical strength, resilience and spatial awareness.
Real Skills, Literacy & Numeracy
Nature experiences introduce early scientific and mathematical thinking—counting seeds, comparing shapes, measuring water, observing changes, and keeping simple journals. Caring for the environment through daily tasks like watering, composting and tending the garden makes sustainability part of everyday life. Through these real experiences, children develop solid early literacy and numeracy skills, grounded in curiosity and meaningful practice.
Languages in Daily Life
Italian, English and German are part of daily experience.Educators use different languages naturally through songs, greetings, stories and simple conversations. As children talk, play, garden and share daily routines, language grows through real contexts and relationships. Rich, repeated exposure helps them absorb Italian, English and German in a natural and confident way.
Relationships & Emotional Life
A calm and predictable environment is essential for young children.Small groups and steady routines create a sense of security where children can express emotions freely and relate to others in a balanced way. Emotions are acknowledged, and moments of disagreement become opportunities to practise listening, expressing needs and finding shared solutions.This nurtures emotional literacy, empathy and social skills, forming a strong foundation for healthy development and meaningful learning.
Enrolment
Riselva School is a nature-rooted educational project designed to accompany children along a continuous path of growth, from early childhood into the future school years.
We offer a calm, small-group environment that supports emotional, relational, and cognitive development in close connection with the natural world.
Preschool
Enrolment open - 2026/2027 school year
Our preschool welcomes children from 2 to 6 years old into an early-childhood educational path that values free play, outdoor exploration, and learning through direct experience.
The programme begins in September and runs
Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 3:30 pm,
within a natural, multilingual environment that respects each child’s individual rhythm.
Primary School
In development, planned start September 2027
Alongside the preschool, Riselva School is developing the project for a private primary school, conceived as a natural continuation of the Riselva educational approach from age 6 onwards.
The future primary school will be intentionally small-scale, deeply connected to nature, and centred on an integrated educational vision that fosters autonomy, critical thinking, creativity, and emotional wellbeing.
Families interested in learning more, visiting the environment, or beginning the enrolment process are warmly invited to contact us via the form below or using the details provided here.
Email: info@riselvaschool.com
Phone / WhatsApp: +39 328 913 9312
