Molly O’Rear
Meet Molly, Our Founder!
Molly O’Rear
Founder &
Lead Teacher
Phone :
(360) 259-7196
Email : contact@hidden
meadowschool.org
Meet Molly: The Heart Behind Hidden Meadow
Hidden Meadow School was founded by Molly O’Rear, a local educator with deep roots in the South Sound and an even deeper commitment to children.
With a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and dual endorsements in Special Education and Elementary Education, Molly brings over 15 years of experience supporting children and families. She understands how children learn, how they grow, and how to create environments where every child can feel confident, curious, and capable.
But Molly isn’t just an educator, she’s a parent too. Married to Jake (a Board Certified Behavior Analyst), Molly is mom to two children: her daughter Stella and son Quincy. As parents, Molly and Jake understand what it’s like to search for the right learning environment for your child. They know the questions parents ask, the worries they have, and the trust it takes to leave your child in someone else’s care.
For years, Molly and Jake dreamed of starting an outdoor school where children could learn, explore, and grow in nature. When they found this incredible 16-acre property in Thurston County, they knew it was time to make that dream a reality. They feel so fortunate to live here and are thrilled to share the wonder this property has to offer with other families in the community.
Molly created Hidden Meadow because she believes every child deserves to be seen as an individual, to explore the world at their own pace, and to be met with patience, warmth, and expertise. Her approach is grounded in both research and real-life experience, and her commitment to inclusion ensures that neurotypical and neurodivergent children alike feel welcomed and supported.
Education & Expertise
Experience
Education
Dual Endorsements
CPR & First Aid
Extensive
local
Meet the O’Rear Family
Molly, Jake, Stella, Quincy, and Wilma
My Teaching Philosophy
What I believe about children, learning, and education
I believe every child is capable of learning when we meet them where they are. Not where a curriculum says they should be, not where their age “should” put them, but exactly where they are right now, in this moment.
After 15+ years in kindergarten classrooms, I know exactly what skills children need to succeed in school. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. I’ve watched children who struggle in traditional classrooms come alive outdoors, where learning feels natural, meaningful, and joyful.
My approach is simple: respect children as individuals, follow their curiosity, teach the skills they need for kindergarten success, and do it all in an environment that honors how young children actually learn best, through play, exploration, movement, and real experiences in the natural world. After 15+ years in a classroom, I know what works.
Every Child is Unique
Nature is the Best Teacher
Relationships Come First
Kindergarten Readiness is the Goal
See Molly in Her Element
Why I Chose Outdoor Education
My journey from traditional classrooms to forest school
After 15+ years in traditional public classrooms, in the public school system, I had a Master’s degree, all the credentials, and deep expertise in early childhood development. But I also had a growing sense that something was fundamentally wrong.
I watched children get reprimanded for not sitting still. I saw a little boy labeled “difficult” because his body needed to move. I watched a quiet, brilliant girl get overlooked because she didn’t fit the narrow definition of “kindergarten ready.” I saw neurodivergent kids being forced into boxes that were never designed for them.
And every single time, I thought: These are children. Their bodies are designed to move. Their brains are wired to explore. Who decided that sitting crisscross applesauce for 20 minutes was more important than actually learning?
The people making decisions about what children need, writing the standards, designing the benchmarks, they’re in offices and boardrooms. They’re so far removed from actual children that they’ve lost sight of what’s developmentally appropriate, let alone what’s best.
Meanwhile, parents are told “this is how school works” and “your child needs to adapt.”
No. The system needs to adapt to children.
So Jake and I started dreaming. What would it look like to create a school that combined my knowledge of kindergarten readiness with the proven benefits of outdoor education? A school where children could get dirty, take risks, make discoveries, AND learn their letters and numbers? A school where every child, neurotypical and neurodivergent, felt welcomed, supported, and capable?
That’s when I created Hidden Meadow.
And here’s what happened when I finally brought quality early education outside:
Children who couldn’t focus indoors spent 45 minutes examining a single fallen log, completely engaged, asking questions, making discoveries.
Kids who rarely spoke suddenly came alive: “Ms. Molly, do you hear that bird? What do you think it’s saying?”
Parents stopped hearing “not today” at home and started hearing “I want to help! Can I do it?”
I realized something profound: the problem was never the children. It was the environment.
A 3-year-old learns more from examining one pinecone for 10 minutes than from any worksheet. A 4-year-old develops better social skills negotiating who gets to use a stick than from any scripted curriculum about sharing.
Children aren’t tiny adults who need to be trained to sit still. They’re explorers, scientists, and natural learners who need to touch, move, discover, and make sense of the world through their whole bodies.
This is why Hidden Meadow exists.
Because your child deserves better than a system that sees them as a test score or a behavior problem. Your child deserves to be seen as the whole, unique, capable person they are. And after 15 years in traditional classrooms, I know exactly how to prepare them for kindergarten success while honoring who they are and how they actually learn.
Our dream became Hidden Meadow School. And now, living on this property with our own children, Stella and Quincy, we get to share this vision with families throughout our community. We get to watch children thrive in ways that traditional classrooms don’t always allow. And we get to know, without a doubt, that we’re doing exactly what we’re meant to do.
What Families Say About Ms. Molly
Meet the Heart Behind Our School
Our educators bring passion, experience, and genuine care to every interaction. Led by Ms. Molly, who holds a Master’s in Early Childhood Education, our team creates an environment where every child feels safe, seen, and supported.
Molly O’Rear
Dani T
Jake O’Rear
Wilma
Ready to See Hidden Meadow for Yourself?
Schedule a tour to explore our 16-acre outdoor classroom, see where children learn and play, and discover if Hidden Meadow is the right fit for your family.