COLERAINE — The great outdoors is the newest classroom for Grand Rapids area children.
Roots and Wings Early Learning Center, a nature-based child care center, opened late March in southern Coleraine, along Highway 2 east of LaPrairie.
“All of our learning is geared towards our beautiful seasons that we have, and how we can learn and grow and care for creation and each other,” owner Krista Sjostrand said. “I just think that nature is the perfect catalyst for that.”
With over 20 years of experience in education, Krista owns the center with her husband Rob Sjostrand.
On a typical day, kids spend four to five hours outside. Learning is often done outside, relating to nature. When kids are curious about something, teachers can help them read, draw and write about it, the Sjostrands said.
“Indoor activities and traditional academics [like pre-writing and phonics] are used to reinforce outdoor discoveries,” the Roots and Wings website states.
East of La Prairie on Highway 2, the center’s 30-acre lot includes a 12,000-square-foot building with rooms designed for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. It also includes a full-sized commercial kitchen, where on-site breakfast, lunch and snacks are prepared.
Directly behind the building lies a fenced playground and sand area for kids to play in throughout the day.
On the remaining 25 acres of land lies a trail system.
“We just call that our ‘beyond,’ which is like our walking field trip every day,” Krista said. “Whether they are looking for acorns or deer tracks or bird nests, or listening for those sounds, watching leaves, anything, they [teachers] just kind of take the child’s lead.”
Along the three-quarters of a mile trail lies picnic tables, hammocks and playground equipment for the children to stop at.
Even the infants, who can’t hike the trail themselves, experience it. Staff members use large strollers to roll them along the path. Older kids help keep the path clear for the stroller, picking up sticks and other debris when walking the trail.
The Sjostrands said they hope to support children’s curiosity.
“One of the biggest lessons that they’re learning every day is to keep and develop that creativity and curiosity,” Rob said. “How do they become curious about everything that they’re trying to learn, instead of us trying to create a situation to make them curious? Let’s go find where they’re curious and then create a lesson out of that.”
Since opening, the Sjostrand have seen a greater need in the community for toddler-aged child support. To meet this need, Roots and Wings recently turned one of its infant rooms into a toddler room.
“The building was designed around a specific number of kids in each age group,” Rob said. “Based on enrollments and what the community was asking us for, we always kept ourselves able to change and maneuver that.”
In early 2024, the Sjostrands received $150,000 in grant funds from Itasca County for Roots and Wings. In the meeting, the Sjostrands shared statistics from First Children’s Finance and the Northland Foundation showing there were more than 400 child care slots needed in Itasca County.
According to a June 2025 First Children’s Finance report, that need has improved, but there are still about 200 child care slots needed in Itasca.
The center is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for children 6 weeks old to preschool age. In the summer, Roots and Wings provides additional care for children entering kindergarten through fourth grade.
Opening just eight weeks ago, the center currently has around 60 kids enrolled, with a capacity of 120. More kids enroll each week, the Sjostrands said.
Parents are able to choose a 10-hour block each day and between full-time or part-time enrollment based on when they need care provided.
In addition to the Sjostrands, Roots and Wings employs 11 full-time and six part-time workers.
“It’s a pretty fun group with varying abilities in the different areas that they cover,” Krista said. “They all get to spend time with all of the kids throughout their program here, so they get a lot of different experiences for the kids to come into.”
Next steps are already planned for the center, like adding trail cameras to allow kids to see what animals are doing at night, more playground equipment and yurts for kids to learn and play in during the colder months.
With Krista and other staff members being licensed educators, the Sjostrands are also considering increasing the ages served year-round, teaching early elementary school kids during the school year.
