WHAT IS A FOREST SCHOOL?

 

Our Forest School is focused on a child led time of learning, in the forest! Forest Schools are the U.S. version of Forest Kindergartens (Wald kindergarten), which have been popular in Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia for decades. There are a growing number in the U.S. and we are happy to bring this wonderful option to our community.

 

WILL MY CHILD BE OUTSIDE THE WHOLE TIME?

 

We are outside the vast majority of the time however; we do have access to our school house. Our school house will provide running water, bathroom facilities and a warm space for short reprieves during meal times in the winter months. Parents learn to dress their children for the weather, and children learn how to stay--or get--warm and dry. We have a cache of extra layers and mittens for those in need and teach the children that the more you move the warmer you stay!

 

WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER AN OUTDOOR SCHOOL?

 

Our family spends lots of time outside. Why should I pay for this kind of experience? It’s great that so many children in our area get time outside with their families. Attending a forest school has different benefits. For one thing, learning in nature alongside peers and non-parent adults teaches children that this is a normal way to spend time, not limited to their family. Secondly, the social aspect of what we do is so important. The outdoors is an amazing classroom for learning social and emotional skills, where group imaginative play abounds and teamwork is necessary if the group is to thrive and manage risks appropriately; this means there are lots of opportunities for us to coach children in these important social-emotional skills. For more information please refer to the Maple Sprouts Forest School Parent Handbook.

 

WHAT ABOUT WINTER?

 

Winter is a wonderful season to explore. We do a lot of playing in the snow and exploring animal tracks, go for walks, build fires, and make warming teas. We might spend some time in our school house doing indoor crafts, stories and meals. The amount of time we spend indoors depends on the year, but even in the coldest winters our indoor time has been minimal. The decision to be outside or in depends on risk management and how best to accomplish our goals of helping children connect to nature, self, and others. The children’s enjoyment of winter is directly related to how well-dressed and fed they are and how relaxed parents are about the idea of their children spending time out in the cold. Things they learn in winter include self-care skills, how to dress for winter play, animal tracking, different strategies of animals in winter and beginning to recognize trees in winter.

 

WHAT DOES MY CHILD NEED TO BRING?

 

Children should come dressed appropriately for the weather. We give very detailed information about dressing for the seasons in the Maple Sprouts Forest School Parent Handbook. Children should come with plenty of water, a healthy lunch and snacks to keep them comfortable for an active day outside.

 

WHAT ABOUT TICKS?

 

Ticks and tick-borne illness have become a fact of life in our area. The fact is, you can’t avoid ticks by not playing in the woods. They also like lawns and wood chip-covered areas. If you have pets that come in from outside, they may bring ticks in with them. No one in our area can escape the need for regular (at least once a day) full-body tick checks whenever the temperature is above freezing. In our program, we visually scan each child for ticks during our program day and remove any non-attached ticks we find. With your permission, we would also remove an embedded tick if one were found during the program.

 

IS TOILET-TRAINING REQUIRED?

 

We have a lenient policy. Children must be out of full-time diaper use. We ask that children be engaged in toilet learning, pull-ups are okay. Children are encouraged to pee outside when we are at a play site in the woods. Sometimes we are too far from a potty and need to use the nature bathroom (poop in a hole) with assistance. Our school house has a child sized toilet that can also be utilized when our proximity to it works out.

 

IS FOOD PROVIDED?

 

We provide a “share snack” consisting of an organic fruit or vegetable. Please supply your child with plenty of healthy snacks, lunch, and water each day. These are active children, and they get HUNGRY! 

 

WILL THIS PREPARE MY CHILD FOR KINDERGARTEN?

 

We believe so. The most important skills for entering kindergarten are social-emotional skills. Self-care skills, listening to others in a group setting, managing conflict while playing with others, making transitions smoothly, and self-regulation skills are all prominent in the forest school setting. The outdoor environment and our child-led curriculum provide myriad opportunities for cooperation, collaboration, conflict management, and the development of emotional resilience. See our Why Forest School Page? for more information and links to scientific articles and studies.

 

WHAT IS YOUR FEDERAL TAX ID NUMBER?

 

83-1002799 Maple Sprouts LLC

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A special thank you to ithacaforestpreschool.org  for letting us use their FAQ page as our jumping off point!

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