Afternoon Forest School

After a day at school, time in the forest helps your child to connect with the outdoors and gain all the benefits time in nature can provide, with many of the activities focused on play. Why is play so important? The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) position statement on developmentally appropriate practice states:

Play promotes joyful learning that fosters self-regulation, language, cognitive and social competencies as well as content knowledge across disciplines. Play is essential for all children, birth through age 8.

Children in Afternoon Forest School are not divided by age. Mixed age-level groups allow older children to model skills for younger children. Children must be a minimum of 3.5 to enroll and can attend the program through the age of 7. Our Outdoor Classroom space is located next to the Visitors’ Center, with access to a bathroom. All children in Forest School must be potty-trained and bathroom independent. We suggest practicing toileting independently at home or coming to TNC to practice and increase confidence and comfort with a place that isn’t home.

To minimize consumption, rain pants and boots are on loan from our Gear Library during your child’s enrollment. If your child changes size, we will have the next size available so you don’t have to buy it.