Forest Playschool and Adventure Club: Happy New Year from Grateful Gathering Forest School! We are so grateful for another year with our incredible families and excited to be back in class to celebrate the winter season together in our outdoor classroom.
Winter weather has been sporadic this year. We are hoping to finally see some consistent snow at school in the coming weeks and spend our mornings in snowplay. As of now, our time together at Playschool (ages 3-6) has been about acclimating to the cold and empowering our students to learn how to take care of their bodies and belongings. This consists of learning how to listen to our bodies when we are cold or hot, how to successfully layer as the morning sun changes, keeping our gloves and hats safe (by keeping them with us or putting them away in our backpacks), and tricks to warm up our bodies and hands on those especially cold days. Our students continue to learn and develop lifelong skills through conflict resolution, teamwork and communication, exploration, independence and imaginative play while at school each day. Our teachers work with each child to help develop in language and communication, ability to regulate themselves, identify their feelings and talk through conflict, listen to their bodies, stewardship with our land, resilience, confidence and positive self image. Some activities we are enjoying right now are reading stories and having great conversations, bubbles, playing in our mud/ snow kitchen and snow toys, exploring new areas, looking for animals and animal tacks and playing imagination games. Our Friday Adventure Club Program (ages 5-8) continues to grow and change and we love getting together to enjoy the outdoors together each week! Our students continue to play incredibly intricate and Immersive games together and the days are filled with of laughter and play. While the older kids group have had to work through some conflict resolution and problem solving of their own as we go deeper into the year together, we are amazed at the connections they have with one another and ways they come back to caring each time. Our teachers have been amazing and helping the kids learn how to Play Safe, Play Fair and Have Fun together and we love to see what opportunities and discoveries happen when we get together each week!
WHAT WE ARE LEARNING: At this point in the year, we are learning about the winter, weather and all things cold! As the changing weather brings the need to take care of our bodies, we are continuing to work with our students on putting into play all the we have practiced since the beginning of the school year. This includes how to care for ourselves and our belongings, listening to our bodies, how to respect our natural environment and the habitants that live there (wild animals, plant life and other people that use Dimple Dell), empowering ourselves and communicating through difficult emotions, and building confidence in ourselves and our friendships. We continue to practice our three classroom agreements: Play Safe, Play Fair and Have Fun. We are enjoying the colder mornings and exploring our new Winter Location! The kids have loved seeing the horses, deer, chickens and coyotes that call Dimple Dell home. They have developed more physical games and personal ways to combat the colder days and it has been so fun to see their bonds grow as they get lost in their imagination and creativity. Teachers continue to spend their days helping the kids with their gloves and layers, giving kids extra care during transitions and colder days, working with the kids on personal empowerment through conflict, inquery-based teaching methods and leading by example. They work on themselves and the betterment of our program each day by connecting with the kids through play, help and conversation. Their mornings are filled with exploring, observing and joining in games with the kids and making sure everyone is safe and fair with their play. We continue to practice teamwork and encourage self empowerment with the kids in all that we do.
* Remember to check Brightwheel for updates and personal pictures of your kiddo in class throughout the school year!
UPCOMING CLOSURES:
*MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY (Monday, Jan 20th)
*PRESIDENT’S DAY (Monday, Feb 17th)
DIRECTOR MACKENZY IS ON MATERNITY LEAVE: As we enter into the new year, Director Mackenzy will be showing up to class less and less as she nears the end of her pregnancy and prepares to have her baby. She will still be around here and there and will continue to be the main point of contact with anything our families need, however she will be relying on her Lead Teachers (Megan and Maria) for daily details and classroom leadership, as well as Brittany in admin for any behind-the-scenes needs or changes. Families can contact any one of us for any needs you may have, as we will all be in constant contact with one another (all phone numbers can be found in your Parent Handbook, or feel free to use your Brightwheel app!).
*BOOK OF THE MONTH:
Kids Book: The Frog and Toad book series by Arnold Lobel (a class favorite right now)
Adults Book: Balanced and Barefoot by Angela J. Hanscom
If you have a book you’d like to recommend, please send us a message through Brightwheel!
Here’s whats new at
GRATEFUL GATHERING FOREST SCHOOL
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Forest Playschool?
Originated in Denmark, Forest Kindergartens (or preschools) are a type of education for children between the ages of three and six that is held almost exclusively outdoors. Now adopted and getting more popular in the US, Forest Schools are becoming an incredible child development tool for children of all ages. Grateful Gathering Forest School adopted the Playschool value system because we believe that the best and only true way for a child to practice everyday life skills with passion and curiosity is through play. And we believe the best teacher and playground for that learning is in nature. Our curriculum focuses on interest-led nature exploration, PLAY, and daily discoveries. We engage with our natural world and foster an environment for children to be empowered, develop life skills, friendships, and explore their creativity, while developing confidence and an innate interest in learning about themselves and the world around them.
What can I expect from school everyday?
Grateful Gatherings Forest School’s low teacher to student ratio (4:1 for ages 3-6 and 6:1 for ages 5-9) and our child-led approach to learning allows for every child to show up to school each day just as they are, with teachers able to take care of their individual needs and feelings. We begin each day with a “hello circle” of some kind where we tune into our bodies, talk about the weather for the day and what that means for our clothing (removing layers, feeling too hot/cold, etc.), go over our affirmations and agreements, and sing a song together. The rest of the day is unstructured free-play and in the moment learning about ourselves and our feelings, the natural world around us, and how to build and foster relationships with others. Each class includes: seasonal nature-based learning, unstructured exploration and play, songs & stories, team-building games, food and water to nourish our bodies, mindful practices, problem solving, creativity, skill building, and lots of friendships and fun!
Where is pick-up and drop-off?
We use multiple nature spots throughout Sandy based on season. Pick-up and drop-off will be in the parking lot of the location we are meeting at for the day. Location is seasonal based on sunlight. Teachers will message about location change for any reason.
How do we handle snacks and potty breaks?
Grateful Gatherings is an outdoor program. Depending on where we are at, we wont always have access to public restrooms. We ask that parents help their children get comfortable going to the bathroom outside before they begin our program. We do request parents pack an extra pair for clothing in case of an accident. One teacher will always be close by in case they are needed, and we always carry hand sanitizer for after a potty break. We allow kids to go to go to the bathroom and eat at their food on their own terms (we do ask everyone every day if they need to go to the bathroom and make sure every child has sat down to eat) and actively promote listening to their bodies every day at school.
What do we do in inclement weather or low air-quality days?
Safety is our main priority with the kids, and is a staple in what we teach at school. Because we are a 100% outdoor program, if the weather is unsafe for the children to be outside for extended periods of time, we will have to close for the day. We do not refund if we have to cancel for the day. Make up days are available, but up to the family to schedule.
How can I set my child up for success?
Before joining our program, a lot of parents ask us what they can do to help their child get ready for Forest School. What a great question to ask! We believe the best way to prepare them and make them feel confident in this exciting step is to show them what they will be doing! We ask parents to take them to the places they will be playing in and go for a hike and explore with them! Familiarize them with our website and our social media page and show them some of the activities we do. Practice going to the bathroom outside. Talk to them about what they can expect and what they might be feeling about it. Doing these things with your child will help make him/her more readily able to make that transition, and feel confident in their new outdoor environment!