“Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education.”

-Luther Burbank

Imagine your child in a classroom with plenty of space to run and explore, space to work
alone, or with friends. Imagine it filled with exciting museum quality educational materials that invite touch, and exploration, and change with the seasons.

Imagine a classroom without walls.

We spend time in this classroom every day, as much as possible, in all weather, and in all seasons.  Children need time, now more than ever, to spend in natural settings, away from manmade things, televisions, technology and toys with scripts.

More meaningful learning occurs from our free resources in the woodland, than with any other material, or equipped room that we could design. Nature becomes a tool to help children practice important academic skills (e.g. active listening, observation and problem solving) as they discover its wonders.

Children with mud-streaked faces, climb over logs and into dens they have made themselves. We wonder what animals could have left tracks or other signs of their night visits in our wood?   We see the markings of rabbits and deer. We track other animals that have visited the water…noticing fox and raccoon tracks. We meander past a gnarled tree.

What animals live in the holes in our trees? We see rustling squirrels darting through fallen branches.  We use our whole bodies as we collaborate to move a log, and clear a path, or build a fort. We learn to work as a team, and to be confident in ourselves.

Our woods offers a plethora of learning opportunities for even our youngest children. Children can use their bodies to the fullest; climbing, moving, crawling, carrying, leaping. What’s more, the forest is filled with an abundance of playthings; a stick trans forms into a horse or into an oar to paddle a boat. A boulder becomes a ship, a fallen tree a hiding place. Imagination can literally run wild through the trees.

For these children, the world is teeming with life: slugs and beetles, woodpeckers and salamanders. What better way could there be to learn about animals, plants and the changing of the seasons? What more effective way to teach children about basic ecological concerns, when they arise so spontaneously and in such a genuine context?
We learn about the importance of caring for the Earth, and all of its inhabitants. The values and attitudes about nature that children learn when they are young will last a lifetime.

I am convinced that when a child experiences the freedom and stimulation offered by the forest, the result is a more balanced and peaceful child who is able to deal with social and intellectual challenges far more effectively.