Dressing appropriately for extended outdoor play is important! Children should wear weather-appropriate clothes that can get messy. It is also a good idea to have a change of clothes on hand. We offer specific guidance for how to dress in each season in our class introduction materials.
Yes! You can book a trial class by selecting the "drop-in" option on our booking platform. You can register for a drop in class HERE.
Because Tiny Pines Forest School programs take place fully outside, there are inherent risks which naturally occur when outside, such as exposure to poison ivy, bees, wasps, and ticks. We provide guidance and education on how to identify and check for these risks during class sessions and in our class introduction materials.
With appropriate adult supervision, Tiny Pines Forest School celebrates children's intrinsic desire to explore and appraise risk-taking behaviors in a natural setting. Research has shown that by providing opportunities for such exploration we can promote a child's development of gross motor and cognitive skills, including planning, problem solving, resilience, and navigating their emotions. For more information, you can read this article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), "Eliminate Barriers to Risk Taking in Outdoor Play". For further reading, we encourage you to check out the book Balanced and Barefoot by Angela J. Hanscom.
We do hold classes in rainy and cold weather! We will, however, cancel class if there is a thunderstorm with lightning, steady hard rain or heavy snow, significant air quality concerns, and if the weather gets below 20 degrees.
Click on the articles below to read more:
"Into the Woods" from Slate
"Children are stuck inside, glued to screens. Are ‘forest schools’ the antidote?" from the LA Times
"Nature’s classroom: Why preschoolers need more time outdoors" from EdSource