Here’s a cool new idea.
A local parent and educator has created South Mountain Nature School to offer weekly “Forest School classes” to children ages 2-8 starting this September in the South Mountain Reservation.
There are classes Wednesday and Thursday mornings, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings (check out the schedule by here).
The school’s mission is to provide children the guidance and resources to play and learn in the forest with other children while experiencing the wonders and beauty of the natural world.
Programs take place in all kinds of weather in a forest or woodland over time so that children can develop a close connection with nature. Children explore the forest, make mud pies, build shelters, use fallen trees as balance beams, spot bugs and birds, play games and more.
Mary Clair Sonneman, founder and lead Forest School teacher, earned her Cedarsong Forest Kindergarten Teacher Certification at Cedarsong Nature School on Vashon Island near Seattle. A former high school English teacher, Sonneman has a keen interest in progressive education and a passion for the natural world.
South Mountain Nature School draws on The Cedarsong Way, a Forest Kindergarten philosophy developed by Erin Kenny at Cedarsong Nature School. Kenny is a leading voice on nature immersion and Forest Kindergartens in the United States (cedarsongnatureschool.org).
SMNS’s nature immersion curriculum is defined as “free time in nature, resulting in an intimate, deep and personal connection to the nature world.” Forest School classes promote social and emotional development by:
- giving children the space to work and play together
- modeling and promoting compassion and sensitivity for each other and the natural world, and
- empowering children to be independent.
An important goal of the program is to teach children to love and respect South Mountain Reservation, creating the next generation of environmental stewards, naturalists, conservationists and nature lovers. The program has support from Essex County Parks and the South Mountain Conservancy.
SMNS’s program will offer drop-off, caregiver and child, and family classes in South Mountain Reservation for preschool and elementary school-age children. Groups will meet for 1 ½ to 2 hours once a week for an entire season in order to observe and experience the forest change over time.
There’s a free try-out class on August 24. Classes begin September 20.
Registration for classes is open at www.southmountainnatureschool.com.
Follow SMNS on Facebook @southmountainnatureschool and Instagram at @southmountainnature.
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