Frequently Asked Questions
Our enrollment starts at 3 and goes to the age of 10. Currently, we have 2 different classes: Rainbows 3-5, and Forest Friends 5-10.
Our day begins with open play, followed by morning circle, depending on the age group academics, bathrooms, picnic lunch, open play (music or yoga), closing circle, and cleaning up. Read more about each class’s daily schedule here.
Yes, we provide music, art, yoga, social emotional lessons and a fire ceremony throughout the week. We also rotate outdoor spaces so both classes have a chance to play on the play structure. See our outdoor classroom space here.
Rainbow 1:6 (maximum class size is 12 per day)
Forest Friends 1:9 (maximum class size is 24 per day)
School begins at 9:00 am and pick up is at 12:50 pm for half day enrollment. School is from 8:45-2:45 for full day enrollment (only offered for students over 5 years old).
Lunch is not provided, you must pack lunch and water for your child each day. We have picnic-style lunches and ask that it be a litter-free lunch. The oldest class also eats a snack during the school day if they stay for a full day.
We do not offer early drop-off or any after-school classes.
All children are required to have proper rain gear, including rain pants, a rain jacket, and rain boots. When it rains we put up tarps to provide an area of shelter. We will go inside if there is thunder, lightning, high winds, or less than 50 degrees with rain. We otherwise do not have a temperature that is too high or too low. We embrace that there is no bad weather, just bad clothing!
We stay outside as much as possible. We provide information on how to layer properly for maximum warmth and keep extra warm gear at school in case someone didn’t layer or forgot an essential item. We provide big body movement activities to keep warm in the coldest parts of the mornings and reserve sedentary or fine motor activities for the warmer parts of the day. Children are also welcome to bring warm tea or warm water with lemon. We move into the sun during the winter months as much as possible. Finally, we have mini rice pack hand warmers that we provide during the colder months.
The amount of academics depends on the age of your child. In our Rainbow class we include Handwriting without Tears which encompasses all of the learning modalities; visual, kinesthetic, and auditory to introduce letters in an age-appropriate and fun way. We also incorporate Wild Math which is naturally hands-on, engages all the senses, and includes plenty of movement. In our Forest Friends class, we add in the component of Orton Gillingham instruction which supports Decoding vs. Encoding, Phonological Awareness, Print Concepts, and Automatic Word Recognition. We also provide a hands on, multi sensory, standards based math as well as science. We make sure to provide open-ended and unstructured play into each day no matter the class!
We are not affiliated with the church, we rent the space and operate separately. Additionally, we are a secular school that does not focus on any religious holiday or celebrations. We are accepting and loving to people of all religions and faiths but believe that school is not the place to celebrate religious holidays.
Our teachers all hold many special skills and talents. We do have certified teachers, but not all are currently certified. Little Forest provides training throughout the year that focuses on social-emotional and nature education and Orton-Gillingham Instruction. All teachers are currently completing conscious discipline training. Please visit the TEAM page for more information about each teacher.
Yes, we allow caregivers to teach the classes any special skills that you may have. The director will need to approve the topic to make sure it aligns with the school’s values and mission.
Currently only the Rainbow (3-5) class allows for Cooperative enrollment, though this may be an option for the Forest Friends Class if requested. The cooperative parent is a background checked, first aid trained family member that will act as the assistant teacher for a full day of work for one day each week. This is a great option if you prefer a reduced tuition rate or if early childhood education is something that interests you. This is a big commitment though and we expect cooperative helpers to commit to helping for the full year to not disrupt the class expectations.
