January 2024
“The child gives us a beautiful lesson-that in order to form and maintain our intelligence, we must use our hands.”
—Maria Montessori
Classroom Updates
The weather has not stopped our Water Clan from having fun and letting their light shine. I am sure it will be an adjustment getting back into the swing of school after such a long break. Perhaps taking them to the park as a reminder of what’s to come might help get them in the head space. Here is an article to encourage outdoor time even in winter. Also, reminding them school is coming up by saying something like “which jacket are you going to wear on your first day back?”, or “which friend are you most excited to see?”
Hi Earth Clan families! Welcome back after winter break! I hope you all had wonderful times with your family and friends! We missed you and are excited to begin learning again out in the beautiful forest! With the new year brings some new learning opportunities and we are going to kick off 2024 with a rock unit! The kids will be “mining” and testing some rock samples and learning about the rock cycle as well as the 3 families of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic). I know how much they enjoy agate hunting and since the beach is fairly flooded right now, I am hoping this will give us some rock fun even though we can’t be there. Speaking of rocks, I also know how sweet everyone is with bringing in rocks (and other things) to share with their classmates. I so love that this class is giving and wants to share the love in their heart with others but I think it’s even more special when it is an item someone made for someone else. In the interest of that, I’d like to offer the opportunity to keep bringing something to share with the class on Wednesdays for a show and tell, but for the other days let's keep special things at home unless you choose to make something to bring and give to a friend. I look forward to hearing all about your breaks and seeing you back!
January marks the start of several exciting new learning opportunities for the Air Clan! We will be boosting our academic progress by offering daily reading and writing practice (at all levels) in the first half of each school day. Secondly, your children will embark on a child-led investigation of all things water-related! This will be a great chance to ask questions about how things work and to learn how to be a good scientist through our innate curiosity, careful observations, and record keeping. One additional big change starting this month is increased adventure time. During these cold months we need to keep our bodies moving, and your children will decide together which areas of the park they hope to explore in the next few months, with the goal of finding new and undiscovered wilderness spaces!
The Fire Clan showed up strong in December! They were instrumental in helping with our seasonal celebrations, organized and executed St. Lucia Day independent of teacher help, led all school circles on Thursdays and brought some amazing goodies and homemade crafts to our Maker’s Market. These kids are so full of ideas and curiosity. They are leaning into the colder weather with aplomb and great resilience. All in all, they are wonderful role models for all the younger children in our program and we are lucky to have this ‘older’ kid energy in our school! Please see below for what’s coming up for us in the next few months.
Maker’s Market
All the money these kids made they spent right back in the forest school community. I was so impressed with the level of craftsmanship and entrepreneurial skills these kids have! I almost can’t wait until next year to see what they will dream up! We still have many of the block print greeting cards our Fire Clan kids made. If you are interested in ordering some more contact Heidi.
Returning to the Cold
January is going to be wet, cold and full of discomfort. These dark cold months are the bedrock of what we stand for at forest school and its value is greater than we can quantify or see in our students on the daily. The resilience and grit that they collect in these harder months will burrow deep in their psyche and when discomfort greets them later in life they will use this unconscious resilience to help move themselves along. When the weather is bleak and they protest about going to school remember its value and benefit. Cold weather is good for your brain, reduces the risk of cold and flu, strengthens your heart, reduces stress, helps you sleep better, rejuvenates the skin, burns calories, increases brown fat and absorbs excess glucose—just to name a few benefits.
Next Year
We are humbled and grateful for the response to our elementary program. We have only been in business as a K-5 for two and a half years and the reception has been astounding. Many of our families who enter our program reenroll their children each year making few spots available for new families.
This school year we won’t be able to open enrollment the way we have in previous years due to limited open spots for new students. We will be distributing pre-enrollment applications to families after they have completed a tour. Pre-enrollment applications will close on March 8th. You will be notified of your acceptance or waitlist position on March 22nd and will have a week to confirm that you would like to accept the spot before it is offered to the next family on the waitlist.
Committing to Forest School is a big decision, it takes a lot of work to get your kiddo to school each day. Coming to do an observation of our school is a great way for you and your family to see our program in real time and get a feel for who we are and what we do. Tours will be offered in January and February 2024. Please email info@downtoearthforestschool.com for more details about our tour dates.
Rates for 24/25:
The elementary tuition is $8,500 per child annually and the preschool program is $6,500 per child annually. We offer a variety of payment options, including a monthly plan. There is a materials fee of $200 (K-5) or $150 (Pre-K) each year. We do not charge an application fee but upon enrollment a non-refundable deposit of $200 is due, and will apply to the first tuition payment.
This is what each class will look like in the coming year:
Water Clan: Preschool, 3-5 year olds
Earth Clan: Kindergarten and First grade
Air Clan: Second and Third grade
Fire Clan: Fourth and Fifth grade
