Hello! Happy to help.

Where does Forest Kindergarten meet?

Most days, we meet at beautiful state and city parks within approximately 10 minutes of downtown Ventura. Our locations give children access to beaches, woodlands, creeks, trails, gardens, and other natural spaces that become an extension of the classroom. Families receive the meeting location and details for each week.

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Do you pick children up from their TK or Kindergarten school?

No. We do not provide transportation or school pick-up. Families are responsible for dropping their child off at our meeting location. Our afternoon program is designed to work especially well for children already enrolled in TK or Kindergarten who would benefit from spending the second half of their day learning and playing outdoors.

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Can my child attend mornings, afternoons, or the full day?

Yes! Families may choose the schedule that works best for their child:

• Morning Program

• Afternoon Program

• Full-Day Program

The afternoon option is particularly well suited for children attending TK or Kindergarten in the morning.

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Is this an academic program?

Yes. We believe children can experience the wonder and freedom of an outdoor childhood while also developing a strong academic foundation.

Our curriculum includes handwriting, phonics and early reading, mathematics, science, and history. Rather than separating academics from children's experiences, we connect learning to the places, seasons, questions, and discoveries children encounter outdoors.

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What do children learn?

Our core curriculum includes:

Reading + Phonics
Children build phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge, decoding skills, vocabulary, and early reading fluency through a systematic approach to phonics.

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Writing + Handwriting
We explicitly teach handwriting and provide meaningful opportunities for children to draw, label, journal, tell stories, make field notes, and communicate their ideas in writing.

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Mathematics
Our math curriculum emphasizes number sense, mathematical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving rather than simply memorizing procedures.

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Science
The natural world is our science laboratory. Curriculum changes with the seasons and with what children discover around them—from insects, birds, plants, weather, and tides to habitats, life cycles, geology, and ecology.

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History + Community
Young children begin learning history through the story of the place where they live. We explore Ventura and our surrounding community, helping children understand connections among people, culture, land, and the past.

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Do you follow Common Core?

We use academic standards as a baseline, not a ceiling. Our goal is for children to meet and, where developmentally appropriate, exceed California's academic expectations while developing genuine understanding rather than simply completing grade-level worksheets. We are inspired by approaches to early education in the United Kingdom, with a strong emphasis on literacy, reading, writing, mathematical reasoning, and problem-solving.

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How can you teach academics outside?

Very effectively! A picnic table can become a writing desk. Sticks, stones, shells, and acorns become mathematics manipulatives. A creek becomes a science investigation. A trail can inspire mapping, storytelling, measurement, observation, and historical questions. Teachers also bring carefully selected academic materials into the field so children receive intentional instruction in foundational skills such as phonics, handwriting, and mathematics. The goal isn't to recreate an indoor classroom outside—it is to use the outdoors to make learning richer, more meaningful, and more memorable.

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What is Farm Friday?

Children spend the day at The Grove House, located approximately one mile from Kimball Pool on Telephone Road. Farm Friday introduces children to homesteading and the rhythms of caring for a place. Depending on the season and current projects, children may experience:

• Gardening and growing food

• Chickens and ducks

• Planting, harvesting, and composting

• Cooking and food projects

• Art and handwork

• Nature study

• Sustainability

• Practical life skills

Farm Friday gives children the opportunity to develop responsibility, confidence, and a deeper understanding of where food comes from and how people can care for the land.

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Why do you use a multi-age model?

Children ages 4–6 develop at different rates, particularly in reading, writing, mathematics, social development, and executive function. A multi-age classroom allows teachers to meet children where they are rather than expecting every child of the same age to be doing exactly the same thing. Similar to a Montessori multi-age model, younger children learn by observing older peers, while older children strengthen confidence, leadership, and mastery.

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What does sustainability look like in the program?

Sustainability is something children practice, not simply something we talk about.

Children learn to care for the places they visit, respect plants and wildlife, minimize waste, reuse materials, grow food, compost when appropriate, and understand their relationship with the natural world.

We practice Leave No Trace principles and teach children that being outdoors comes with the responsibility to leave a place as beautiful—or better—than we found it.

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What should my child bring?

Children should arrive prepared to spend their program time outdoors. Families receive a seasonal packing list, but children generally need comfortable outdoor clothing, sturdy shoes, sun protection, water, food, and weather-appropriate layers. A little dirt is part of the curriculum!

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What makes Forest Kindergarten different?

We don't believe families should have to choose between strong academics and a childhood spent outdoors.

Our Forest Kindergarten brings the two together: intentional instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history, combined with long stretches of outdoor exploration, movement, creativity, collaboration, and play.

Our goal is to develop children who are capable readers, writers, thinkers, problem solvers, naturalists, and community members—and who leave kindergarten still deeply curious about the world around them.

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What are the health benefits of Forest Kindergarten?

Young children are made to move. Forest Kindergarten gives children significantly more opportunities to walk, climb, balance, run, carry, dig, build, and explore than they typically experience in an indoor classroom.

Regular outdoor activity supports children's strength, coordination, balance, cardiovascular health, gross motor development, and overall physical fitness. Natural environments also offer constantly changing physical challenges—a log to balance on, a hill to climb, uneven ground to navigate—that help children develop capable and confident bodies.

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How does being outdoors support children's mental health?

Time in nature can provide a calmer, less overstimulating environment for young children. Research has associated children's access to nature and green space with benefits including reduced stress, improved mood, greater well-being, and better emotional regulation.

Forest School also gives children something increasingly valuable: time and space to slow down, notice, wonder, and become deeply engaged in what they are doing.

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Does Forest Kindergarten help children develop confidence?

Yes. One of the most powerful aspects of outdoor learning is that children regularly encounter real, manageable challenges. Crossing a creek, climbing a hill, balancing on a log, carrying materials, figuring out how to build something, or walking farther than they thought they could all send an important message:

I can do hard things. Rather than removing every challenge, teachers help children learn to assess situations, make thoughtful decisions, ask for help when needed, and gradually become more capable and independent.

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What about risky play?

We distinguish between risk and hazard. A hazard is a danger a child may not be able to recognize or manage, and adults are responsible for identifying and addressing hazards. A healthy risk is a challenge children can learn to recognize, evaluate, and navigate with appropriate adult support. Developmentally appropriate risky play—such as climbing, balancing, moving quickly, exploring uneven terrain, and testing physical abilities—can help children develop judgment, confidence, coordination, resilience, and an understanding of their own limits.

Our goal isn't to eliminate risk from childhood. It is to help children learn how to navigate the world safely and competently.