Looking Back on a Year of Forest Homeschool
Another amazing year of forest homeschool is over! Twice a week, these awesome kids came out to the 300-acre classroom that is Reflection Riding’s campus to learn in and about nature.
Forest homeschooling emphasizes experiential play and student-guided exploration. By letting kids' natural curiosity and energy drive their learning, we help them to gain confidence and develop their physical, social, and communication skills. Students build lifelong outdoor skills, reap the myriad benefits that come from spending time in nature, and learn to appreciate life in all its forms.
Our forest homeschool program, offered for kids ages 6-13, trains students to become junior naturalists! Throughout the school year, students keep a nature journal which they fill with sketches, observations, and reflections. In this way, Forest Homeschool students learn to scientifically categorize, identify, and record data from things they learn about the natural world.
This was the second year that we have run our forest homeschool program independently. We pack a lot of activities into each day, so let’s look back on some of the highlights of what our homeschool kids got up to this year!
We spent time in our nature playscapes and other parts of the woods, building forts and other structures while letting imagination guide the way!
Pond studies gave our students a chance to explore the life of aquatic ecosystems.
We also got our hands dirty at the Native Plant Nursery, collecting seeds from native plants, learning to process them, and planting them!
We got up close and personal with all sorts of insects and animals…
And learned about lots of different plant species that we encountered.
As always, we had a blast spending time in the great outdoors, being goofy, and making friends!
We also welcomed parents to join the group on several days throughout the year, including a fun holiday celebration last winter. We are hoping to incorporate even more days for the whole family next year!
We hope everybody has an amazing summer! But don’t let the end of it catch you by surprise—register now for forest homeschool next year. We start back on August 10th, 2023.