FOREST PLAY
Free play in the forest.
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL ‘26!
We are excited to be offering FOREST PLAY, our new, forest play-based outdoor learning program for young people ages 4 - 6+, now entering its second year!
Forest Play is a Forest School-inspired program designed for children ages 4 - 6+ who want to spend their days playing outdoors with similarly-aged friends, and with gentle and supportive care from attentive facilitators! This cohort of young people will play and explore in and amongst the forest trees, creek, glens, pond, and hills at The Children's Community. We will spend time adventuring together and in ways that honor the relationships we are building with ourselves, each other, and the land that cradles us. Forest Play is located in its own distinct outdoor area of the shared 17-acre campus where TCC’s Agile Learning Center is grounded. And, these groups both share the spaces, landmarks, and features that make this land so unique!
A DAY IN THE FOREST
The young people in Forest Play will nurture their relationship to the land and its creatures, maintaining connection, reverence, and wonder.
This Forest School-inspired program meets almost entirely outdoors, with the exception of accessing indoor spaces and shelter during extreme weather or other emergent circumstances.
Children enrolled will have access to the forest, farm, gardens, and adventure playground on TCC’s 17-acre campus, as well as the resources and materials available through our Agile Learning community program, such as books, field guides, creative materials, cooking accessories, and other tools.
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Our days are responsive to the emergent and dynamic needs of the young people in our care, as well as seasonal rhythms and changes. And, we have found that moving with a predictable “flow” that allows for flexibility is supportive for the young people here. A day in Forest Play might look like:
9:30 a.m. - Arrival, settle in & free play
10:00 a.m. - Morning circle & snack
10:30 a.m. - Forest play & morning invitation*
11:45 a.m. - Lunch & read aloud
12:30 p.m. - Reset time
1:00 p.m. - Forest play & afternoon Invitation*
2:00 p.m. - Closing circle & snack
2:30 p.m. - End of day (aftercare begins for those enrolled)
3:30 p.m. - Aftercare pick-up (available Mon/Tues/Wed)
*Invitations and offerings in our community refer to experiences that we invite and offer one another, with no expectation of participation. In a consent-based culture, anyone can opt in or out of any experience; nothing is coercive. The invitations and offerings are generated by the young peoples' questions and interests as well as what emerges from the land and the ecosystems that surround us.
Examples of Morning & Afternoon Invitations:
Nature art & music
Pond explorations
Shelter building
Creek play
Foraging
Adventure playground
Fire building & campfire cooking
Garden time
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Here are some considerations to help determine if our FOREST PLAY program is a space where your child will THRIVE for the '25-'26 learning year!
- How does your child feel around bugs? Farm animals? Dirt? Mud?
- Is your child able to express themselves to be understood by others and to get their physical needs met?
- Does your child use the toilet independently and wash their hands on their own?
- Is your child able to manage carrying a small backpack that includes their lunch, water bottle, and extra change of clothes?
- Does your child have capacity to follow safety directions, e.g., "Please wait," "Let's stay together," "We wash our hands before we eat," and so on?
- Does your child have interest, enthusiasm, and the stamina needed to attend four consecutive days a week? *Please note we do not have capacity to support naptime
- How does your child adjust to a variety of temperatures and weather? Rain, mud, snow, wind, 85+ degrees F. *We follow safety precautions in extreme temperatures and winds.
- What capacity does your child have to wear a well-fitting KN95? This would be while indoors.
Support for parents and caregivers of the young people joining us for Forest Play will run tandem to our Forest Play programming and is vital to our community growing and thriving. We will meet periodically to explore key questions and ideas related to Self-Directed Education, and to support one another in the practice of self-reflection, growth, and change. This work is about shifting our relationships with the young people in our lives, not only about the decisions we make for their education.
CULTURE & COMMUNITY
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"What do we mean when we highlight connection, consent, autonomy, agency and how do we nurture these in our relationships with the youngest young people at TCC? What do these look like in community play and learning?"
"How do we support young children in learning how to communicate and express their needs, wants, and feelings - and in ways that honor our minds and our bodies, others' minds and bodies, and the land?"
"How do we build an affirming and welcoming culture together? How do we shape this culture to reflect our shared values?"
"How do we navigate conflict in ways that are generative and connecting when varying needs, wants, and feelings press against one another?"
“How do we heal and shift our relationships to young people in ways that support them in navigating a changing world?”
"How might we know when young people are ready to transition from Forest Play to TCC's agile learning programming, and what might that transition look like?"
We cannot imagine the world our children will inherit. And, we can support them and one another in building the relational skills and tools of connection they’ll need for whatever comes next.
The forest teaches us so much of what we need to know to build new worlds and shape futures now.
Join Us!
Join Us!
Forest play TUITION SPECIFICS
We offer tuition within a framework of trust and at a sliding scale: we invite families to reflect on their access to financial wealth and privilege and to self-select a tier that is both generous and sustainable for them.
These tiers represent movement towards an equitable sliding scale tuition model, and we revise it annually, based on emergent circumstances, feedback, and reflection. Our goals in offering an equitable sliding scale model are: to prioritize diversity (economic, racial, gender, cultural, etc.); increase access to Self-Directed education for more young people; meet operating costs; pay employees at thriving wage; sustainably grow The Children's Community; and disrupt standard capitalistic, extractive financial models.
While we are a tuition-based program, we prioritize accessibility. We want families who are aligned and enthusiastic about TCC to be able to join us in creating culture and practicing futures, and will not turn folks away for lack of funds.
2026-2027 TUITION
Tier 1 $17,657 annually ($1,962/month)
Tier 2 $15,867 annually ($1,763/month)
Tier 3 $14,075 annually ($1,564/month)
Tier 4 $12,283 annually ($1,365/month)
Apply Today!
We’d love to welcome your family to join us in play, exploration, learning, and growth here in the forest at The Children’s Community. Enrollment is open, and spots are limited for the ‘26-’27 learning year.