Farm and Forest taught my daughter, now 4 years old, more than I could have expected. My purpose for putting her in the learning group was to allow her to socialize and make friends.
What I didn't expect was that she learned to question the world around her and then search for those answers. She developed a true passion and love for nature. I saw this when we received a seed catalog in the mail and she spent an hour deciding on what she wanted to grow this year. She asked if we had dirt to plant seeds or if we needed to get some. She knows that we need dirt to grow our seeds from what she has learned in class.
Penny's fine and gross motor skills grew drastically. The garden is set up to allow for development in both of those areas. This development was encouraged by the teachers through open ended play, role play, and nature hikes/lessons. My favorite memory is when we visited the local zoo and she climbed off the sidewalk and down the side of a water feature. I asked her what was she was exploring and she said, " I'm looking for tadpoles because Ms. Jess said tadpoles are in water right now." It was springtime and we had just completed a pond study at Farm and Forest.
I cannot emphasize enough the true life skills she has learned. One evening, we decided to go to a restaurant. As we waited for our food to be cooked Penny said, " I'll make a fire for dinner." She grabbed two crayons and started to rub them together over a napkin. What a wonderful example of how she was problem solving to help fill a need in life (hungry bellies). She has learned to make fire, grow food, waddle, and so much more.
Farm and Forest is more than a place to let my child learn, they have become family for my daughter. She has learned social skills, conflict resolution, and patience. Academics have always been taught in a small groups setting and not pushed onto kids. Children learn at their own pace. This allows each child to bring a beautiful experience into the learning environment. Everyone works together in the lessons.
We highly recommend Farm and Forest to all kids.
-Ashley Perry, Mother of student
“Our son loves Farm & Forest School. Previously, he complained about hiking. Now we are able to go on long hikes as a family and we all enjoy it! As parents, we’ve been impressed by all the things the kids get to do and learn. We’ve witnessed our son developing a love for learning things that he didn’t care to learn before.”
" I like Farm and Forest because I get to find mushrooms, bugs, flowers, and seeds. I even get to build really big things (shelters). I like all my friends!”