Each week, from September through May, we will gather from 8:30am - 12:30pm.

We will have the same schedule for both cohorts, and all students will be required to attend all three days. This schedule is support for children of this age, many of whom still need a nap, and also supports our state requirements for alternative education. We anticipate that this may change for older students as we grow.

We will take holidays for Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break in alignment with Shelby County dates. We begiin September 1 and end May 27.

In forest school, as in many of our pre-school and kindergarten environments, we center learning through play, and through physical movement. This means our learning is child-led, instructor guided. Our days will be a mixture of free play, nature/focused basics in reading, counting, writing, STEM, math, etc— just like you would in a “normal” school— but instead of books and counting blocks, we have stories and acorns.

A large part of young learning, especially under 7, is best integrated through motor development and physical activity, so most of our learning will be physical in nature. Climbing logs, making stone piles to count, tracking the shape of animal prints, learning seasons from, well, the actual seasons instead of a book!

We’ll walk, hike, sing, snack, play games, build fairy houses, and learn, outside, together.

Sample Schedule:

8:30am - Arrivals and Free Play
9:00am - Songs, Stories and Games
9:30am - Critter Craft + Lesson
10:15am - Forest Exploration Walk
11:00am - Snack + Nature-based OT
11:45am - Free Play
12:30pm - Pick Up

Yes! We will have access to covered shelter in case of inclement weather, but we will be outside all day. Enrolled students will receive a suggested clothing list. As we like to say, there is no wrong weather, only the wrong clothes! And yes, to be clear, we will be outside in rain.

In case of inclement weather, we will follow Jefferson County’s school closure plans (with notice), and if truly dangerous weather (tornado, hail, lightning) weather arrives unexpectedly, we will move students to shelter and notify parents for pickup.

To some extent, yes! We love children who thrive “outside the box!” We do, too. However, we are limited by our outdoor environment and the size of our enrollment / staff. If your child has special needs, please reach out and we will evaluate together whether this is the right school for them. One of our founders, Magan, is a licensed Occupational Therapist, so she is able to evaluate children for appropriate placement in our school.

Yes, all children need to be potty-trained or very-late in process with pull-ups, in order to attend. Diapers and dirt (and woods!) are too much for our capacities.

Yes! All employed staff at Wild Oaks Forest School will be background checked and trained in wilderness-connected first aid and CPR.

No Wild Oaks student will ever be left unattended, and we have several locations through the park where we will congregate, including signage and ropes to designate the areas. We are adequately staffed with a 6:1 student teacher ratio and anadministrator on site each day, to track students. However, this is a public park, so hold that in your awareness as you apply.

The cost per month, per child at Wild Oaks is $475, which includes 3 days of school per week, at 4 hours per day. Any sibling within a family will receive a $75/month discount.

A non-refundable deposit of one month’s tuition, upon enrollment, secures your spot. This will be applied towards your May payment. Payments are due on the first of each month, with a late fee of $25 if after the 5th.