We are a special community

First and foremost, I am blown away by the level and magnitude of support from our internal families and external wider forest school community. Letters have reached my inbox from complete strangers that make me emotional and totally humbled. Over ninety people showed up last night on behalf of Down to Earth, more folks than city council had ever seen at one of their meetings- well done! We had fifteen people speak to the council and an exhaustive list of others who wanted to speak both online and in person that could have extended the public comment period well into the evening.

Leora Klisak (9 years) adds her public comment at City Council on July 15th 2024

Secondly, I would like to give an update of Down to Earth’s current position. After the public comment period, Rory Bialostosky thanked our respectful community and said that together with council members they will grant us temporary use of the park to alleviate the pressure from our current families that their child’s school will be available for their child to attend at Mary S. Young Park in the fall. It is my understanding, based on the recorded verbal agreement found here (City Council Meeting; mayor remarks start at 1:07:45) that:

1. We will be granted a temporary agreement to stay at Mary S. Young Park, and

2. The mayor and council recommended to the City of West Linn staff that they work with the Down to Earth Steering Committee to find a long term agreement for our use of the park. 

The City of West Linn has been most respectful to our community thus far. I am very hopeful that they will do their best to work with us to find a long term pathway forward.

Ms. Heidi adds her public comment at City Council on July 15th 2024

Down to Earth Forest School is committed to cultivating the next generation of public land stewards through the process of place-based nature immersion. The City of West Linn also posed an opportunity to our students to see democracy in action, and together with their love for the land and understanding of civic engagement, I am hopeful that after we are gone the children of Down to Earth will continue to carry the torch for the protection of our green spaces. 

The Next Generation

Down to Earth Forest School is committed to cultivating the next generation of public land stewards through the process of place-based nature immersion. The City of West Linn also posed an opportunity to our students to see democracy in action, and together with their love for the land and understanding of civic engagement, I am hopeful that after we are gone the children of Down to Earth will continue to carry the torch for the protection of our green spaces. 

With deep gratitude I sign off to spend a few days hiking on our public lands with my family, but I leave you with a few things to note in the weeks to come:

1. We are hiring for a second and third grade teacher in the fall. If you know someone who might be a good fit, please have them email me (Heidi), and we will be conducting interviews the last week in July. 

2. Several people were interested in purchasing DTE swag- here is the order form. 

3. Here is the 24/25 calendar! Please make notes of important celebrations and school breaks.   

4. On Wednesdays in the summer, the DTE community meets up at various parks as an unofficial community building opportunity. If you’re interested in joining, please reach out on Discord to find out the details. 

There is still an opportunity to write a letter to the city if you would like to convey your support or concerns to the city. 

• Write a letter in support of our program and send it to the following decision makers (template). Please also CC us on the emails you send. 

• Parks Director, Megan Big John - mbigjohn@westlinnoregon.gov 

  1. Parks Advisory Committee - twiencken@westlinnoregon.gov 

  2. West Linn Mayor, Rory Biolostosky - rbialostosky@westlinnoregon.gov

  3. West Linn City Manager, John Williams - jwilliams@westlinnoregon.gov

  4. West Linn City Council - citycouncil@westlinnoregon.gov 

Love and gratitude,

Ms. Heidi

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.”

-Margret Mead

Good Afternoon Forest School Supporters, 

We are connecting with you for the third time this week to update you on our progress. Our director Heidi McKay received a phone call from the West Linn Mayor Rory Bialostosky today. Rory encouraged us to attend West Linn’s City Council meeting. He shared that tomorrow night’s meeting is a perfect forum for our community to come out en masse to share our sentiments and encourage West Linn city staff to reconsider. He also gave me some guidance on how the meeting will look so we can be respectful and honor West Linn City Councils time and agenda. 

The meeting is tomorrow, Monday July 15, 2024 at 6:00pm at West Linn City Hall - 22500 Salamo Rd, West Linn, OR 97068.

Please wear Down to Earth shirts/hats and or wear white and forest green - our school colors. 

The overarching goal of this meeting is:

• To encourage West Linn City Council to recommend that city staff reconsider asking DTEFS to leave MSY.

• To encourage city staff to work with the DTEFS steering committee to find a pathway forward to partnership and us continuing to use MSY.

• The more folks that turn out for this meeting the better. Emails, websites and social media are a great way to connect with our city officials but nothing is more impactful than in a face-to-face meeting where we look them in the eyes and ask them to help us save our school. 

Bringing your babies and small children is okay! We want to show up with our community in its true form.  

Most often, those who give public comments at City Council Meetings leave once the public comment period is over. It is up to you whether or not you’d like to stay for the full duration of the meeting. It can be watched in real time as well.
* A reminder to keep your speaking time to three minutes. Folks who are nervous tend to ramble so taking copious notes on your topic and sticking to the main points is helpful.

In gratitude,

Heidi and Audra

Greetings, 

We can’t thank you enough for the outpouring of love and support for the work we do. It has been a hard couple of days but all of your texts and emails have kept us highly motivated. 

Overall, we believe last night’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting, which you can watch here, was successful. Many of the concerns the board shared should be easily satisfied thanks to the help and insights of the private City Planner we hired to help us navigate the nuances that these sort of issues require in regards to zoning, codes and permits. 

Many of you wrote such heartfelt letters, thank you. If you have not written a letter yet, there is still time (please see below for contacts). For those of you who wrote a letter and received a response from the City Manager similar to the below quote, please know that we have yet to have an opportunity to speak with him. We’ve been trying to meet with him for over a month.

“Unfortunately, our city codes (written by the community and approved by Planning Commission and City Council) don’t seem to make any allowance for us to permit organizations using parks to house a business or nonprofit. We think West Linn’s codes would need to change, which is a complicated and lengthy process….and there’s also the issue of gaining approval from Oregon State Parks.

So, it’s challenging! I really do understand the passion and enthusiasm for this use, so there may be a solution that Council and community would support but it may take some time to figure out what that is. For now, we don’t see an “easy solution.” I have been wondering if there are other cities that have this figured out that could be an option for your community right now. Does your group know of any cities nearby that permit businesses to be housed in public parks?” 

Our response to his thoughts: 

Which code is he talking about exactly? He should be able to cite a specific code or policy that says this kind of activity or uses are prohibited. We have looked into all the codes, none of which say a school can not operate in a R-10 zone. 

What about Willamette United Football Club, AWOL Aerial Arts, Coil Camps etc.? He says they can’t allow “parks to house a business or nonprofit.” However, several programs currently operate out of the park very similar to the programming we offer.  We have been there three years and have not changed the use of nor have we made significant impacts on the land. We are not out of alignment with the deed or significantly different from any other program that uses the park to recreate, play and educate children in various capacities. 

Other ways we have been continuing our efforts:

• We have been in communication with State Representative Jules Walters 

• We have been in communication with State Representative Courtney Neron 

• We have been in communication with West Linn Mayor Rory Bialostosky

• We have been in communication with several City Commissioners 

• We have contacted OPB, the Oregonian and The West Linn Tidings

Way you can help save our school and precious community:

• Have faith in us and hold off in un-enrolling your child.

• Continue to talk positively about our school is social settings rather than the doom and gloom of our situation. 

• Write a letter (template) to the West Linn representatives who have influence over this decision. Including information about the positive benefits of forest school for mental health, the current lack of affordable childcare and/or the importance of place based education. 

• Parks Director, Megan Big John - mbigjohn@westlinnoregon.gov 

• Parks Advisory Committee - twiencken@westlinnoregon.gov 

• West Linn Mayor, Rory Biolostosky - rbialostosky@westlinnoregon.gov

• West Linn City Manager, John Williams - jwilliams@westlinnoregon.gov

• West Linn City Council - citycouncil@westlinnoregon.gov 

• Have your parents, friends and anyone who believes in our program write a letter, please send them to downtoearthheidi@gmail.com so we have a record of all of the support. 

• Join a small group of us at the West Linn Old Time Fair where we will be asking people to sign our petition and sharing information about the school. Text Heidi for details 503-544-4455. 

More than anything, if you are available to come to the West Linn City Council Meeting on Monday July 15th at 6 p.m. - this is the time to activate our community! 

Email citycouncil@westlinnoregon.gov to request your three minutes of public comment. If your child feels comfortable speaking it could be highly impactful. 

Here is our updated “one pager” which you can freely share with others about our program or use to learn more about our efforts.  

We are still looking for a plan B location and hope to have a concrete back up location secured by the end of July. 

Together with the Down to Earth Steering Committee and Board of Directors we are doing everything in our power to activate and resource ourselves in support of staying at Mary S. Young. If you have solutions based feedback or resources please email Heidi McKay directly at downtoearthheidi@gmail.com. We will send an update when we have new information.

Love and gratitude,

Heidi and Audra

Greetings, 

Down to Earth Forest School is reaching out to the wider community to share some news and to ask for help. For the last three years we have been using the land of Mary S. Young Park in West Linn, OR. In November of 2023 the City of West Linn hired a new Parks Director and after an in person meeting in late April 2024 and a few emails back and forth since, she let us know on July 10, 2024 that she doesn’t see a path forward for our school at that location. 

In the face of this news, we are in the midst of unearthing solutions and alternative locations for our school. Additionally, we are working to negotiate with the City in an effort to encourage them to reconsider. We are seeking your help to elevate our cause and highlight the importance of Down to Earth Forest School staying at Mary S Young Park. Please review this informational hot sheet to gain valuable background information and insights into our positioning. 

We have compiled a list of action items that we would be extremely grateful for help with:

• Write a letter in support of our program and send it to the following decision makers (template), please also CC us on the emails you send: 

  • Parks Director, Megan Big John - mbigjohn@westlinnoregon.gov 

  • Parks Advisory Committee - twiencken@westlinnoregon.gov 

  • West Linn Mayor, Rory Biolostosky - rbialostosky@westlinnoregon.gov

  • West Linn City Manager, John Williams - jwilliams@westlinnoregon.gov

  • West Linn City Council - citycouncil@westlinnoregon.gov 

• Submit public comments before 12pm tomorrow for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Meeting tomorrow July 11th at 5:30pm. This meeting page has an agenda link that outlines how to submit comments. 

Together with the Down to Earth Steering Committee and Board or Directors we are doing everything in our power to activate and resource ourselves in support of staying at Mary S. Young. If you have solutions based feedback or resources please email Heidi McKay directly at downtoearthheidi@gmail.com. We will send an update when we have new information.

The Down to Earth community is not unfamiliar with adversity. We are resilient. Mother Earth wants us to continue this work and so we must keep faith and hope alive in this season of change. 

Love and gratitude,

Heidi and Audra

“Children, as it turns out, need a childhood.”

― Ainsley Arment, The Call of the Wild and Free

Thank you to Bryna and Micheal for their support with the Fire Clan map making

Thank you to Ms. Habiba for teaching us the dances of her culture.

Water Clan:

Somehow our class shrunk down to just 10-12 kids a day, it’s made for an interesting circle with less voices for singing and a few less bodies to “stir the pot” in our free play. However, with less kids to keep track of I have enjoyed more one on one time with some of the kids and absolutely love the stories they tell me. I will miss this small sweet bunch next year immensely.

Earth Clan:

Hi Earth Clan families! It is June, 2 weeks left of school and you are about to be 1st graders! We just finished our amazing dance performance with Ms. Habiba and you did a wonderful job! As we close out the year we have some fun natural dye and block print projects to do as well as one more make up day, Predator/Prey with Forest Families and an end of the year celebration. Please continue to reach out with questions you might have and let’s get ready to rock the end of the year!

Air Clan:

The Air kids have really been rocking forest school lately! They are learning how to de-escalate conflicts by slowing down, taking a pause, and asking questions (instead of making accusations). They are demonstrating increased resiliency by quickly moving through disappointments and problem solving more easily and quickly. This group has always been a tight unit, and their cohesion has never been stronger; they work well as a team, stand up for each other, and encourage one another. Also exciting for us teachers is to witness each child’s increased ability to focus on a task compared to the start of the year. These kiddos are excited to learn!

Fire Clan:

It’s cliche, but - where has the time gone!? We’re gearing up for the end of the year with lots of exciting events and activities to look forward to. Most kids in the Fire Clan and a few from the Air Clan have been working on a biography of a famous person as part of their literacy studies. I’m calling it a Wax Museum because they’re going to dress up as that person and write a speech about that person’s life. I hope everyone can come to see all their hard work and to interact with all the ‘famous people’ at the shelter. We’re also wrapping up a month long partnership making maps of Mary S Young with Bryna and Mike from Art｜Nature｜Place. We will be using one of the maps to mark locations for kids to hide during our annual Predator/Prey Forest Family. Additionally, we’ve collaborated on a family friendly map which will be available at the park for the general public. As a reminder we are still looking for a few volunteers for Predator/Prey, please let Audra or Heidi know if you’re available. It has been such a pleasure being with this group throughout the year, I will miss their unique combination of personalities and energy.

Predator and Prey

Next week the whole school will join in a giant game of hide and seek, searching for the Fire Clan kids with maps and clues to keep us on the right track! We are in need of a lot more volunteers to pull this off so if you’re available we would very much appreciate a few more grown-ups.

School Update

Enrollment this year went off without a hitch, ninety percent of families are returning. We had to turn away families who applied to our program as we did not have space, which speaks volumes. First because we don’t advertise so it must be our current families who are saying good things about us - THANK YOU! Secondly, as a community I suspect we are growing stronger and not only is this a place where kids go to school but also a place where the parents and teachers come for community. I feel lucky to be surrounded by such a beautiful collective of humans who support and inspire me daily.

We will be meeting as a whole staff for an entire day once school is out to open a space for sharing what worked this year, what didn’t and how we can continue to do better. If ever you have feedback for us we welcome your lens, sharing constructive ways we can improve is greatly appreciated.

The fiscal budget for 24/45 is soon to be adopted by our board, enrollment is set and we have just one teaching position we will hire for over the summer. We have just completed one full fiscal year as a nonprofit.

End of the Year Contra Dance and Potluck

It’s that time again and the whole family is invited! Dig out your dancing shoes, bring a dish to share and let’s come together as a community to celebrate another precious year together!

With the promise of good food, dancing, and laughter we will end our year with hugs farewell and plans of a summer filled with school friend playdates.

Happy May Day Forest School

Water Clan loved all the sunshine, returning to the rain has its hardships- for teachers too! May Day was a big hit with the sunshine, tea party and dancing the May Pole. I am happy to report that all the volunteers said our class was the most well behaved at the Tea Party! So many fun things in the near future to round out this school year, so looking forward to some more sun!!

Earth Clan: It’s May, we are quickly winding down the school year and have so many fun things to look forward to as the kids finish Kindergarten. Our Mondays in May include a specialized dance teacher who will be teaching us some new moves, and on Wednesdays we will continue to have show and tell. We will continue learning about animals and plants and how they survive. Our trips to the beach will likely become more frequent as the weather gets nice so please continue sending those extra clothes to change into. As always, reach out with any questions you have!

Congrats to the Air Clan kids for the successful completion of their Water Projects in April! Each child worked hard to envision the scope of their project and then see it through from start to finish. “You’re stretching your brains!” I’ve been telling them all year. It’s been remarkable to watch each child learn to focus and work for increasingly longer periods of time. We’re back at the Academic Blocks for the remainder of the school year with Literacy and Math Tuesdays/Wednesdays and various Writing practice every Thursday. I can’t wait to see what interesting work they produce!

The Fire Clan has been busy the past few weeks! They’ve practiced and performed a culminating Reader’s Theater (a play of sorts) about the Water Cycle and presented it once at all school circle for the whole school to watch. They will be performing it again during our next all school circle. We started a creative writing unit a few weeks ago and it’s been so fun to share in the stories they’re writing. We’ve also started up academic blocks again, which will continue through the last week of school. May will be busy for the Fire Clan as we’ll be learning African Dance on Mondays and hosting mapping specialists on three of the Thursdays. Students will be using these maps to plan for Predator/Prey (a giant game of hide and seek), our last all-school Forest Family activity. So many things to look forward to, including warmer, sunnier days at the park. Please continue to pack layers for the cool mornings, a change of clothes and hats/sunscreen as needed!

May Day was a hit!

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this wonderful event run smoothly!

Predator-Prey Forest Family

Thursday will be our last Forest Family activity of the year, and it’s a big one! The Fire Clan is working on making park trail maps that they will use to mark their secret hiding spot on. Each forest family gets a packet of maps and works together (with parent volunteer help) to find all of the Fire Clan kids wherever they are scattered through Mary S. Young! It’s a fun time, and we need at least 9 volunteers to help. Please let Audra or Heidi know ASAP if you are available.

A sweet, brief visit from the Spring Queen who dusted the children with her spring glittery magic.

---

Water Clan

Those kids sure does know how to flow with life! Our little clan has had quite a few substitutes lately and they have handled it in stride! Ms. Sasha is headed to Mexico to help host a retreat so I think we will be seeing more of Mr. Jon! Oli, our newest student has withdrawn. His momma decided the commute was just too much for a single mom. We wish them well! The kids LOVED our Equinox celebration and I implore you to get out there at MSY with your kids and have you tell them all the spring plants popping up, they sure do know a LOT!

Earth Clan

Hi Earth families! I hope you had a wonderful spring break! We had a fabulous first day back, and it seems like we have some nice weather to look forward to! In March we concluded our water unit before spring break with a quick demonstration of an interactive water cycle for all school circle and we laid out our display for what we know about water for the classes to see. The kids all did a great job, thank you for helping them to design their picture. As we continue in April we will be focusing on the plants around us (we have already begun to count the trilliums we see as well as put up signs to protect them and the nettles:)) and later we will be learning about the animals that we might see around us as well as predators and prey. Holly kicked our plant studies off today by teaching us about soil and compost and  having us plant seeds and talking about how to take care of them at home. Holly will continue to work with us on Mondays for artisan skills and we will continue with show and tell on Wednesdays! I have been posting pictures to discord but if you don’t have access or are having any trouble please let me know if you would like to see more pictures- text me and I will send as many as you would like:) Happy April and yay for spring!

Air Clan

The Air clan kids have been working so hard on their Water Projects, and we’re excited to present them soon, water experiments included! The experimenting has continued a lot the past few weeks at the river, building dams and rivers and working so beautifully as a team. Soon we will resume our previous “academic blocks” with math, reading, and writing, and we’ll also dive into our final unit of the school year, identifying native plants and animals.

Fire Clan

This group has been working so hard to finish up their water projects and were so excited to share them with you. The weather has been so wonderful and everyone is looking forward to spending lots of time at the river in the sun. Please continue to pack small towels and extra clothes for your student! Additionally, we have a renewed focus on core academics to look forward to through the end of the year.

May Day will soon be here!

We will release the official date as we get closer and know the weather. The cool thing about forest school is that the kids get to be outside in any kind of weather, the hard part is hosting an event at school. We all waded through the Lantern walk in the fall but May Day is one event that requires the sun. Thus, we will make the call on the weather the Sunday before the first week in May.

We will be looking for LOTS of volunteers to make flower crowns and help with the tea party. Be on the hunt for a white t-shirt or sweater for your child to wear to the event.

Thank you to Ms. Kate’s neighbor who came with a super fun watershed/water cycle game and taught us so much!

Thank you to Ms. G’s friend for bringing the baby goat to our Spring Equinox Celebration and Jesse for bringing the bunny!

Sip and Learn

Project Based Learning

Come and interact with and learn from students as they share their hard work! We are looking for volunteers to help host our tea station.

"Happiness? The color of it must be spring green."

-Francis Mayes

Water Clan has shown some significant growth, I am seeing kiddos deep in play, kids taking appropriate risks and our circle times are a lot longer now with kids sitting and engaging in songs and discussions much longer than January.

Hi Earth families! I hope you had a great mid-winter break back a few weeks. The kids have done a few things with our rock unit, including hardness testing, rock hunting, and love rocks on friendship day. We still have the rock cycle and rock families to complete but lately our water unit has been more of the focus. In addition to the water cycle and animal water architects, we have been discussing how water can be dangerous but also how to keep ourselves safe in water and how erosion and currents work. I am excited to see the kids’ drawings or representations of water to add to our poster to show the school at all school circle for the Thursday before spring break! We are continuing to build our carving skills and some of us have begun to work on crochet and knitting skills as well during our guild times on Thursday mornings. Holly has been continuing to come to do artisan skills with us on Mondays and we are beginning to see the signs of spring so it was really fun to learn how to harvest cottonwood buds and begin the oil infusing process to make cottonwood salve these last couple weeks! We will continue to do show and tell Wednesdays, it’s been really fun to have the kids share like that at our circle time. It’s getting close to spring, I look forward to warmer days and back to the beach whenever we can! 

There is beautiful growth happening amongst the Air Clan kids! Like blossoms ready for springtime, these children are bursting with excitement for what’s next. We’ve started working on our Water Projects- each child is learning how to find information in books, synthesize their learning into their own hand-written sentences, and soon we will be adding artwork to these growing projects with the expert guidance of Ms Marta. As always, every child is working towards a better understanding of their own feelings and needs and learning to navigate conflict amongst peers. What I love to see this time of year is the seamless flow of the routine- every morning when we ring the bell for Circle, our class decides collaboratively on the exact Circle Time locale, and they gather into a circle without adult assistance. They are beginning to self-govern!

Fire Clan is growing so much socially and academically during this late winter season. We are currently focused on our water projects and this class is loving taking multiple trips to the library to research their interests. They are now gathering their knowledge to put together into a finished project to share with and teach back to our community after Spring Break! Stay tuned for a presentation date!

All School Guided Field Trip Bonneville Dam

Save the date for an all school finale field trip to close out our winter water focused projects. This field trip is optional and falls on a Friday. Teachers will not be attending, this is for parents who would like to extend their child’s learning and be in community with one another! A park ranger will be meeting and guiding the group on a 90 minute tour discussing the inner workings of the dam, including: electricity, hydropower, energy, geology and migratory fish. There is also a self guided tour that takes about an hour nearby at the hatchery. The cap for our group of kids is 35 (not including adults), so please sign up so that we can let the park ranger know how many to expect.

Equinox Celebration

Volunteers needed, please reach out to Heidi if you can help with the following:

• Make Nettle Pesto the day ahead of time for us to taste.

• Harvest Nettle and dehydrate at home the week before.

• Bring in a baby animal.

• Make Nettle Tea day of and help serve students.

No friendship is an accident

-O.Henry

Clan Updates -

Water Clan:

It doesn’t feel like I have seen much of those Water Clan kiddos with this weird weather and Winter break. The kids had a hard time transitioning back to school after winter break and asked when it was “gear check” a lot. After February break my hope is that we get into a flow and see some more growth.

Earth Clan:

Our Kinder kids are jumping into this year by being great leaders and helping Ms. G learn the forest play spots. We have been learning a sign language ABC song, counting forest critters, doing fruit tasting, graphing, learning the days of the week song in Spanish and English, (as well as many other songs, the kids are teaching me some great new ones) and so much more! We will be continuing letter name and sound work (building them and using forest tools to practice earth writing). This class LOVES books and I am so happy to read with them! They are finding and making rhymes in songs and books and just from forest finds. I am so excited to get into a nocturnal and diurnal animal unit with them next month!

Air Clan:

Your children in the Air Clan are doing so great! The hard work right now is the social/emotional learning, specifically self-control and using words to explain our feelings and needs. We read a native story every day, and we're getting into the groove of daily focused academic work. I am enjoying watching your kiddos learn to work as a team by asking each other for help, encouraging one another, and last Thursday they even got to a consensus decision on the day's adventure destination without help from an adult! We're off to an awesome start of the school year! 

Fire Clan:

Fire Clan kids are starting out the new year strong despite a very slow start with the ice storm! They are showing up excited to be at school each day and are weathering the cold and rainy elements without complaint or issue. They continue to set a wonderful example for the rest of our school. They did an excellent job leading their Forest Families last week, enjoyed making elderberry syrup the week before and are working hard during their academic blocks. They are going to start bringing home some extra math and reading work to complete at home (optional but encouraged). Having an extra gallon sized ziplock bag or similar lightweight waterproof envelope will help transport these papers without getting ruined by water/mud. We’re making headway in our water unit and our class will be starting to practice a Reader’s Theater to share with the rest of the school in the next few weeks.

Reading Challenge -

We’ve had so many comments from parents (and students) about how motivated their child is to read in the past few weeks and they are super excited to see how many minutes we can read as a school by February 7th. We are going to try to keep a weekly tally of minutes to share with kids during all school circle on Thursdays. Going forward, if you could text, email or send your child in with their total minutes read for the week (or since they last reported) by Wednesday nights that would be very helpful. It will make for some great math opportunities!

We will celebrate our 15,000 minute goal (which I think we will smash) on February 8th with a popcorn party and hot tea.

Friendship Day -

February 8th we will be celebrating Friendship Day at school. In the morning at drop off you can support (if needed) your child distributing their “love notes” to each friends bag. Then, near the end of the day, there will be popcorn and hot tea and book reading to honor Friendship Day. Our hope is that the students don’t go through their notes to one another until after school so things don’t get lost, dirty or scattered. Also, handmade cards are best, store bought are absolutely fine and please no sugar.

Ancestral Skills -

Here is what’s coming up:

January 29th - Ivy Baskets and/or Ivy Braids -extra hands needed!

February 5th - Sewn Heart Shape Lavender Sachets- extra hands needed!

February 19th - Cottonwood bud collection and friction fire

February 26th - Making Cottonwood Salve (Balm of Gilead)

Returning to the Cold

January is going to be wet, cold and full of discomfort. These dark cold months are the bedrock of what we stand for at forest school and its value is greater than we can quantify or see in our students on the daily. The resilience and grit that they collect in these harder months will burrow deep in their psyche and when discomfort greets them later in life they will use this unconscious resilience to help move themselves along. When the weather is bleak and they protest about going to school remember its value and benefit. Cold weather is good for your brain, reduces the risk of cold and flu, strengthens your heart, reduces stress, helps you sleep better, rejuvenates the skin, burns calories, increases brown fat and absorbs excess glucose—just to name a few benefits.

Next Year

We are humbled and grateful for the response to our elementary program. We have only been in business as a K-5 for two and a half years and the reception has been astounding. Many of our families who enter our program reenroll their children each year making few spots available for new families.

This school year we won’t be able to open enrollment the way we have in previous years due to limited open spots for new students. We will be distributing pre-enrollment applications to families after they have completed a tour. Pre-enrollment applications will close on March 8th. You will be notified of your acceptance or waitlist position on March 22nd and will have a week to confirm that you would like to accept the spot before it is offered to the next family on the waitlist.  

Committing to Forest School is a big decision, it takes a lot of work to get your kiddo to school each day. Coming to do an observation of our school is a great way for you and your family to see our program in real time and get a feel for who we are and what we do. Tours will be offered in January and February 2024. Please email info@downtoearthforestschool.com for more details about our tour dates.

Rates for 24/25:

The elementary tuition is $8,500 per child annually and the preschool program is $6,500 per child annually. We offer a variety of payment options, including a monthly plan. There is a materials fee of $200 (K-5) or $150 (Pre-K) each year. We do not charge an application fee but upon enrollment a non-refundable deposit of $200 is due, and will apply to the first tuition payment.

This is what each class will look like in the coming year:

• Water Clan: Preschool, 3-5 year olds

• Earth Clan: Kindergarten and First grade

• Air Clan: Second and Third grade

• Fire Clan: Fourth and Fifth grade

A Quiet Place

Constant Stimulation of your child’s senses

creates insensitivity.

They see so much they become blind.

They hear so much they become deaf.

They taste so much they become nauseated.

They desire so much they become forever unsatisfied.

They do not come to know that which truly satisfies.

It will be hard to create a quiet place where your children can find their souls.

You must first quiet your own world and then approach theirs.

They are accustomed to the barrage of noise

and will complain loudly in its absence. But you can find a quiet way.

What will you do today?

 A walk?

A book?

A simple game?

The Parenting Tao Te Ching by William Martin

Water Clan - A preschooler got stuck on Wild Cat Rock last week. My philosophy is “if they can get themselves up, then they can get themselves down.” I don’t say that out loud but that’s what I am thinking. She wanted me to get her down and she wasn’t budging. Instead of telling her things like “I’m not going to help, you can do it,” or “I told you not to climb up there, now you can’t get down” which could further aggravate the situation, I told her “Here is what I am going to do—get your warm gloves ready, stand right by you and I won’t leave. First you climb down and then we can put on warm gloves.” First—Then statements let the child know what you are willing to do and what the expectation is from them without a power struggle. It also helps them know what’s happening next, once they do the thing they don’t want to do. It’s important to use a positive tone and language so they don’t go further into the resistant. In a loving and positive tone say something like “It’s ok that this is hard, and when you climb down we can put your gloves on—I bet they will feel so warm!” First—Then, one of the best tricks of Positive Discipline! My favorite book is Positive Discipline for Preschoolers in case that wasn’t already obvious!

Earth Clan - This month in Earth class we continue to do our sign language letter work, even coming up with their own symbols and beginning letter sounds during circle time. The students are helping to lead parts of our circle time and are continuing to practice rhyming, beginning sounds, and letters. We continue to practice math and reading songs as well. We have been searching and finding agates at the beach as well and loving it! We are going to capitalize on the rock frenzy and begin our rock unit in the next couple months! We are also talking about reading emotions on the faces of our friends and trying to hold space for them to share how they are feeling. Keep sharing the love in your hearts with your friends Earth class!

Air Clan -Air Clan kids are learning so much! Recently, we started playing the Same/Different game at Circle Time, which allows each child to notice, not only the differences between us (which tend to be front and center in our brains), but also the ways in which we share commonalities. Those common traits and values are what lead to connection and friendship. Academically, every student is engaged and working hard. They are learning to be responsible for all their gear and remembering how to take care of their own bodies in this cold season.

Fire Clan - It’s been a busy month for the Fire Clan, and we’re on track for December to be just as wild! These kids have been hard at work carving their Forest Family animal into a rubber block to make prints for Forest Family flags, greeting cards and other artwork. They’ve been sewing up a storm on Mondays with Ms. Holly’s ancestral lessons, making small gathering pouches or amulets to wear around their necks. Fire Clan kids are working hard and engaged during our literacy, math and writing academic blocks. They are taking leadership roles in our community by helping to lead all-school circle on Thursdays and organizing/mediating/teaching large games (without adult help) that include kids from preK—5th grade during unstructured time! They are also doing the hard and sometimes uncomfortable work of navigating changing and/or new friendships, speaking up for their needs with peers and adults, and sharing insights with each other respectfully. This class is working together wonderfully!

One of the best ways for kids to stay comfortable in the forest on cold and/or rainy days is to have the appropriate gear and food. We talk about it a lot with kids and parents, but want to make sure everyone is clear that the time is now! Sending kids with the following items to school every day will make their days more enjoyable and comfortable:

• Mittens, hat, warm base layer, warm mid layer, warm heavy layer and rain layer.

• Warm boots with wool socks. (Please pack extra socks for kids everyday in their backpacks) Also, please send a smallish hand towel for each kid to help clean off muddy wet hands.

• Hand warmers (many options - disposable, rechargeable, Hot Snapz)

• Warm food/tea - Warm food and tea helps kids to keep warm from the inside out!

When autumn grieves

she bows her head

so rainbow-tears

fall gently

on her leaf-bed

-Angie Weiland-Crosby

Halloween

We will be celebrating Halloween at school this year in our own way. Children are welcome to get dressed up but please remember their costumes are likely to get very muddy and potentially ruined. Alternatively kids can come with crazy hair or a hat! We will have a morning dance party.

Day of the Dead

With cultural guidance from folks in our community we are excited about acknowledging the Day of the Dead on November 2nd. If there is time and if your family is in alignment with this offering, on November 1st create an alter with marigolds, candles and photos of loved ones that have died. You can set out a favorite item of food or drink for the departed as well. On November 2nd children can bring in their alter (just a few pieces is fine) and we will have a table set up that will stay at school all day.

Clan updates

Water Clan — The weather last week and no Ms. Heidi was an interesting combo. It’s an important part of our program, having to stay fluid and flexible to change and be resilient and find joy in the downpour. GRIT is what the word of the day- “Initial findings and studies in Europe suggest that children who go to nature preschools and forest kindergartens are just as well prepared for kindergarten and first grade as their compatriots in more traditional early childhood programs. But these nature programming students are also developing persistence, stick-to-it-ive-ness, and collaboration, and they’re more physically active. In short, they’re just as smart but perhaps have more grit-more self-reliance, persistence, ability to stay on task. And grit, we’re learning, may be a better predictor of school success then academic test scores.” (Duckworth and Eskreis-Winkler 2013)

Earth Clan — This month in Earth class we continue to do our sign language letter work, math and reading songs. We are practicing retelling stories and continuing to carve and work on some art projects and crafts. We are using our nature journals as we practice drawing things we see in the forest that begin with the letter of the week. Earth Class begins nocturnal animal studies next month and will be learning about nocturnal animal habitats and adaptations.

Air Clan — This month we are settling into our block scheduling which is an adjustment, kids seem to be settling into the routine. We are the biggest class in the school and some very big personalities here too. A lot of conversations around self control, pausing before reacting and developing an awareness of others. We have also been making our lanterns, enjoying Holly’s weekly ancestral skills offerings and trying to stay dry!

Fire Clan — October has flown by with chilly mornings, sunny afternoons and the occasional all day torrential downpour. We welcomed two new students into our clan, brothers Finn and Kai - they’ve been a wonderful addition! We’ve been busy making large watercolor paper lanterns, carving (spoons, spears, and block prints for Forest Families), and working hard during block scheduling on literacy and math!

Warm Gear and Food

One of the best ways for kids to stay comfortable in the forest on cold and/or rainy days is to have the appropriate gear and food. We talk about it a lot with kids and parents, but want to make sure everyone is clear that the time is now! Sending kids with the following items to school every day will make their days more enjoyable and comfortable:

• Mittens, hat, warm base layer, warm mid layer, warm heavy layer and rain layer.

• Warm boots with wool socks. (Please pack extra socks for kids everyday in their backpacks) Also, please send a smallish hand towel for each kid to help clean off muddy wet hands.

• Hand warmers (many options - disposable, rechargeable, Hot Snapz)

• Warm food/tea - Warm food and tea helps kids to keep warm from the inside out!

Last year’s Lantern walk, our fall tradition

Can you believe it’s already October? This first month of school has absolutely flown by and it’s been so wonderful to be back with children in the forest!

Clan (class) Updates

Water Clan:

I wonder how many parents out there are still dressing their kids each day? Preschoolers are capable of dressing themselves and when they do it boosts their confidence and makes them feel capable and when they feel proud they are more receptive to further learning and growth. Do any of you have very early risers? How about putting some dishes down low for them to get themselves, a small pitcher or container in the fridge so they make themselves breakfast in the morning. This is another opportunity to build independence. Tonight try having them set out their clothes for the next day and then task them with getting dressed first thing. These kids are showing they can be so autonomous at school, they are very capable!

Earth Clan (formerly Fire):

Our Kinder kids are jumping into this year by being great leaders and helping Ms. G learn the forest play spots. We have been learning a sign language ABC song, counting forest critters, doing fruit tasting, graphing, learning the days of the week song in Spanish and English, (as well as many other songs, the kids are teaching me some great new ones) and so much more! We will be continuing letter name and sound work (building them and using forest tools to practice earth writing). This class LOVES books and I am so happy to read with them! They are finding and making rhymes in songs and books and just from forest finds. I am so excited to get into a nocturnal and diurnal animal unit with them next month! It has been a fantastic start at DTE for Earth class, I am excited to be a part of this community.

Air Clan (formerly Earth):

Your children in the Air Clan are doing so great! The hard work right now is the social/emotional learning, specifically self-control and using words to explain our feelings and needs. We read a native story every day, and we're getting into the groove of daily focused academic work. I am enjoying watching your kiddos learn to work as a team by asking each other for help, encouraging one another, and last Thursday they even got to a consensus decision on the day's adventure destination without help from an adult! We're off to an awesome start of the school year! 

Fire Clan (formerly Air):

This group of 14 is settling into school like the pros they are! These kids have been in the forest for at least one, if not two years or more - and it shows. They are quickly acclimating to the cooler weather and rain, solving disputes and problems by themselves and tuning into their bodies and needs to stay comfortable and happy. We may be squeezed onto the bus, but everyone is excited to be there and we are making it work! We are getting into the swing of things academically by beginning our ‘block scheduling’ this last week with one, one hour block per day. Next week we’re trying for two blocks, one full hour and another 45 minutes after a short break. These are times you student is practicing and learning skills around literacy, math and ancestral skills. You can expect more information coming once we really get rolling in a few weeks. Feel free to ask myself or Erin for more info if you’re dying of curiosity before then!

Ancestral Skills

Here is what’s coming up for students in the coming months. Kids love these days of hand crafting!

October - Corn husk dolls and/or necklaces, Indigenous Peoples Day, Lantern Making Part 1, Lantern Making Part 2.

November - Sewing projects, winter gifts for families.

December - Winter gifts for families, Solstice craft.

And, we’re back!

Welcome to our 3rd year with the school age program. Things are really coming along as we begin the process of finding out who we are as a school and shaping our program to meet the needs of all enrolled.

Clan Updates

Preschool is back at it with hours of unstructured time and a FANTASTIC rotation of teacher/momma/helpers. This weather has made for some pretty dreamy days at school for the little ones and an easy transition. We have ten boys and only two girls. If you know someone with a preschool GIRL encourage them to come do a tour of the school, Ms. Ada Louise says “thank you in advance” for any leads!

Welcome Erin Gingerich to the forest school scene. Ms. G is our Earth Clan (kinder) teacher and comes with over 17 years of experience in education. Her bio is coming soon to our website. I am told the best part of kindergarten so far is the stuffed animals Erin bought and hand sewed pencil pouches to their bellies!

The first through fifth grade is grounding in to the new clan dynamic and developing relationship with their teachers and assistants. Erin and Audra are gently assessing kids this week and next so that they are put in the right grouping once the block schedule begins in a few weeks. If you’re not sure what the block schedule is or want more information reach out to me, Audra or ErinPaige and we can fill you in.

Fall Equinox is here

During school next week all the clans will be celebrating the fall equinox. Air clan will share with us what Equinox means with a short skit complete with Earth and Sun globes, Fire clan will be hosting our annual cider press and Water and Earth clans will revel in not yet having a leadership role. We encourage families to send to school any extra items that are coming out of the garden as we offer a sample table for children to try new things and visually see the bounty of the season.

Traditionally, the Autumn Equinox marks the end of the harvest season, where we take stock of what we have grown and gathered and give thanks for what we have received.

“The main thing is that the groups should contain different ages, because it has great influence on the cultural development of the child. This is obtained by the relations of the children among themselves. You cannot imagine how well a young child learns from an older child; how patient the older child is with the difficulties of the younger.” —Maria Montessori

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Class Updates

Water Class—I always enjoy late Spring when they shed their gear and a pack of independent self sufficient little wildlings appear before my very eyes. These precious beings made it through the dark cold winter and gained a true sense of resilience. We have earned the sun and with gratitude we relish these days.

Earth Class—The Earth kids have been writing and illustrating some pretty phenomenal works of fiction over the past couple weeks. Students created their own tiny books and got right to work. Imagination and cooperation are turned up to eleven in the Earth Class, and everyone is reading! Eight of our thirteen Earth students will be graduating from the Earth Class and starting as Air Class kids with Ms. Audra this fall!

Air Class —The end of the school year is always an exciting and bittersweet time. I’ve been soaking up these last few weeks with the Air Class as our small crew of nine. They will forever be my first Forest School Class! Predator Prey went off without a hitch thanks to the Air Class and all their hard work put into their maps. We also couldn’t have done it without all the parent volunteers and teachers - THANK YOU! Everyone had a blast! We’ve also been practicing Contra dancing for the end of the year shindig and working hard on finishing our last project: How Things Work!

Fire Class—Can you believe it's June Fire Families? The Fire Class is delving deep into the world of Plants for the last few weeks of school, and will be discovering all parts, processes and mysteries of plant life. Lots of great experiments that I am looking forward to! Fire Class has also been putting forth such great effort at learning to read and write and are making huge gains in this area.

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Predator & Prey

Predator Prey was a complete success! We could not have pulled that off without parent volunteers. Air class hid almost too well.

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And Now It's Spring

The grass is green across the hill,
But yellow blooms the daffodil.
It's sunshine on a little stalk,
A friendly flower, I bet they talk...
Of little kids, too long inside
They burst outdoors to play and hide.
Tracking mud and bringing bugs.
Look, there's footprints on the rug!
Tiny whirlwinds, these little tykes,
They skin their knees while riding bikes.
They rip and roar, they're running wild!
What fun it is to be a child.
It grows warmer every day.
Shoo the children out to play!
Pick the flowers, play in mud.
Too much rain, here comes a flood!
My snowy, winter days are gone.
I mourn them, but I hear a song
Of birds in trees; wind chimes ring.
I guess it might as well be spring!
By Lhtheaker

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Class Updates

The look on the kids faces when they walked into Root Wood to find it transformed into a magical tea party was priceless! How filled their young minds are with imagination and how accepting they were of the magic of the experience. Taking time to draw out their creative nature in these early years by reading them fictional books, scattering open ended play things or art offerings and telling wildly impossible stories are how we grow those parts in their brain that help them think creatively. Cheers to magical tea parties!

The Air Class has been having a wonderful time the last few weeks. The weather has been both the sunniest and the rainiest we’ve had all year! May Day was a huge hit with kids wow’ed by the parent effort with flower crowns and a magical tea party. The memories they made with these experiences are priceless. They also helped out almost all day by leading the other classes in learning how to weave and dance around a May Pole. They finished up their projects last month with an exhibit of their learning - all about how things are made - and have moved on to studying humans. ALL things human! Students will be writing essays and giving a verbal presentation to the rest of the class as a final project. In math, we’ve been working on fractions, multiplication and multi-digit addition and subtraction!

Fire Class is enjoying spring for sure. We are well into our Water Unit and exploring all the magical components that are water. Students are crushing it at the social/emotional piece of friendship and problem solving with peers at this point in the year. I hope you are proud of your Fire student because they have mad skills at checking in with themselves, what they need and working to express it. We have our Elephant and Piggie play coming up at the end of May!

The Earth Kids have spent the last month studying the human body! Each student made a life-sized illustration of their insides, following their own interests to discover more about how their bodies work - a child-led project! These kids are also finishing up a many-month project carving with Ms. Victoria, as we prepare for our goodbyes to her. Ms. Victoria has been an Earth Class staple since the beginning, and we will miss her dearly! Also this past month, we explored rocks with the Fire Class, practiced skip counting, introduced multiplication, and everyone in the Earth Class is reading like mad. These kids are blossoming like springtime in our forest!

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We will miss you Ms. Victoria

Our school has been so lucky to have this treasured human for over a year. She came on board mid year last year to take on a wild pack of 3rd and 4th graders-mostly boys. As a brand new program Victoria joined us with an open heart, an open mind and so much flexibility. We are so grateful to have had Victoria during DTE’s growth and change, her true nature was exactly what we needed. You can always find Victoria laughing at a child’s silly jokes, listening intently to someone sharing or gracefully holding space for a child to learn a new skill. I know that all the children she has yet to meet in her new home in Peru will soon understand why we treasure her so!

We bid you farewell and send you with prayers of abundance, adventure, opportunity and a prolific new community to encircle you in your journey ahead. Thank you for all the ways you’ve shared a heart connection and translated skills to the children and adults in our community.

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A river day with Air and Water class.

These two go together like peas and carrots!

Air class frying up some Maple Blossoms.

A rare moment for these two wild ones.

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Thank you to our parent volunteers! May Day was a day to remember.

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On the Horizon

We are looking for volunteers to help with our very last Forest Families adventure! We are going to play a GIANT game of hide and seek, we call it Predator and Prey. Fire, Earth and Air classes will be working on their map making skills and heightening their sense of space and place in the next few weeks. We are looking for 9-10 parents to help all the classes “seek” out the Air class kids hidden in their favorite forest hide out.

Our end of the year potluck and Contra dance gathering is quickly approaching. You won’t want to miss this one! Our Contra dance caller will be coming a few times before our gathering to give our kids some Contra lesson.

Trillium, trillium how do you grow?

With three leaves of green, and three white as snow.

In early spring you emerge from the ground

growing slowly, slowly - without a sound.

Surrounded by waterleaf, a vibrant emerald green,

your home is a paradise; a woodland dream.

Written by the Air Class, March 27, 2023

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Class Updates

Water Class—Water class is coming right along. We can collect most of our gear and be ready when we hear “gear check.” We are working together more and discovering new friends to play with. We had our first “sit spots” in the backwoods and next week we get to use dry erase boards! 

Fire Class—Holy Fire Class Batman! Fire Class has been growing leaps and bounds these last few weeks. It's always at this time of the year for kinder's (Spring, go figure) that they are really growing up and into themselves. They have developed so many skills towards social/emotional processing and are in a space of actively doing the work with each other. I love watching this class problem solve, they are building up some great tools. We have been delving into the silly world of Elephant Gerald and Piggie which has been a stellar way of getting Fire Class excited to learn to read. These books are giving me a chance to model good reading strategies, sounding out words and identifying our sight words. These students are ready to get reading!

Earth Class—The Earth Kids have started skip counting, the precursor to learning how to multiply! Since they learned how to add doubles earlier this year, skip counting just makes sense, and they are flying through this skill with lots of hands-on learning. Additionally, we have started reading a fable every day and summarizing the story the next morning. We will be looking at lots of stories this month in preparation for character-development and story writing coming soon!

Air Class—Last month, students completed their first Project Based Learning study on Food and are now embarking on a second project based on the essential question: How is it made? Students choose their own topics and are doing wonderful research and writing at the library and during school on the bus. They are planning on sharing their learning with families and the rest of the school on April 13th from 1:30-2pm. The Air Class has been counting all the trillium they see on our adventures. Recently the count was over 200 on one trail alone!! The poem we worked on as a class last week and shared with the whole school is at the top of this newsletter, please check it out!

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School News

Forest Family Face Paint—This coming Thursday April 13th, will be a Forest Family day. One of the activities students will be a part of is coming up with Forest Family specific face paint to represent their group. We are planning on using plant derived coloring (beet juice, spices, berries, etc) and a child friendly mineral sunscreen base to make the face paint. If your child has skin allergies, and you don’t want them to participate, please let your teacher/assistant know.

Myceli-Moms—The room parent moms now have an official name the Myceli-moms. Like mycelium working underground, our mom helpers work behind the scenes, largely unnoticed, but have a great impact on our school and seasonal celebrations! Thanks to Grace (Iris), Kathryn (Owen), Helena (Ronin) and Natalie (Karris and Kallen) for all their hard work with Equinox planning. May Day is fast approaching, reach out if you are interested in helping out

Elderberry Syrup—This Wednesday (tomorrow) Melissa (Aya and Talon) is going to come to the school and make Elderberry Syrup with each class. The Air Class is going to support each class in chopping, grating cooking, labeling and bottling. Kids love to gulp their whole bottle down which won’t hurt them but drinking straight from the dropper makes it mold quite fast-just FYI. 

Book Club—I have heard from a few of you regarding our book club. We are going to start with “Free To Learn” by Peter Gray.  If you need a copy of the book please let me know, I have an extra or two. The hope is that you’ve read some, all or skimmed the book so we can generate discussion. This is an experimental gathering and all are welcome. Please RSVP Heidi.  

Ms. Märta and Ms. Heidi had the pleasure of attending a training hosted by Wilderness Awareness program called Coyote Mentoring. It was well worth the drive and sleeping in the cold! The WAS (Wilderness Awareness School)  trainors travel and I am curious who would be interested in attending a weekend with our teachers in learning more ways to guide your children in nature connection. WAS also hosts sleepaway camp for kids, bird language classes and other very cool adult programming. Check them out! 

Class Websites—

Fire Class (coming soon!)

Earth Class

Air Class

Enrollment—Preschool is now full with a waitlist for the 23/24 school year. Air class is just about full also. We still have a few spots in Fire and Earth next year - tell your friends!  

April Break—There is no school April 17th-20th  for a Break.  Please try your best to squeeze in those family trips during that week. 

Camp—Forest Camp will be the last week in July and first week in August. Camp is hosted by Ms. Heidi and is for kids aged 3-8 years old. McIver Park Monday-Friday. The cost is $350 for the week. Heidi is looking for counselors also! Reach out downtoearthheidi@gmail.com.

Thank you for a lovely Spring Equinox Celebration. We are so grateful to our parent volunteers!

Parking Restrictions—Paving at MSY The overflow gravel parking lot will be paved this month with anticipated closures from April 17-29th. This could potentially impact our pick up and drop offs if the main lots are more full than normal. Please keep this in mind and arrive early and/or carpool if possible. Thank you!

Heron Watch—Just down the street from Mary S Young, is a small park called Maddax Woods. It’s along the river and has a wonderful view of Goat Island. Right now and through mid-May, you can observe roosting/nesting Great Blue Herons. Their large nests are built in rookeries high up in trees and grouped together for safety. On Saturdays through June 11th from 1-3pm, you can join at the park for volunteer led heron viewing and activities. Bring your binoculars! 

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Volunteer Opportunities

We have some great things coming up this Spring, and we could definitely use your help! May 2nd we will celebrate May Day (Bealtain), dancing the Maypole and making fresh flower crowns.

June 15th, the last day of school and our end of the year celebration with Contra dancing and a potluck is my personal favorite! Can’t wait!!!