We have signed a temporary contract with the city and will be working towards a long term land use contract after the new year. Thank you to all of you who supported our efforts over the summer.

We are currently offering rolling enrollment for all our classes prek-5th grade. If you or someone you know might want to come for a tour please forward this email on to them.

Tour Dates

Committing to Forest School is a big decision, it takes a lot of work to get your kiddo geared up for school each day and to make time to be involved in our community gatherings. Coming to do an observation of our school is an important first step in deciding if forest school is the right fit.

All tours are from 9-11 am (all family members are welcome)

January 28th

February 11th

February 25th

Please RSVP our director at downtoearthheidi@gmail.com to reserve a tour date and receive tour details.

Enrollment

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 15th 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.  

Rates

The elementary tuition is $8,500 annually ($850/monthly) per child and the preschool program is $6,500 annually ($650/month) per child. We offer a variety of payment options. There is a $400 deposit to hold your child’s enrollment spot due at the end of March 2025 which will be applied to your September tuition. There is a non refundable materials fee of $300 (K-5) or $200 (Pre-K) each year.

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

Winter Solstice Chant

By Annie Finch

Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing, now you are uncurled and cover our eyes with the edge of winter sky leaning over us in icy stars.

Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing, come with your seasons, your fullness, your end.

School Festivities

PLANT PROJECT EXHIBITION

Kindergarten through fifth grade have been working hard on their plant projects to share with their school community. The best way to integrate what is learned is to teach it back to someone! This is where our community comes in. We need caring parents and friends to come loaded with questions and curiosities to meander through the children’s projects and support them in all they have learned about Pacific Northwest Plants. There will be warm tea provided- bring a mug!

WINTER PARADE IN WEST LINN

Down to Earth is going to be in the City Of West Linn’s Winter Parade. We will need LOTS of kids to join. This is one of the ways we can get the word out about our school - and it’s fun! Details below.

GIFTS GO HOME AND MAKERS MARKET

Students will be wrapping up the last of their gifts to go home, and making winter centerpieces to go home as well. The centerpieces will not be all that stable so be ready for a big pile of handmade crafts going home plus the maker’s market.

We are going to have a Maker’s Market. All kiddos that have something they make and want to sell, this is open to you! If you would like to sell your wares please contact Ms. Heidi as she has a list of things you will need to have for a booth. Please invite friends and family to come peruse our market and support our student’s creativity. This is a great opportunity for kids to make and buy things from their peers to use as gifts for the holidays. Remind your kids to bring their jars of change, we greatly appreciate using real cash and throwing a little mental math in there.

Clan Updates

Water Clan - We have a few hesitant kiddos who are still a little unsure about coming to school. Creating a drop-off story story with your child can help them feel in control, anticipate what is going to happen and grow to trust the adults around them. Making drop-off as quick as possible is also very helpful. The longer a parent stays at school on a day a child is unsure the less likely the transition will be easeful. It is important for a child to feel in control of what’s happening and working to understand what their needs (fears, hesitations) are around drop off (or any hard time of day) can help create a better drop off rhythm. If your child knows ahead of time what you’re willing to do and not do can help prepare your child to know what to expect. For instance, “Tomorrow is a school day, and I will walk you to the shelter and we can do our special good bye, then I will be there to pick you up!” or “First you get your shoes on THEN we can talk about what to make for snack time” or “First clean up the legos and then we can read a book.” First -Then, one of the best tricks of Positive Discipline! My favorite book is Positive Discipline for Preschoolers.

Earth Clan - Hello earth class families, December is off to a bright start. These sunny crisp days show the magic of forest school. Recently, the kiddos have been focusing diligently on their plant projects. They have shown great growth using complex strategies and skill sets. I am eager for you all to see their final showcasing of their plant projects next week!

Air Clan - Can you believe we are already into December, this year is flying along! The Air class has been working hard on their plant projects and are excited to share them with you next week on Wednesday. Thank you for doing a great job with returning homework, we’ll continue to send it home once a week so you can see what the kids are working on in their academic areas. Reading and Math groups have been going well and as our plant unit comes to an end, we look forward to our earth studies/geology unit when we return from winter break. Please keep sending those layers, gloves, and hand warmers. It has been a cold December so far! Please reach out with any questions and see you Saturday the 7th from 9-12 for our volunteer SOLV project. Happy December!

Fire Clan - It’s been a busy month for the Fire Clan so far, and will continue to be so until Winter Break! They’ve been working tirelessly at school and home on their Native NW Plant Projects and we all hope you can come learn from them next Wednesday Dec 11th from 1:30-2pm as they and the Earth and Air Clan share their hard work.

WARM GEAR AND FOOD PSA

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!

DONATE TO OUR SCHOOL

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you are looking to make a tax-deductible donation before the new year we have already accepted a few donations from families’ workplaces. Please remember us if there are giving options available through your place of business.

Clan Updates

Water Clan:

Water Clan you precious tiny crew! I heard they all did FABULOUS under the tender love and care of Ms. Christina and Ms. Bri. I was very lucky to be able to step away and chaperone my sons outdoor school. This group is getting SO MUCH BETTER at sitting at circle, keeping track of their gear and knowing the park much more in depth. I am also watching budding friendships with Water Clan kids and older kids from other clans, it’s a privilege to watch these friendships form and develop over the school year. Grown ups, all are welcome to join at school when time allows. I know it’s a bit soupy out there but you have an open invitation!

Earth Clan: Hello families, It has truly been a fun and rainy month in the forest! Seeing the children get muddy and barefoot brings immense joy to my heart. This past month we have spent a lot of time growing in our academic studies. In reading the children are learning how to string sounds together to form new words and some students are learning more complex phonics skills, such as when two sounds are combined to create one sound in a word. I love watching their confidence grow! In math, the students have been learning about number bonds, number identification, sorting and parts of a number. It is neat when we can use the natural resources and combine them into our studies! Throughout the week we also do many activities to focus on the children’s social emotional learning. We have been incorporating different movements that help regulate their nervous system (ask them what fox walking is). We also talk about “hard to have” emotions and how to make them feel not so big. Teaching mindfulness has always been a passion of mine. I am looking forward to more soggy forest days to come!

Air Clan: Hi Air Class! As we head into the chillier months, I just want to send a quick reminder about wearing or bringing layers as well as a change of clothes and don’t forget those hand warmers and gloves! We are continuing to work on what it means to use kind words and actions and to build each other up. The morning work, which includes a number of the day and a sentence that the kids are looking to fix, have been going well and the kids are working hard. Our plant and tree study is going well also and the kids have begun to study several plants in more depth to learn more about them so everyone can create their plant guides to show to their grown-ups. In math, we are working hard in the math books and we are beginning to get into addition problems and story problem phrasing around addition. In reading we are working on sight words, rhyming, double sounds at the end of words as well as digraph blends (sh, wh, ch) and where the students are hearing the digraph blend in the words in our books (beginning or end of a word). Please look for some homework pages to begin coming home once a week that have to do with our math and reading blocks.

Fire Clan:

Our small but mighty Fire Clan is doing so well! They are taking initiative every morning and completing daily work in a timely manner (often without being asked), they are helpful, and excellent school leaders. With all our Forest Family and Ancestral Skill days, they are getting plenty of practice stepping up and setting good examples for the rest of the school. We began the process of making our paper lanterns for the upcoming Lantern Walk (NOV 14th!), are working towards choosing a NW native plant to do an in depth research project on and continuing to work hard at core academics. With the weather turning, more days than not will be cold, windy and rainy. Please make sure kids are coming to school with extra clothes and full rain gear every day. Warm, nutritious foods and hot tea really help morale and keep kids happy on those colder days.

Lantern Walk 2024

November 14th at dusk we will meet as a whole community to honor the transition to winters loving darkness. We welcome this time of reflection, of going inward and hibernation. One of the reasons we have so many breaks in the winter is to give our community time to “hibernate” and recognize the seeds of something that might be trying to emerge (growth, ideas, creations). Seeds of change need time, thought and tending through the winter. The cozy peaceful darkness entices us to rest, eat, stay close to home and follow a slower rhythm.

I love this seasonal celebration simply because we as a community can model to our children that the darkness is nothing to fear, for without the darkness we wouldn’t know the light.

-Bring:

• Soup Potluck item to share

• mugs, bowls, napkins, cutlery for each person who’s attending in your group

• Rain gear - umbrellas are ok!

• If you have a lantern from last year you are willing to share (put your name on it!)

• Please no flashlights or phone lights unless it’s necessary

• If it’s a rainy one a towel to dry off before getting in the car and some cozy blankets for the drive home!

Important notes

• We will begin sending homework home weekly, this week. This will be any literacy and math worksheets kids haven’t finished during the course of their weekly academics. It will be coming home folded in half in a gallon ziplock bag. Check in with your student’s teacher about turning homework back in, each clan will have it’s own plan.

• Our Makers Market in December is fast approaching! If your child wants to begin thinking and planning their craft for the market, now is the time!

• I am looking for someone who would be interested in searching for and applying for grants for the school. Please help if you can!

• We are looking for a photographer to take portraits of our kids this fall. Do you know someone who would donate their time?

• Please mark down now when it’s your families time to volunteer with SOLV. It’s on the DTE calendar.

• We are still looking for looms like this, if you have one we can borrow until winter break

• If you want to donate to the school or know someone who would like to, we have a donations page on our website. You can purchase the school items off our wish list, donate money or some of your time.

• Down to Earth will be in the West Linn Holiday Parade on December 14th -all kids are welcome to join in. I am looking for a committee to help me put this together. If that’s you, email Ms. Heidi.

Mask making after our indigenous speaker Lily came to our school and shared a story about her life and inspired us to make masks. Lily donated her time and shared her stories generously with our school, we are so grateful.

Classroom Updates

Hi Grown ups. Children are working so hard! They are sitting at circle now, singing songs as a class, participating in all school games and activities and learning how to be a person in a community separate from their parents. Our child led play brings up so many opportunities for growth and learning, I am using language like “Thank you for sharing the love in your heart with your friend” or “How do you think that makes their heart feel when you say that?” Parents, if you would like to start dropping in to observe just text me and we can set that up.

Hello kinder and first grade families, it truly has been a beautiful start to the school year. The sunshine has given us many opportunities for warm play and sunny spots for learning. As we move forward, we will be starting our plant research projects. I am excited to delve into this exploration with them. This month we are also having several speakers coming to share their knowledge and stories with us at forest school. It is going to be a fantastic month!

Hi Air Class families! The start to school has been good. We’ve gotten to know the new kids in our class, Academic blocks are in full swing, and our adventure times are pretty chill. We are still working on how to fill buckets and the kids are learning some calming exercises to use if they need them. We are also working hard on mystery phrases in handwriting and journal entries about native and invasive plants at MSY. We are learning about several fruit and vegetable plants as well and have been doing taste tests and graphing that go along with voting on our favorites. As we continue in October, our class will be focusing on the types of trees we see all around the park and experience on a daily basis. Cooler temperatures mean warmer clothes so continue to send your kiddo with layers so they can decide how they want to feel. Please reach out as any questions come up and happy fall!

The Fire Clan has been grounding into the new rhythms of this school year seemingly effortlessly. We’ve established new daily routines, like journaling, reflections and word work and are getting comfortable with our academic block schedule and switching between reading, math, writing and our themed units with ease. The Fire Clan kids took a field trip to a local private residence (with 12 mature apple trees!) and picked all the apples for our Equinox Celebration and cider pressing. They’re practicing leadership during Forest Families, on Thursdays for all school circle, and on days when we have Ancestral Skills. This group is a bright light in the school, and are beloved by all the children and staff at DTE!

Halloween and the Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead and Halloween will be upon us before you know it! We will have a small halloween party on Thursday October 31st, in the beginning of the day, weather dependent. Please don’t send your kiddo to school with too elaborate of a costume as it will likely get dirty. They can change out of their costume after the party. If it’s a downpour we will switch our costumes to just a HAT PARTY. We will have popcorn, a dance party and thread marigolds. We will also have a Day of the Dead table. Please feel free to bring in a picture of your deceased loved one to add to our table and you can retrieve your picture at the end of the day.

 Ms Heidi’s Corner

The school community as a whole feels like it is starting to form and our new families and children seem to be assimilating. We are a community of families with a responsibility to connect, look out for one another and create a loving and nurturing space where our children can thrive. Say hi to a new parent or child at school, reach out for playdates, drop in to your child’s class to read a story, play a game or help with upcoming projects. We love weaving in parents and all the beautiful knowledge and gifts you have to share with our children.

Sometimes I stumble upon some interesting information or articles that informs my work as a director and supports the work we do over all.

• One of my favorite authors has a wonderful book out called “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, I highly recommend it.

• An article about a documentary I am considering hosting. Let me know what you think. Chasing Childhood

On the Horizon For Elementary School

October is all about embedding excitement, connection and knowledge around PNW plants. We will be reading books, looking at field guides, making forest tea, foraging and learning from guest speakers all in an effort to integrate plant-child connection. At home you can support your child in understanding how to use field guides or sharing your own plant knowledge while out on a walk.

In November, Kinder and First grade will be compiling a map of the plants and their location at MSY. The 2nd-5th grade children will be working on building a connection to one particular plant and creating a project around the plant.

The beginning of December we will invite our wider community to the shelter to sip some tea and interact with the children and their projects.

• We are looking for small Looms for our Fire Clan art project like this one if you have one to lend us till Winter break.

• We are looking for pressed flowers to add to our lanterns. If you have some in the garden slide them in a heavy book till November.

The word “equinox” comes from Latin and means “equal night,” referring to the roughly 12-hour day and 12-hour night that occurs only on the two equinox days of the year. The spiritual energies of the spring and summer season are very different from fall and winter. As we enter what could be considered the Moon Season, we begin to spend more time in darkness and see the moon in the sky for longer periods of time. This is a shift between the extroverted spring/summer period, which is all about play, pleasure, and connection, and the introverted fall/winter, which is a time for rest, intimate connection, solitude, and reflection. Otherwise known as Mabon, a time for apple picking, feasting, and giving thanks for the harvest.

Making Cider

We will be pressing fresh apple cider! If you have apples to contribute we will happily press them! Bring a jar at drop off with your name on it, and there might be extra to take home!

Harvest Bounty

Please bring something to share at our harvest “potluck.” We will invite children to chop and taste different things from everyones gardens or maybe a novel fruit of vegetable your family enjoys from the grocery store.

Cider Drinking

We will be drinking fresh cider not pasteurized. If you would like your child to drink pasteurized cider we will have a store bought jug for them - just tell their teacher ahead of time. Please also send your child with a cup for drinking cider and either write their name in sharpie or painters tape on the cup.

Clan Updates

Water Clan - The first few months are always a bit crunchy in preschool, for me and the kids. We are learning to sit at circle, to play with each other, to figure out how to keep our water, lunch and our backpack in one place and to somehow make it to pick up time! Please text or email me ANYTIME with questions parents, I love hearing from you.

Earth Clan -Hello families, wow, what an incredible first week of school we had! It was a great start with lots of getting to know each other and feeling what forest school will be like this year. We will be continuing this month with more team building activities and delving into academics. We will also be preparing for our Autumn Equinox later this month. I am eager to watch Earth Clan bloom this season!

Air Clan - Air Clan is doing such a good job of welcoming our new students, I am so impressed! Things will look a little different in Air Clan this year. Ms. G is getting her second masters in social work and has clinic on Thursdays. So, Ms. Lauren, Ms. Briana and Ms. Holly will be helping to support the class on that day. We are excited to jump in to our unit on NW native plants and build excitement around plant identification, folklore and plant medicine.

Fire Clan - It’s wonderful to be back with students on the bus and in the forest. Although this year may look a little different with our decreased class size, we are all choosing to look at the positives and silver linings. More field trips! More one on one! More flexibility! More opportunities to follow our interests! We have so much to look forward to this year, including our equinox celebration coming up later this month and the many new routines and activities we are weaving into our weekly rhythms.

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.