Forest School
"Children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls."
~ Erin Kenny
Founder of Cedarsong Nature School
In the fall of 2014, Painted Oak Nature School became the first preschool in Mercer county, NJ to offer a nature immersion program inspired by the waldkindergartens of Germany. And now going into our 9th year, having been recently registered as a private school, PONS is the first elementary school in the state to include a Forest School model at the heart of its work. Research continues to support that connecting children to the natural world benefits their bodies, minds, and spirits.
Forest School begins once the children have geared up and shopped for tools, nature journals, field guides, or art supplies on the forest shelves. We leave school, walk through our Backyard, and organize ourselves at the trailhead. With a gentle song, following the hike line, we enter Gnome Woods with owl eyes on and fox ears open all the way to Base Camp.
During the time our classes spend in the forest, any, or all, of the following is enjoyed:
- climbing trees - creating Earth arts - listening to birds - tracking animals - nature journaling - building shelters - playing games - wild edible snacks with pine needle tea
Summer Forest School
Monday - Friday
9am-12pm for children ages 3 - 4 years old @ Painted Oak
9:30am-12:30pm for children ages 5 - 10 years old @ Washington Crossing Park
class size limited to 10 children with 2 adult guides
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Camp will be held at the Painted Oak campus from 9am-12pm for 3-4 year olds and at Washington Crossing Park from 9:30am-12:30am for 5-10 year olds.
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Children must be toilet proficient
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Priority is given to children enrolled at PONS; registration opens to general public mid-February
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100% outside, in all weather
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Masks are not required outside however it is highly recommended that your child wear a face covering when close to other children. If we need to come inside the building at any point, due to hazardous weather, children will be required to wear masks.
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Our complete COVID19 protocols can be found here.
Weekly Summer 2021 Sessions
$275 per child, per week
Week 1: July 5 - July 9
Week 2: July 12 - July 16
Week 3: July 19 - July 23
Week 4: July 26 - July 30
Week 5: August 2 - August 6
Week 6: August 9 - August 13
Forest School Immersion (afternoon enrichment)
1pm-3pm for children ages 3 - 6 years old
class size limited to 10-12 children with 2-3 adult guides
2020-2021 Sessions
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays , AND/OR Friday afternoons
WINTER:
Monday: December 21 - March 1 ($400 for 8 classes)
Tuesday: December 1 - March 2 ($650 for 13 classes) SESSION IS FULL
Wednesday: December 9 - March 3 ($550 for 11 classes) SESSION IS FULL
Thursday: December 17 - March 11 ($550 for 11 classes) SESSION IS FULL
Friday: December 18 - March 5 ($500 for 10 classes)
SPRING:
12 classes, $600 per session
Monday: March 8 - June 7
Tuesday: March 9 - June 1
Wednesday: March 10 - June 9
Thursday: March 18 - June 10
Friday: March 12 - June 4
If you are interested in registering for one of our open days that are in session, please reach out to for the registration link.
If a day you wanted to register for is full sign up for the waitlist here!
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children must be fully toilet proficient
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children enrolled in the morning Nature Preschool at PONS may register in addition to children who do not regularly attend Nature Preschool
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100% outside, in all weather
-
Masks are not required outside however it is highly recommended that your child wear a face covering when close to other children. If we need to come inside the building at any point, due to hazardous weather, children will be required to wear masks.
-
Our complete COVID19 protocols can be found here.
Registration for our Spring session will open in early February.