Forest Preschool
2026 - 2027 School Year
Ages 3 - 6
September through May
Tuesdays / Wednesdays / Thursdays, 9am - 1:00pm
Full Membership: 3 days per week
Enrichment Membership: 1 day per week
If you are new to the idea of a forest preschool, a forest school is an approach to outdoor learning that aims to develop confidence and self esteem through hands-on learning in a woodland environment. Forest Friends Nature School is a year-round, all-weather outdoor classroom where a child-led and open-ended play model creates opportunities for critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity.
Our forest preschool takes place on The Farm community in Summertown, Tennessee. We partner with The Farm School, sharing indoor bathrooms, water fountains, and outdoor ‘classrooms’. Beyond that we utilize The Farm’s many wonderful walking and hiking paths, creeks, fields, pastures, and swimming hole.
Daily Rhythm:
8:45 - 9:00 am - Drop off
9:00 am - Welcome circle: Greet friends at drop off site and walk to the “classroom.” The welcome circle will feature songs, poems, stories and introduction of the day’s theme. Types of themes include creek life, natural dyes, survival skills, life cycle of plants and animals, garden tending, and herbal medicine.
9:30 am - Exploration: A short group hike to unstructured play destination. The children are free to explore the creek, fallen logs, slide down piles of leaves, bugs in the garden, or make a magical land with sticks, moss, and rocks.
10:30 - Tea/Snack & Story Time: Mid-morning snack which children can help prepare and serve to classmates. As the children eat their snack, the educator will read poems about the seasons or folk tales that reflect the season or demonstrate a caring value.
11:00 am - An open ended guided activity based on the day’s theme. Activities are designed for children to discover topics of art, science, numbers or letters. Some activities include puppet making, leaf printing, building dams or water pipes with bamboo, sewing, weaving, writing letters in sand, and counting flower petals to identify different types of flowers.
12:00 pm - Lunch time! Whether at the “classroom” or at the chosen playtime location - this is time to settle in and refuel from all of the morning’s learning and play time.
1:00 pm - Farewell: Return to “classroom” for reflection time. A short quiet time after lunch gives time for the children to reflect on their observations from the day in their nature journal. A sharing circle allows the children to share what they drew or wrote in their journal before we conclude with a farewell song.
Curriculum Topics for 2026-2027
September — Creek Life Exploration
October — Working Together through harvests, music, and games
November — Color Studies of Trees & Natural Dye Experiments
December — Caring for One Another during winter
January — Fiber Art
February — Survival Skills
March — Spring Renewal
April — Spring Medicinals
May — Spring Creatures
Full Preschool Membership
Full Membership children attend forest school all three days per week and truly reap all of the benefits that place-based learning has to offer!
Full Membership: $400/month
Sibling discounts are available
Enrichment Preschool Membership
Our Enrichment Membership is designed for families who want to experience the magic of forest school without the full-time commitment.
Enrichment Members join us one day per week for hands-on exploration, seasonal crafts, and nature-based play. Parents or caregivers have the option of attending with their child. It’s a wonderful way to ease into our rhythms, connect with other families, and watch your little one thrive in the outdoors.
Enrichment Membership: $150/month
Sibling discounts are available
Trial Visit Membership
Curious about Forest Friends? A Trial Membership lets you and your child join us for a single day of play to experience a day in the forest before committing to full or enrichment membership.
Perfect for families who want to get a feel for our rhythm before diving deeper. To join us, you’ll simply become a Trial Member of our Private Membership Association — a one-time formality that allows you to participate in our programs.
Your trial membership grants access to one session where you and your child can explore, play, and connect with our community. If you fall in love with the experience (and most families do!), it’s easy to grow into an Enrichment or Full Preschool Membership.
Trial Membership: $40 one-time fee
Forest Friends Nature School now operates as a Private Membership Association - Enrollment in our programs — including full-time and enrichment options — is available exclusively to active members of the Association.
We invite you to fill out our online application. Due to the intentional nature of our program we have limited spots available and cannot accept every applicant into membership. You will hear back from a member of our team shortly after submitting your application. If you have any questions before filling out the application please contact us at forestfriendstn@gmail.com.
If your application is accepted there is a non-refundable Membership Enrollment fee of $50 to hold your child’s spot in our program.
Please read our Parent Handbook thoroughly before applying.