FAQs

"No such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing" is the motto of forest school. We will be outside with the children in what some may consider 'bad weather' (i.e., rain, colder weather) dressed appropriately. However, we will either cancel the program or move to an indoor location in case of severe weather. In the case of more than one cancellation in a semester, we will schedule a make-up day.

If the Belton area school district is closed due to severe weather, we will also close.

Generally speaking, no. Little Forest Adventures is a drop-off program. However, there may be special occasions (i.e., a child's birthday) where a parent may join the program for part of the morning.

However, we would appreciate parent volunteers to plan a social get-together once or twice a semester for Little Forest Adventures' families to bond and get to know each other outside of the program.

We will have two facilitators per twelve participants in the program (1:6 ratio). Our facilitators will have background checks, CPR, and First Aid training.

We believe in the value of mixed-age play. Generally speaking, the children will not be split into smaller age groups and will stay in a group of twelve with mixed ages.

• $125/month for Wednesday only 9-12:30

• $250/month for Tuesday and Thursday 9-12:30

Children who attend both the T/Th program and the W program will receive a $25 discount on total monthly tuition. Siblings receive a 10% percent discount applied to one student's tuition.

$50 Registration Fee per student, discount for families

Yes, we offer a 10% discount for siblings.

Yes, we will eat on the trail together. Parents are responsible for packing a healthy lunch and placing it into the child's backpack. The children will carry their own lunch and gear in their backpacks. Please inform us of any allergies during the application process.

Children will stay in the water below the calf or ankle during creek play. Our facilitators will be trained to keep a close monitoring of children around water.

We will take general safety seriously. Before any free forest play, facilitators will conduct a hazard check of the area, checking for snakes, spiders, poison ivy, etc.

That said, part of the forest school ethos is to value risky play within safe boundaries. We believe that children gain confidence and learn independence through risky play. Children will participate in 'risky' play in forest school (i.e., tree climbing, jumping over logs, moving big rocks, etc.)

We distinguish risky play from harmful play (i.e., throwing rocks at another child). We will promptly redirect a child putting themselves in harm's way or others in harm's way.

At this time, we do not have the staff or resources to provide individualized and specialized care to children requiring an additional level of attention. If the child has a caregiver who is willing to attend and supervise, we'll discuss this on a case-by-case situation.

Yes, Little Forest Adventures will follow the Belton ISD and begin in August and end in May. We hope to add summer and weekend programming in the future.

We ask children to be potty-independent before they begin our program. We understand that accidents still happen, especially for three-year-olds, and parents will accordingly pack extra clothes in the backpack. No pull-ups or diapers are allowed in our program.

We loved the free forest school model of engaging with your child in nature and building community. We also realize the importance of time away from primary caregivers. Our model works on children's social and emotional skills to be independent and confident. We also love programs like Tinkergarten and encourage families to get into nature in any way possible! Tinkergartens are one-hour programs that run for nine weeks, and you participate with your children. Our program operates more like a "parent's day out" drop-off program.

No, at this time, we'd like families to commit to the year (August to May) to participate in Little Forest Adventures. We understand particular circumstances may come, and a family changes plans mid-year. We will have a 30-day notice policy to end participation in the program.

In the future, we hope to add weekend or summertime programs that will be more one-off programs.