Autumn Saplings Educational Services

08/25/2026

How cute are these play dough rollers!

I picked them up from a local mama who 3D prints them and my kids have been playing pretend type writer since!

I have uppercase, lowercase, mixed, 1-10 and 1-20! Perfect for fine motor work and so many possibilities for fun games! These make multi-sensory learning easy.

08/22/2026

100% 💙💚

08/20/2026

I have not seen a tick in our forest; but I’m hearing of more and more hitching rides home from our surrounding areas!

08/14/2026

💚🌳Forest Family Monday update🌱🩵

Thank you to all of the families who are re-registered to join us again this fall! Invoices were emailed this morning.

We have about 6 spaces remaining in most of our sessions, which means that can welcome new forest friends! Fall is such a wonderful time to join us in the forest - we enjoy the crisp morning air, watch the forest transform, and begin each week with adventurous friends. Each week includes regular play stations and materials, a story, and craft or activity. Our fall sessions also includes our annual Halloween in the Woods 🎃

If you’re looking for an outdoor play community for your homeschooled child, send me a message! I’d love to connect 💙

08/10/2026

How cool is this!

As regulars are Telus Spark, I’m excited to see what my kids suggest!

CALGARY, IT’S TIME TO NAME THE DINO YOU’VE KNOWN FOR YEARS 🦖.

For nearly 10 years, a towering scrap-metal Albertosaurus has watched over Spark from the hilltop of the Brainasium Park.

Before calling Spark home, it was a familiar sight at CF Chinook Centre. Today, it overlooks Deerfoot Trail and welcomes thousands of curious kids each year.

But after all this time, Calgary’s giant dino is still missing one thing:

A NAME 🫣

Starting today, share your best name idea and help make Calgary history.

The winning name should be:
✅ Fun for kids and families
✅ Proudly Calgarian
✅ Dinosaur and science inspired
✅ Easy to say and remember
✅ Reflects community enthusiasm

The Spark Dino Naming Council will select the winner, and one lucky dino-namer will receive:

- 4 General Admission passes to TELUS Spark

- A $150 Spark Gift Card to spend in the Spark Store or on premium experiences like T. REX in the Infinity Dome theatre, RO5iE and Birdly VR

- A $250 CF SHOP! card

- Feature on Spark social channels as the person/family who helped name the dino

- 4 General Admission tickets to Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

Think you’ve got the perfect name? Submit your entry below by August 17 🤩.

For more info: https://bit.ly/4wFJBDZ

08/05/2026

☀️ Hi forest families! Happy August!

🌳 We are looking forward to our Fall term of family forest group!

📧 If you’ve been regulars at our sessions, you received an email with details for registration last week. If I missed you, or if you took a break and are curious about rejoining, please let me know!

🩵 If spaces remain, we will open Fall sessions to public next week!

07/29/2026

Picked up some fantastic resource books from our library this week!

Our yard and forests are full of wildflowers, butterflies, birds, bees, and bugs right now so these books are very fitting! I love when books invite children and learners in through beautiful illustrations and language, but also intertwine learning in accessible, bite size pieces; these titles do just that.

A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants by Philip Bunting

Ladybugs by Gail Gibbons

Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move by JoAnn Early Macken

Begin With a Bee by Liza Ketchum, Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Phyllis Root

Once Upon a Bird [imagined] by Rina Singh

🦋🐜🐞🌱🐝🐦‍⬛

What’s on your bookshelves these summer days? Any recommendations?

07/27/2026

Love this!

We love exploring this area of Fish Creek Park. We often visit the mountain bike skills park before visiting the trails, often starting at the visitor centre (they have cool beaver resources right now!) and sometimes ending with an ice cream treat at Annie’s. Now there’s even more reason to stop by.

Happy adventuring, friends!

STARTS TODAY! 🔎🍦
Kids can explore through Bow Valley Ranche and Fish Creek Park with Annie's Scavenger Hunt and redeem their completed sheet for an ice cream coupon!!! Available Monday–Friday only.
Stop by Annie's Cafe to grab your hunt sheet and get started! 🔍

07/27/2026

Looking for a homeschool community where your child can truly belong?

Our nature-based learning pod offers so much more than weekly lessons. Our learners enjoy:

🌿 A consistent group of friends to learn, play, and grow alongside.
🌿 A drop-off program that encourages confidence and independence.
🌿 Hands-on learning led by a certified teacher with a passion for child-centred education.
🌿 Regular adventures in the forest, building a meaningful connection with the same natural spaces throughout the year.
🌿 Learning opportunities thoughtfully balanced with unstructured outdoor play, because both are essential to healthy development.
🌿 Collaborative projects, creative challenges, and opportunities to explore new interests together.
🌿 Monthly special experiences that are educational, memorable, and a whole lot of fun!

Our days are intentionally balanced between meaningful learning experiences and plenty of time to play, explore, create, wonder, and connect. We believe children learn best when they feel safe, curious, capable, and inspired.

If you’re looking for a supportive homeschool community for the coming year, we have one space remaining. I’d love to connect and see if our pod is the right fit for your family.

07/23/2026

Why would we visit the same old neighbourhood forest so often?

To allow them to become familiar with the area. To come to know it. This leads to investment and stewardship, as their connection with the environment grows. It doesn’t take long for their excitement to visit the forest shows - in the way they cheer when I announce we’re heading that way; in their upbeat pace en route discussing where they want to explore first; in the way they drop their bags and race off into the trees.

I love the autonomy this space allows. I love how many natural learning opportunity it provides. I am so grateful to revisit this outdoor classroom through the eyes of these little learners so often.

Looking for a nature based learning environment for your homeschooled, school aged learner? Send me a message; let’s chat! We have one open space 💚🩵