Cedar Valley Farm and Forest

This is emergent literacy and writing ❤️

Fine motor skills,
Gross motor skills,
Sensory and vestibular input,
Emotional regulation,
And self advocacy

These are the building blocks of reading, writing, and being a life long learner

🌎 Earth Day 🌎

We are so lucky that every day is earth day at Cedar Valley 🌱

Here are a few shots of things the farmers got up to today 🌸

A few moments from early spring 🌱

Some moments from the end of winter ❄️

Emily worked as a Speech Language Pathologist before joining us at the farm and we love to learn from her. You will too!

Message us if you have any questions! Hope to see you there. :)

“They just don’t seem to like the cold.” Or “They want to play outside but they absolutely hate their gear!” I get it. It can feel impossible to help your child enjoy the outdoors in the winter. But there are so many great benefits to spending time outdoors in the cold season.
So I want to share a few of my tried and true tips for helping young children, toddlers, and babies in becoming comfortable with cold weather and the extra layers that come with it.
Winter Gear Dress Up- In warmer seasons add an area to your play space that includes hats, mittens, snow boots, and maybe even jackets or snow bibs. You can even go the extra mile with some winter themed toys or activities. This is especially helpful for super young children who have maybe never experienced winter before (or were pre walkers last winter) to try on gear they have never used. Even for older kids it’s a great opportunity to practice putting on and taking off gear on their own, or just getting used to how it feels.
Avoid Required Gear Early- As the temps start to drop into the cooler fall temps, don’t suit your child up to the nines right away. Allow them to slowly adjust to the weather, having the opportunity to feel a little bit cold. If you fully suit up in forty degree weather, you’ll have nothing to add when you go out in zero degree weather. Also, you can offer a bit of autonomy as you ease into the winter season if they are gear resistant. Children are safe in forty five degree weather with no mittens on, they aren’t safe in freezing temps with no mittens on. It’s okay to choose your battles. Wait to make them until you have to.
(More in comments ⬇️)

“They just don’t seem to like the cold.” Or “They want to play outside but they absolutely hate their gear!”

I get it. It can feel impossible to help your child enjoy the outdoors in the winter. But there are so many great benefits to spending time outdoors in the cold season.

So I want to share a few of my tried and true tips for helping young children, toddlers, and babies in becoming comfortable with cold weather and the extra layers that come with it.

❄️❄️❄️

Winter Gear Dress Up- In warmer seasons add an area to your play space that includes hats, mittens, snow boots, and maybe even jackets or snow bibs. You can even go the extra mile with some winter themed toys or activities. This is especially helpful for super young children who have maybe never experienced winter before (or were pre walkers last winter) to try on gear they have never used. Even for older kids it’s a great opportunity to practice putting on and taking off gear on their own, or just getting used to how it feels.

Avoid Required Gear Early- As the temps start to drop into the cooler fall temps, don’t suit your child up to the nines right away. Allow them to slowly adjust to the weather, having the opportunity to feel a little bit cold. If you fully suit up in forty degree weather, you’ll have nothing to add when you go out in zero degree weather. Also, you can offer a bit of autonomy as you ease into the winter season if they are gear resistant. Children are safe in forty five degree weather with no mittens on, they aren’t safe in freezing temps with no mittens on. It’s okay to choose your battles. Wait to make them until you have to.

Toddler Fashion- Winter gear is the time to lean into your child’s fashion preferences. As parents we often prefer our children wear something cute, ideally matching, maybe a more neutral tone. But when it comes to winter gear, give them full autonomy when purchasing any new gear. Let them choose the bright pink coat, the Bluey hat, or the firetruck boots. The goal is that they feel proud, excited, and involved in the process.

Toddler Accessorizing- Following that same theme, many young kids feel very connected to their outfits. It’s a primary way that they have of expressing themselves. Wearing winter gear in place of a firefighter helmet or princess dress can feel like they are losing some of their identity. In a classroom setting this is a great time to switch out dramatic play props with head bands or larger items that can fit on top of snow gear. Children can wear bunny ears, tiaras, or helmets on top of warm knit hats. They can wear large bracelets, watches, or necklaces over coats. They can wear skirts, doctor coats, or mail carrier vests that are sized for older children over snow suits. Many don’t want to wear their preferred items under their winter clothes, so collect some items they can wear over.

Give Choices, But Not Too Many- Children want freedom to choose, but too much freedom can be overwhelming and disregulating. Give them at most two choices when choosing gear. “Do you want the blue snow pants or the black ones?” “Do you want your red hat or your hood as a hat today?” Do you want to put your boots on or do you want me to help you put them on?” Any more than two options for something they may already feel resistant to is likely to cause more upset than support.

Remember, Gear is Safety- When navigating winter layers keep in mind two things; 1) being outside in winter has proven benefits that you want your child to experience. 2) proper gear keeps them safe and makes it enjoyable. Maintain a similar mindset to one you would in regard to a child needing a diaper change, or using a car seat. It isn’t negotiable, it is simply a part of the experience.

Enjoy it- Remember this isn’t a chore, it’s a step in the process. Stay upbeat and on task, you’ll all be out playing before you know it. Sympathize with frustration around gear, but don’t dwell too long. You don’t want to prolong the hard part to the point you’re all too disregulated to enjoy the fun part.

Give Notice and Follow Through- Avoid springing on your child that it’s time to start gearing up, or time to go outside. For example, remind your child at breakfast that when breakfast is all done you’ll play for twenty minutes and then get ready to go outside. As they clean up breakfast, remind them again. Before they start playing perhaps have them pick one piece of their gear. At the ten minute mark you could ask them if they want to go potty before they go outside. At the fifteen minute mark let them know they need to finish up play and start getting geared up. After that last five minutes, start helping them get dressed. Stick to whatever version of this routine works for your family, and it will get easier with each repetition.

Practice Inside- For children who are very resistant to mittens bring ice or snow inside to play with. Talk to them about how it makes their hands feel, offer them mittens as they play. Show them ways to keep their hands dry and ways to warm their hands up such as running them together or blowing on them.
Start Small- If a child is super resistant to gear, focus first on just having positive experiences outside. Go out in whatever they are in, laugh together splashing in a puddle for a minute and a half, then go back in and get dry. Talk to them about how with rain pants you could laugh and play longer. Keep building up. Help show them that there are exciting and special things that can only happen outside, inspire them to want to get out there by starting with small, safe feeling outings that help them feel more confident to venture out further and for longer.

Making the most of winter takes practice and perseverance, but it’s so worth it! ❄️

HOPE with the Earth Connection Film Festival + Tonic Walter feat. Jane Goodall Overlaid to the compelling beats of HOPE by Tonic Walter featuring Jane Goodall, this video captures the wonder of nature through the eyes of children - a poignant…

2025 was such a special year at the farm!
Together the children planned a garden, started seeds, transplanted plants, and in the fall harvested a lot of vegetables!
We tapped maple trees & sang songs of thanks to them. We boiled the sap over the fire to make syrup for pancakes.
Baby sheep were born that that kids got to cuddle and name. We collected eggs, incubated them, and had little chicks that we watched grow over the summer.
We wandered off trail finding oyster, chicken of the woods, & milky cap mushrooms. The kids learned to ID sassafras, oaks, & other native plants.
We foraged wild edibles for tea, pizza toppings, & snacks while we hiked.
We happened upon milk snakes, box turtles, skinks, and beetles.
We had visits from the IU Cognitive Science Lab who read stories and led activities in a variety of languages. We had monthly music class and Spanish class.
Our team was able to offer free outreach to after school programs and summer camps where kids got to meet some of best animal buddies. We were able to lead workshops about winter layering, conflict resolution, and boundary setting with young children.
We had our first ever school camp out and most of the families were able to make it! We cooked over the fire together and all of the children who wanted to were able to catch a fish.
For the first year ever we collected enough acorns and worked together with the children to make acorn flour! The children turned these into pancakes!
For the first year ever we had kids who had been with us since they were 1 move on to KINDERGARTEN!
Kids as young as 2 practiced using matches, peelers, knives, & delicately handling baby animals & plants.
Children under 1 all the way up to 5 practiced talking through disagreements with each other. They practiced being brave by holding snakes. They practiced being resilient by scaling slippery ravine & exploring in the pouring rain.
I’m so proud of our farmers and their growth! I’m so proud of their parents for their teamwork and trust. I’m so proud of our teachers for the dedication and love they bring to the farm! I’m so proud of this community for support to keep this special school thriving!

Hey! If you are interested in purchasing a holiday gift for our little school here is the link to our Amazon wishlist ❤️

We appreciate you all so much!

Check out my list on Amazon