Prairiewood Forest School

04/29/2026

Looking for a creative, nature-immersed, supportive educational community? Applications are open, FREE, and take just 5 minutes, for all of our fall Prairiewood Forest School classes:
* Prairiewood Pack Homeschool Co-op for ages 4-13
* Clover Patch Kids for ages 1-9
* Wild Wanderers for ages 9-13

Teen Mentors and our full-time hybrid Microschool are full for the 2026-2027 school year, but you can join the waiting list at the same link: www.stfrancisofthewoods.org/school

04/14/2026

Join us this Saturday! At this community walk and workshop, Lori Ann and Fr. Aidan will facilitate an educational wildcrafting walk covering a small portion of our 570+ acres of forest and prairie, focused on safe identification and sustainable harvesting.
Meet at the Community Center at 10am.

Following the walk, participants will have the opportunity to prepare and taste fresh wild foods (depending on seasonal conditions) such as lambsquarter leaves, redbud, henbit, dandelion, chickweed, shepherd’s purse, mulberry, greenbriar, and wild garlic. Preparations will likely include tea, pesto, and poultices.

We will also share a potluck lunch including foraged foods; please bring a dish to share (it doesn't have to be wildcrafted!), a water bottle, and wear comfortable shoes and clothing for walking as well as any insect and sun protection you prefer.

Enroll at www.stfrancisofthewoods.org/signup. A suggested donation of $20 per person is encouraged, but no one will be turned away.

04/04/2026

The schedule is up for this year's Spring Picnic. Come celebrate with us!

This year's event is Sunday, May 24 with an outdoor Eucharist and nature meditation, followed by a potluck picnic, and then stay for an afternoon of family fun!

This annual event helps to raise funds for our educational Prairiewood Forest School programs with their sale of handcrafts, baked goods, and lemonades. This year, it's also a celebration of a recent milestone: Prairiewood's 5th birthday! Our first class took place here in Spring of 2021.

Bring the whole family: we'll celebrate with a story time, interactive art, games, garden demonstrations, and more!

See more at our website: https://www.stfrancisofthewoods.org/spring-picnic

and

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/share/18FM76yPJ4/

There is no cost to attend, just please bring a potluck dish to share (with common allergens labeled) and travel or full-sized toiletries that we're gathering for a local shelter: washcloths, ethnic hair-care products, tampons, heavy flow pads, toilet paper, baby wipes, shaving cream, kids’ detangling spray, air fresheners, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc.

03/30/2026

We love learning from Ranger Rick!
Vote for a past Prairiewood kid for this Ranger Rick contest to help her out! :)

Vivi Loves Animals And Learning About Them. She Is Serious About Conservation And Has Sent Letters To The President About Protecting Bees.

03/30/2026

Join local wildcrafters on Saturday, April 18 from 10am to 1pm as we walk together through a small portion of our forest and prairie where we will learn about and practice safe identification and sustainable harvesting of local plants.

We will then prepare and taste fresh, wild foods at a shared potluck lunch.

Depending on seasonal conditions, we may find lambsquarter, redbud, henbit, dandelion, chickweed, shepherd’s purse, mulberry, greenbriar, and wild garlic. Preparations will likely include tea, pesto, and poultices.

WHAT TO BRING: a dish to share (it doesn't have to be wildcrafted), a water bottle, comfortable shoes and clothing, any insect and sun protection you prefer, and a suggested donation of $20 per person is encouraged, though no one will be turned away.

Please enroll at: www.stfrancisofthewoods.org/signup

03/28/2026

Happy Spring, from our mud kitchen to yours 😍

03/24/2026

Hooray to our friend and mentor, Monica Wiedel-Lubinski, and to the National Association for the Education of Young Children for publishing this thorough guide to Nature Based Early Childhood Education! We are thrilled to have some photos from our Clover Patch Kids and Prairiewood Pack Homeschool Co-op included as visuals to help educators see what nature-based learning can look like. Early childhood educator friends, definitely pick up this book if you need some inspiration. More nature for our students is a win for all!

03/24/2026

Hooray to creating space for kids to develop executive functioning! We get to see this develop for kids of all ages at Forest School 😍

03/21/2026

Spring is just around the corner, and we're ready for it!

Our Emergent Curriculum at Prairiewood Forest School allows us to make the most of seasonal changes, painting with early spring flower petals, dyeing natural fibers with clay from our overflow pond, and wildcrafting the freshest of plant parts right when we see that they're perfect for tasting! Through it all, Mentors model practices that reflect our values of kindness, caring for the land with reciprocity and giving more than we take, and learning directly from the natural world as our teacher, with an emphasis on noticing and experiencing our surroundings.

Chat with us or email [email protected] if you have any questions about enrolling for the 2026-2027 school year... applications are accepted at www.stfrancisofthewoods.org/school (link in bio) now!

03/20/2026

Yes to stick play!! See our last post for how our teens are still enjoying creating with sticks (crafting bows and arrows, last week) 😍

03/20/2026

All play, no posts? 🤔

We're 6 weeks into our Spring classes, and while we can't show you ALL the fabulous learning experiences our students have created so far, here's one from each week of Wild Wanderers!

Learn more about Prairiewood Forest School classes in Coyle, OK (between Guthrie and Stillwater, right off Hwy 33) at www.stfrancisofthewoods.org/school. One summer class is already up on the site, and now's the time time to apply for the 2026-2027 lottery!