Maple Sprouts Forest School

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Maple Sprouts Forest School We have a 3 hour morning program for ages 2.5-6 running Monday-Friday. Our program is year round and located on 60 acres of forest 15 minutes outside of Canton.

On Monday we started collecting leaves to preserve by dipping in beeswax. The kids loved carrying the baskets to the Dra...
10/08/2026

On Monday we started collecting leaves to preserve by dipping in beeswax. The kids loved carrying the baskets to the Dragon Castle and filling them to the brim with so many different colored leaves.

Tuesday we started dipping the leaves and we began collecting morning glory seeds from our garden to use again next year. Afterward we went to the Hilltop spot. It was chilly enough for us to have our first snack time fire! We talked about our fire safety rules and everyone did a great job following them during snack clean up. After snack we kept it going to use for anyone’s hands that got a little bit cold while playing.

Yesterday it warmed back up again, so after we dipped a few more leaves we went to play at the bridge. The kids still enjoyed getting out of their shoes to hop across the rocks barefoot, but the water is getting pretty cold and they didn’t stay out of their shoes for quite as long.

This past week seemed to just fly by! On Tuesday we made another batch of c***r and were able to enjoy warm c***r at sna...
10/05/2026

This past week seemed to just fly by! On Tuesday we made another batch of c***r and were able to enjoy warm c***r at snack time all week. Wednesday we finished constructing the bug house and began adding dirt and plants for the living roof and filling it with things bugs would enjoy living in. Thursday we made apple sauce and enjoyed it for share snack. There was even enough left over to use for snack again on Friday. In the woods we played at the dragon castle, stream, swamp, and mushroom spots. Everywhere we look there are signs of autumn. From the colorful leaves, to the honking geese, the slower moving frogs, and the many freshly fallen hickory nuts the forest is beautiful to be in right now and we are enjoying every bit. Friday was the first day we had a steady rain for much of the morning and it was the perfect day to don our rain suits and splash in the many puddles!

It was c***r making day today! A huge thank you goes out to Parishville Center Orchard for being so generous with their ...
09/28/2026

It was c***r making day today! A huge thank you goes out to Parishville Center Orchard for being so generous with their apples!! We began our morning by chopping apples into smaller chunks before sending them through the grinder. After they were ground up they were scooped into the press. Everyone was very enthusiastic to participate in all of the steps and they worked very well together to accomplish even the harder tasks like turning the grinder wheel. The c***r running out of the press was irresistible and there were several taste tests done before it went into the bottle to carry for snack.
We left the school house a bit late, so we went to the bouncy tree for snack and to play until lunchtime. This was the first time we’ve been there this school year and the kids immediately started climbing all over the steep hill after they finished snack. After that they spent time balancing on rocks, climbing trees, and playing around the fort. We’re excited to do more c***r pressing tomorrow! 🍎

The last couple days of our week were full of sunshine. The mornings have remained cool and everyone has needed jackets,...
09/25/2026

The last couple days of our week were full of sunshine. The mornings have remained cool and everyone has needed jackets, but we’re able to take them off by lunchtime. Thursday we made popcorn over the fire. There was so much excitement when they heard it start to pop and it was a very well received snack. We’ll definitely be keeping this one in our rotation! It warmed up quickly that morning, so we celebrated by playing at the stream. Our stream days definitely feel numbered now that Autumn is here and we’re trying to get in as many as we can.
Today we played with play dough in the morning and went to the Maple Tree spot for snack. Swinging on the stick swing is a popular activity at this spot. Once everyone had their fill of swinging some kids spent some time balancing on a large maple branch that had come down, some spent time digging in the dirt and observing the worms they found there, and others dove into an imaginative medieval game. We’re looking forward to coming back next week and getting the c***r press out!🍎

We started building a bug house today! This provided an excellent opportunity to discuss what some of the insects in our...
09/24/2026

We started building a bug house today! This provided an excellent opportunity to discuss what some of the insects in our environment do to survive the winter. There was a lot of excitement over getting to hammer nails into the boards and some kids continuously came back to work with the tools whenever we were at the school house. We finished our apple c***r off today at snack time and played at the cliff spot spending time collecting things to go in the bug house, building another fairy house, playing imaginative games, and climbing trees.

Tuesday is painting day! Instead of working with watercolors today we did some stamping with corn and apple halves. Some...
09/22/2026

Tuesday is painting day! Instead of working with watercolors today we did some stamping with corn and apple halves. Some kids enjoyed the stamping and were done, some stayed for a long time making different brushstrokes, and some turned it into a finger painting activity. Everyone had a blast exploring the materials in whatever way they chose. When it was done we went to the Dragon Castle for a snack paired with warm apple c***r again. After snack there was collaborative fairy house building and finding stick fairies to live in it, imaginative play on the rocks of the “castle”, and we worked with the saw today to cut up some sticks. We’ve been feeling the season shift into autumn and the mornings have been considerably cooler the past few days. This has created a need for more warm layers but, today the sun came out on the walk back and we were able to shed a layer of clothing for lunchtime. A wonderful reminder that warm temperatures aren’t completely gone just yet. Happy Autumn everyone!!

We’ve been talking a lot about seeds and for our activity this morning we used dried beans to decorate air dry clay shap...
09/21/2026

We’ve been talking a lot about seeds and for our activity this morning we used dried beans to decorate air dry clay shapes. We ate snack at the Hilltop spot and enjoyed some freshly pressed warm c***r that was donated to us by a student’s family. It was a perfect treat on this chilly morning. After snack everyone went to play. We found tiny slugs, many different mushrooms, newly fallen hickory nuts, and some kids found forked stumps to use as imaginary riding horses. Happy Monday!

Thursday was baking day! We made apple crisp foil packets and cooked them over the fire. Each child got to chop up their...
09/19/2026

Thursday was baking day! We made apple crisp foil packets and cooked them over the fire. Each child got to chop up their own apple slices, sprinkle a little of a cinnamon and sugar mixture on top, and then dump a scoop of the oats mixture on top of that. Once that was done we worked together to roll up their foil and then their packet went onto the rack to bake over the coals. They all looked fantastic coming off the fire, but very few were eaten 😆 maybe we will peel the apples if we try it again. After that we played at the dragon castle where there was more tree climbing and some fairy house building.
Today we played at the mushroom spot where the kids played on the grapevines, found a salamander, discovered a deer bone, and celebrated the second birthday of the school year!

What a beautiful week at Forest school! Everyone is still working on learning our daily rhythm, so we’ve been focusing a...
09/19/2026

What a beautiful week at Forest school! Everyone is still working on learning our daily rhythm, so we’ve been focusing a lot on helping our new students get the hang of that. Our returning students have really stepped up and been so great at helping anyone who might be struggling or unsure of what to do. It’s been so fun to see these new relationships blossom and we’re looking forward to seeing all of the new ways this group will use our play areas.
At the beginning of this week at the school house we played with playdough, painted with yellow and red, and made our second birthday book. In the woods there was lots of climbing, building a stick fort, balancing, finding crayfish and frogs, lots of fungus and mushroom spotting, and noticing the changes happening in the forest that hint at the end of summer and the arrival of autumn.

On Wednesday we made our first birthday book and celebrated the first birthday of the school year with a dirt cake at th...
09/11/2026

On Wednesday we made our first birthday book and celebrated the first birthday of the school year with a dirt cake at the cliff spot. We also found a few autumn colors sprinkled throughout the woods, several kids worked on whittling sticks that they found, and we made a leaf rubbing picture to add to the birthday book.

Thursday was baking day and we started our morning flipping and eating pancakes! Then we went to play at the bridge where we spotted lots of crayfish and frogs.Some kids spent time moving heavy rocks onto the bridge and then dropping them into the water while others noticed the many different types of flowers along the banks and made bouquets.

Address

155 Cassidy Road
Hermon, NY
13652

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 12pm
Tuesday 9am - 12pm
Wednesday 9am - 12pm
Thursday 9am - 12pm
Friday 9am - 12pm

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