08/22/2026
When you look at this picture, you might just see a bunch of random junk sitting in the woods.
But to these kids? This is their living room. 🥰
The older kids came up with the idea. They planned it, drew it out, made a list of things they wanted us to help source, and worked together to figure out how they wanted it built.
Then they built it. With some help, of course, but they were the bosses. 😂
They decided where everything should go, problem-solved when something didn’t work, and changed things along the way. And possibly my favorite part: they decided their living room needed a giant “nature TV” big enough for them to stand behind and act out their own shows.
As Forest School guides, it’s easy to scroll through other programs and see beautiful mud kitchens and perfectly curated spaces and think, Man, I wish ours looked like that.
And then we have days like today that remind us—this is better.
Nobody designed this space for them. They designed it for themselves.
Every weird little piece represents an idea they had, a problem they solved, or something they worked together to make happen.
THAT is what we want childhood to look like.
They have ownership here. They have autonomy. They get to have an idea and hear the adults around them say, “Okay. Let’s see what you can do with it.”
Their ideas are valuable. Their hard work is valuable. Their creativity doesn’t have to look pretty to an adult to be important.
And there’s another part of this that makes us incredibly grateful.
We are so lucky to have a church that lets us use this land every week and 100% supports our mess. 😂 They don’t just tolerate the forts, piles of sticks, half-built creations and kid-designed living rooms. They understand why they matter and celebrate what these kids create here.
Having a place where children are truly allowed to leave their mark is such a gift.
So yeah… maybe it looks like junk in the woods.
We see a living room.
But more than that, we see a bunch of kids realizing:
“We had an idea. And we made it happen.” 🌿
