The Forest School of Minnesota

In the season of making educational decisions, it's essential to recognize the preparation we've instilled in our children to embrace the opportunities awaiting them beyond the care of parents and guardians.

Just like any other skill, navigating positive interactions with peers, responding to instructions, contributing to groups, and expressing needs respectfully are learned abilities that require consistent teaching and practice to become ingrained.

When we neglect teaching children these crucial soft skills, we deprive them of tools that profoundly shape their perception of the world and how they're perceived by others. Thus, it's imperative to focus on cultivating these foundational life skills from a young age.

At FSMN, I encourage parents to envision what they want their children to gain from peer programs, considering the perspectives of future friends, educators, and community members. By fostering respectful, considerate, and healthy connections, we equip our children for a lifetime of meaningful interactions.

Learning and practicing exemplary social skills with peers not only fosters their natural adoption but also ensures continual development, empowering them to navigate social situations with confidence and grace. Ultimately, investing in these skills sets our children up for positive receptions and enriching experiences beyond familial circles.

Ask questions of the programs you are considering, how they foster these skills to continue us to develop and be practiced by all the children in the class/group.

Guiding Children Through the Holiday

Anticipation and expectation can be unsettling, especially for young children who are still learning to balance these aspects within their skills and character development.

Consider skill development as layers, each building upon the other. Every skill, emotional, social, physical, and intellectual require expectation and time to practice. Consistent practice forms the foundation for character, influencing how we experience and respond to life.

In my 37 years working with young children, I've observed a few constants:

1. Embrace Down Time
Allow children ample downtime for skills to take root and thoughtful reflection. Never be afraid of creating time for boredom - which is an inspiration for creativity and ideas to flow.

2. Limit Screen Time
Contrary to some beliefs, screen time can strain a child's body and hinder natural sensory absorption. Screen Time requires an enormous amount of energy from the young child's body to process all that happens on a screen.
Think of it in these terms, compare the natural world and how we process what we see,
Our senses have time in nature to absorb the sights, sound, scents, when moving our
bodies.

This is very different from what is needed to absorb screen time, where the body is sedentary, and the tangible and organic scents, colors, sounds of nature are unavailable indoors.

What is required with screen time is to quickly process the volume, the colors, the
movement, and the story line. It is too much and does not nothing but overtax the body
before it is ready. The result is often described as, "they stop listening", so they seem
catatonic. Screen time will never bring out the best in your child. Waiting until they are older
will be more beneficial to their demeanor and their skill development and practice.

Nature provides a balanced environment for sensory experiences, unlike sedentary screen exposure.

3. Maintain Social Skill Expectations
Encourage and expect children to practice social skills during festive occasions.

4. Recognize Overwhelm
Pay attention to signs of your child becoming overwhelmed during festivities. Find a quiet spot with your child to help them recenter. I have them close their eyes as I take them on a visualizing walk through the woods, suggesting a deep breath and imagining the fragrance of the earth, or pine trees, listening yo the birds song, and the squirrels scampering through the leaves. Spin the visualization to use their senses.

By focusing on these principles, we can help children and all those around them to enjoy holiday festivities while nurturing their foundational skills.

I hosted our annual Winter Spiral and Family Lantern Walk amidst the mildest winter weather I've experienced in over three decades.

In our preschool, parents and teachers collaborate to foster admirable character development and traits in the children. While it requires immense tenacity and practice, the reward surpasses any other skill we could impart. These traits—kindness, gratitude, grace, inclusion, compassion, creativity, confidence, and accountability—are a few of the traits we foster as we guide the children in their character foundation development. This positive work offers endless possibilities in how children present themselves to the world.

We refer to this character work as our Golden Heart practice. The children, illuminated by the light of this practice, radiate kindness wherever they go, extending it beyond their families and friends. The Winter Spiral serves as a tangible representation of the light they derive from their heart work, and the Family Lantern Walk concludes this enchanting evening.

It's a mesmerizing sight, and the ceremony leaves a profound impact on each child. I am grateful every year to offer this experience to my students and their families. Witnessing the beauty of their tender souls absorbing the love, respect, and honor bestowed upon their efforts brings tears to our eyes annually.

As we come together with family and friends, let's seize this wonderful opportunity to incorporate our children's generosity and efforts into the fabric of our lives.

Understanding the irreplaceable value of contributing is essential; it instills in each of us the core virtue of giving of ourselves, a vital life skill.

During our annual FSMN alfresco pumpkin pie-making event, the children reveled in their newfound abilities – using a can opener, scooping, pouring, cracking (with my help for egg separating), counting, adding a pinch and dash of various enticing fragrances, whisking, and pouring once more.

A delightful creation for our children to share with their family and friends. May every gathering be an occasion to impart the love for this magical world to our children and an appreciation for all that it encompasses.

School Readiness ~ Social Readiness
vital skills for your child to practice with consistency

"As members of a social species, we don't derive strength from rugged individualism, but rather from our collective ability to plan, communicate, and work together. Our neuro, hormonal, and genetic make up, support interdependence over independence. To grow into adulthood for a social species including humans, is not to become autonomous and solitary, it's to become the one on whom others can depend. Whether we know it or not our brain and our biology have been shaped to favor this outcome"

John Cacioppo pioneer in social neuroscience

Dear Parents,

I hope this message finds you all well. I wanted to highlight some key aspects regarding your child’s social and emotional development, which play a pivotal role in their overall growth.

Much like honing any skill, these abilities become ingrained in our first instincts, evolving into second nature without the need for reminders. Fostering these skills from an early age is not just beneficial; it is essential for your child’s long-term success.

Kindergarten is no longer merely a starting point for social and emotional development. The expectation is that these skills are cultivated well before entering the kindergarten classroom. To assess your child’s readiness, observe their ease or struggle with the readiness answers provided below.

Imagine your child navigating a classroom with numerous peers, each possessing similar or lesser skills. Can they effectively manage their abilities for six hours a day in such a setting? This is the expectation we have for our children, and it underscores the importance of actively developing these skills.

The adage “10,000 hours of practice for every skill” holds true here. It’s not just about expecting these skills; it’s about actively engaging in and applying them. The following skills are crucial:
Think about them in the context of in a classroom with 15 or more peers

1. Listening to and following verbal directions, first request, unconditionally.
2. Exercising impulse control, both verbal and physical, including being able to sit.
3. Consistently regulating emotions, even when frustrated.
4. Understanding and practicing “We not Me” – a cornerstone of emotional intelligence. • This involves empathy, thinking of others, and prioritizing the group’s well-being over individual interests.
5. Verbal clarity in communication.
6. Expressing needs verbally over emotional or physical.
7. Cooperative behavior within a group, even when challenging.
8. Managing separation challenges – an indicator of readiness for the academic and social complexities of peer classroom work and expectations.

Addressing these basic group skills will prepare your child for the demands of school life. I work on this with the children every day at FS. Encourage your child's social skill expectations, and imagine yourself as their teacher in a classroom and multiply their number by 15 or 20. Are they consistently practicing the social skills for success in the classroom? Remain consistent in your expectation of their abilities as you instill the social and emotional skills they need to thrive.

It is crucial to also factor in the multitude of complexities that arise during the high school years. The often unspoken social dynamics and pressures in this phase are frequently overlooked in discussions about school readiness. Let us do all we can to prepare your child for their journey.

Your child and their future teachers will thank you for the attention and dedication you devote to this vital work.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and know I am more than happy to discuss any concerns or questions you may have.

Warmly yours,

Michele

10 little etiquette rules everyone should practice
https://thebritishschoolofexcellence.com/social-etiquette/10-little-etiquette-rules-everyone-should-know/

Emotional Intelligence-and Etiquette
https://thebritishschoolofexcellence.com/emotional-intelligence/emotional-intelligence-and-etiquette/

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FSMN Opening available for two children in the
4 year age for Tu Wed Thurs 9AM to 4PM
And
One child for the Sapling program
~30 to 40 months Tu Wed Thurs 9 AM to Noon
FSMN brings to our students,
🌿Social Skills to get along with others and develop admirable friendship traits
🌿Emotional Regulation to manage frustration, and practice impulse control which will allow space for thinking and problem solving instead of reacting. FSMN partners with parents, linking our efforts together of school/home, so the children flourish in their development because they spend time cultivating their abilities instead of conforming to multiple changing expectations
🌿Physical Skills and Confidence, the building blocks for new skills to develop. Young Children develop first through their physical abilities. Strength in body will open young children to trying countless new experiences, gaining the mindset of “I can” instead of
“I can’t”
🌿Year Around Attendance, So children are not starting over every September and relearning skills. We can then advance current skills and work on developing new skills without interruption. With our commitment to teaching children in a peaceful and encouraging peer environment immersed in nature, we cultivate a peer space where children can thrive.
🌿Parent/School Partnership, Every parent knows that their child is different when away from their family. As parents, how are we to know what skills our child needs help with developing? We all want our children to be well received beyond our family circle, together we bring forth the skills sets you may not have known they needed help developing.
🌿 When we cultivate an environment for children that is peaceful, encouraging, inclusive, and kind, we provide the opportunity for our children's abilities to expand. Too many peer programs have the expectation that our children will figure out how to solve conflicts, hurt feelings, handle aggressiveness from peers, handle frustration, but we need to teach them the skills to do so.
I started this program thirty some years ago to provide an environment for children that was safe in all ways for them to grow.
🌿In teaching children how to be welcoming, how to be inclusive, how to speak with respect and courtesy, how to ask for a turn, and share, and be accountable for our choices, and how to be responsible and empathetic and kind, we teach them what healthy relationships and friendships feel like and how to cultivate that around us. I am invested in children having all the tools they need to bring forth a healthy life. I love to work with families that are seeking the same kind of foundational development for their children. I welcome your inquiry. The Three Openings are available for September or October start. Applications are welcome. Forestschoolmn.org

To all those who help our children to grow well and flourish
Who take up the mantle of teaching and mentoring and are giving from the heart
We all thank you for your love and support.

For the sisters and sister friends
The aunties and cousins
The step mothers and mentors
Girlfriends and Godmothers
For the Women
Who will not get a card
Or macaroni necklaces
Or brunch
Or flowers
Who stand in the gap
Who encourage and love
Who guide and protect
Who Mother Us
Who Mother the Motherless
Who Mother us when our Mothers
Are far from reach
Who’s voices We long to hear
Who’s arms We wish could hold Us
For the Women who some how manage
To be an echo of Love
We never had
Never felt
But desperately needed
Today is for You too
For the Women
Who show us what Motherhood
Can be
When some of us have
Memories that ache like phantom limbs
Pain from the removal
Pain from the missing
Pain from what should be
But isn’t
We celebrate You today
For loving Us
When We felt so unloved
When We told ourselves
Who can Love
Me
If my Mama can’t
To the Women who helped Us heal
Thank You for teaching Our hearts
To receive
For the nobody’s Mamas
The Women who chose not to
And are judged
Who are constantly asked
When will You
When are You
Who are told
Your clock is ticking
To the Women who whisper
To younger Women
You don’t have to be a Mother
You don’t have to be a wife
You can choose any life
And You are still worthy
Today We thank you
For Mothering Yourself
Fearlessly
Paving the way for choice
For the Mothers with empty arms
And full hearts
That crave to hold
To pour love in abundance
Who have tried
And feel that they have failed
We honor You today
We hold space to mourn with you
You can take off the mask of
I’m ok
We know this dream is so big
That when it breaks
You can’t breathe
We honor Your strength
We hold You in Our hearts
We will celebrate Your rainbows with You
Today We honor the spirits of
Motherhood
More powerful than just a womb
Existent even when she has left us
Even when she comes to us through
Other souls
Even when she has hurt us beyond
Comprehension
We honor the Women who love away
The pain
Today We honor you
We raise a glass
We shout in gratitude
Thank you to the Women
Who didn’t birth Us
But Mother us with love Abundant
We humbly thank You
For Your hands in the small of Our backs
Pushing Us forward when We are afraid
For the words we needed to hear
That are louder than Our doubts
For showing Us by example
For leading with love
For being the Women who inspire Our
Spirits
Today is for You too
Happy Mother’s Day
Poem by Leslie Honoré

Spring is coming and the Bunnies are too.

A very slow start to Spring in Minnesota.
As a teacher, not every idea works as planned, and this year the seeds didn’t grow. Two weeks of working on and tending this little project. (The last photo was my plan). Alas, a redesign and now about to deliver to my students a little Spring surprise🐇🪺

Many early years programs talk about teaching the whole child, but miss helping or guiding our youngest to develop how they interact with others, peers, parents, teachers, all those we encounter. Without being taught the social and emotional skills that help them to feel a part of the community the child is left feeling unnecessarily uncomfortable and the interaction disappointing to say the least. It doesn't need to be this way.
Social skills are like any other skill, they must be learned and practiced, practiced, practiced in loving environments where it feels safe to learn and practice these new skills.
Often we expect children to learn social skills and especially peer interactions on their own,
literally saying “they’ll figure it out”, without thinking about how they will figure out something new to them, and who they will learn these social and emotional skills from. Surely we can't expect such an important skill to be learned from other children of the same age, or even a child that's a little bit older. These are life skills we are talking about, with tremendous impact not just on our children's life but their families life and the community. The "they'll figure out" hands off approach brings hurt feelings, hurt bodies, and hurt memories, all needless pain that doesn't teach anything. If anything were to be learned in these unskilled social dynamics, the price is too high and has long lasting negative impacts. Even then, if you don't know what went wrong, you don't know what to fix, just that it feels badly, and it is repeated over and over because no one taught them how to change it.
All skills must be taught and practiced,
sports, home skills, woodworking skills, cooking, gardening, sewing, drawing, math, reading, the list goes on and on. But for some reason, as a society and as parents and teachers, there is a hesitancy to teach manners, boundaries, and social skills, such as answering when someone talks, listening when someone talks, sharing, apologizing, holding boundaries, and actual accountability for our actions and choices. All the skills that are needed to cultivate and grow healthy relationships.
Our children need us to teach them social and emotional skills, not for a me only purpose, but the vital and important WE purpose.
For they too want to be a part of a kinder, more thoughtful, respectful and considerate world. A world where exemplary social and emotional skills are the foundation of their lives, and where everything else they will do grows forth from these skills. These life skills, the Social, Emotional, and mannered skills deserve the time, attention and importance to be cultivated, developed, and practiced.

FSMN was founded and has been successfully dedicated to changing the way we teach children, kindness, thoughtfulness , consideration, and respect are priceless life skills to master.

Openings are available, we welcome your application to join us🍃
Forestschoolmn.org
Michele 612-920-6330

The Forest School of Minnesota Nature immersed learning in a gentle social landscape, cultivated by an experienced teacher.

In my work, I help bring parents to
Brave and Admirable Parenting.
Parenting is one of the most important things you will ever do in life, and
You can make it one that is joyful or fearful.
Whichever you choose, your child will pick up your lead (remember, they are like sponges).
If you are fearful and uncertain, they will likely pick up that mantle, at least while they are young, being cautious to the point of missing so many things. If you are joyful, they will pick that up too, as how they interact in the world. Of course there is balance, but you know what direction you lean. Pay attention to what it teaches. Birth to five is when children learn the most and birth to three even more so. When we help children build their life foundation, think about the skills they will need to do they will develop healthy relationships.
Look at the children around you, children of friends, relatives, and neighbors, or co-workers, and the children in your child’s preschool (the only time in their life where the program you choose will make a huge impact -that’s another topic all together for a later post).
If you enjoy being around the children in these circles, and appreciate and admire how they handle transitions, “please put that away, it is time for us to go”, and disappointments, “we can go for ice cream another time, but not today”, or sharing, or eating, or asking for things - and how that child responds feels good to be around them, and you look forward to their company, ask their parents for advice. What did they do? Listen for the language they use, how do they phrase things? What are the boundaries and limits they set?
This is proof positive that you like the results of their parenting and they are doing something you would like to emulate.
In my decades of teaching, I have watched the results of countless parenting styles and movements, the no manners, (give me or I want), no accountability, (they don’t have to apologize or share), the co-parenting with the child as parents ask permission for everything, and I mean everything, - (young children don’t possess the knowledge or skill to co parent and that’s far too much to ask of them)
It is vital to allow children to be free from the adult burdens of mundane decision making, when they could be channeling that energy and thoughtfulness in many more interesting ways.
I have experienced first hand the results of those choices or later down the road talked with parents about the struggles that their child is trying to work through. The children I have observed are not happy, they grapple with how to be with peers. They don’t have the tools to build the joy. Joy is derived primarily from sharing an experience etc. with others, but we must teach how to do that.
The key in parenting, as in so much, is to be honest. Do you like how your young child is with others? Do they play joyfully? Are they interested in the world around them? It is a wonder to behold for them or is everything a fright or a struggle? We can help them enjoy this remarkable world and the living things we share it with. (Catching the word share in there too)
Remember the goal, you want your child to be loved and embraced by the world that they are inheriting, as messy as it is. Give them the tools to go through the frightening parts, with friends by their side, to celebrate even the littlest things, with friends by their side, to create beauty, with friends by their side. Give the children the tools to have and be in the company of others that will always welcome them with open arms.
Young children only know what we have taught them, we can't expect them to figure out healthy social interactions if we've not taught them. We are born selfish and self absorbed, but that is not how we make healthy relationships. Teaching children how to interact with others is vital to their happiness.
Don't be afraid to parent, don't be afraid to teach. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Forestschoolmn.org
612-920-6330
Application for enrollment are being accepted, we welcome you to apply on the website🍃

The Forest School of Minnesota Nature immersed learning in a gentle social landscape, cultivated by an experienced teacher.

Children who attend this true and authentic Nature Immersion peer program
weekly, year around
gain wonderfully useful and admirable character development and life skills that together with the parents, we foster to grow.
Here are a few

Flexibility
As we are in the elements and must conform to the weather, developing flexibility is natural. We don't get stuck on any idea but have the ability to work with what we have, and transition easily.

Tenacity
We try, try, and try again, climbing, balancing, etc. One of the safety tenets of Forest Schools is to allow children to learn what their body can do. If we were to lift a child up onto a tree limb, or hold their hand as they balance, they aren't going to know what they are truly capable of doing. This results in not only injuries but in taking risks they are not ready to take safely. When children are with peers in the forest, they watch one another, learn from one another, and develop the ability of Problem Solving ("my feet are cold, may I use the bathroom to change into dry wool socks?") Or ask to run the hills to warm up.

Creativity
Learn how to play without rigid guidelines, thus expanding their own ideas, creativity, and imaginations - they make a plate from a shard of bark found on the ground, or build a stick cave and become a family of bears, they make a restaurant and use mud and things shed from the nature around them in their creations. The ideas are endless, and the children automatically share the bounty of options from nature. From there, sharing evolves as a natural part of play and life.

Respect and Responsibility
With our Leave No Trace philosophy the children learn and practice thinking about how what we do affects all that is around us. Our actions begin with respect, and the understanding of “would I want someone to do that to me?”

Patience
As we walk through our day, we observe all that is around us. We stop to watch a spider spinning a web, the spring peepers as they show themselves and hide again, the anticipation of sighting the neighborhood eagle. We recognize when to be boisterous and when to practice quiet, as we hope to spot deer, muskrats, and beavers.

They Develop Keen Hearing and Extraordinary Sight because there is so much of interest to focus on in the vast spaces of our exploration.

Side note
I have noticed many early years peer groups that are in nature and Not being provided the guidance of practicing respect and regard for the spaces we share.
Breaking branches, striping off leaves, throwing rocks at ducks, squeezing and sometimes wounding or worse - living things, digging holes in public spaces, ripping up grass, killing bugs, yelling and screaming, without thinking of others that are on a peaceful walk in a natural sanctuary.
This is not what a nature school is designed to teach. A program worthy of the title Nature should not teach or allow taking whatever we want. Take to heart the Cultivating of Respect. It is the responsibility of every adult to guide and should be a tenant of every group, especially in early years teaching. It is our privilege to teach in nature and make spaces and places better for all.

If you are interested in this particular program with these life skills for your child,
Preschool openings are currently available.
Forrstschoolmn.org
612-920-6330