Sunbeam Nature School

06/02/2026

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Email from Sunbeam Nature School Gentle Reminder: Polls open till 8pm         Gentle Reminder to Vote Today! Polls and Ballot Boxes Close at 8:00pm Election Info Here Dear Parents, Here we are catchin

07/09/2025

Wednesday Wrens: caregiver + child play and education series at Sunbeam beginning August 13! You can come for a free sample class on Wednesday, July 30 at 9am. RSVP here:

Wednesday Wrens is our Child + Caregiver Class series at Sunbeam in the fall. Come July 30 to sample the class for free! Shawna Thompson, director, who will guide the children and their grown-ups through a gardening activity, free play, and animal tending. We end with a circle and snack.

06/02/2025

There is still time and space to enroll in our June and August summer camps, full week or daily drop in!
Sunbeam Nature School (on two acres in west Petaluma) has a really sweet summer camp program for ages 3-9. 10 years and older kids can attend as junior assistants for half price. We have animals, a garden, do cooking, and in general the kids play a lot, such as physical games, fantasy play, fairy house making, water explorations, and tinkering with craft materials. It's a very relaxed pace and welcoming environment. Please check out our camps registration page at enrichment.kids/ca-petaluma-sunbeam-nature-camps

03/19/2025

🌍 Join us for a Family-Inclusive Grief Circle on March 20, 2025, from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM in Petaluma, CA. Together, we'll hold space for open conversation about the injustices we face and support one another in expression and healing. Let's create a community of compassion and connection. More info here: https://wix.to/k5f1Nf4

03/14/2025

Sunbeam Nature School Camp still has open spots during spring break weeks! We host a mixed-ages, play-based program for 3-9-year-olds. (Kids over ten can be junior assistants for half price).

In addition to lots of wonderful play, we invite the children to work in the garden and tend our animals, and through these three types of experiences, guided by nurturing and observant adult facilitators, they gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their world. We are all connected on this beautiful planet of amazing resources worth protecting, and the best way to really truly know the power of nature (and therefore ourselves) is to be immersed in it! It's also a place to relax and just "be," and therefore it's an inclusive setting. We keep things very child-led.

You can find all our camp listings at [enrichment.kids/ca/petaluma/sunbeam-nature-camps].
If you'd like to set up a visit day, we can do that! If you have any questions please reach out.

01/17/2025

Join us to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on January 20, 2025, at the MLK Day of Service at Sunbeam! 🌱 We will plant seeds, prune, and w**d to beautify our school garden. Circle time at 11:30 AM with cake! 🎉 Learn more and join us: https://wix.to/TfzEm7M

09/27/2024

Thanksgiving Break Camps for kids offered by enrichment providers in the SF Bay Area

03/31/2024

Sunbeam was a beautiful location for a family egg hunt and picnic today! It may be time for us to think about opening up for weekend birthday parties or other small gatherings here sometime in the near future!

Easter originated as a celebration around the time of spring equinox. The egg and the bunny are symbols of fertility, abundance, and luck: hope for an abundant planting season.

Personally I (Shawna, Sunbeam director) have always loved the Easter holiday. I get a lot of energy at the onset of spring and it also aligns with my April birthday. When I lived in Alaska as a little girl, the daffodils at my birthday meant finally the long dark snowy season was ending (note, I live in California now for a reason! I’m a sun lover).

There’s so much joy and beauty in dying eggs and then nestling them among grass and plants outside, and additionally, the beauty of my children finding the eggs. We usually do many rounds of egg hunts because in addition to finding them my kids love hiding them! Anyone else’s family do multiple hunts?

03/27/2024

The children had a joyful and wonder-filled morning; they were genuinely in awe of the beautiful wild California poppies in full bloom in our field! I’m in awe of the beauty of this little community that has taken root and is blossoming while I (as its founder) watch in wonder and awe! 🌱

03/04/2024

“No child should look to the sky and wonder if what’s falling is death or dinner.” - Sinead O’Moore

Thank you to all the Sonoma County families who showed up to windy cloudy Dillon Beach on Sunday! We had about a dozen kites and between 2-3 dozen people out gathered together. Then an unexpected downpour made us disperse quickly. I look forward to gathering again with you all soon! Thank you!