Woodland Parent Nursery School

09/11/2026

Join us Sept 19th! Bring your gently used toys / clothes for a swap!

09/01/2026

We’ve been quiet on social media, which means we’ve been BUSY in real life! This summer our dedicated parents took on a big “Yard Wilding” project.

We got rid of the concrete and sole-purpose play items. Now the entire yard is more wild, more imagination sparking, more self-directed play. “Hmmm, what do YOU think you can do with that bucket and pulley system?!”

The early results are in from our focus group, and the new yard is a HIT! Lots more photos coming soon, but here’s some early reveal…

08/27/2026

Come play outdoor with us, 3 hours a day. Email [email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/TimberNook.Camps/posts/pfbid033sAhgg1Fq3xSMAEmQNXxHpurSgbDDZwVbn5R9k6aaAZpo78x63zp51hg5BrHWNZrl

08/16/2026

Tomorrow is the first day of our 2026-27 school year. We have a few spots still open for your family. Children will be learning Math, Literacy, Regulation, Social Emotional Learning and so much more all while playing in our newer wilder oudoor playspace. Come play with us! Setup a playdate and tour. Email [email protected]. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0Yp3wpg2cbzKNDNq6ypVjVubqG8LXvDWLK11gmbU7WK7vT3DH5zK7EBMK3Ke5EmxNl&id=100076106251622

07/23/2026

We're having a glorious summer. Thank you Cache Creek Nature Preserve for hosting us while we wild our outdoor classroom. Check us out this Fall where we'll continue our nature connection and play. https://www.facebook.com/janetlansbury/posts/pfbid02b3n7ChHVD9FPCMij2fwDWic5sCFdvpKspB7ZVgRFw9o57zxQKzT3pn1n8tJqa15Nl

Here's my somewhat unpopular opinion about caring for kids during the summer months: they need as much time as possible to be unhurried and gloriously unstructured.

Those slightly boring, self-directed hours, the ones that can feel almost lazy, are where so much real development happens. Kids are using their imaginations, problem-solving, learning resilience, and finding ways to be calm. In fact, researchers are now linking the loss of this kind of free time to rising anxiety in children.

Our kids need days that are unscheduled. They need to lose track of time.

So this summer, whatever yours looks like, give them, and yourself, permission to simply be. ❤️

Check out the article for my full thoughts: https://tinyurl.com/33ucjpn

07/18/2026

Play with loose parts is a big theme at WPNS. Very broadly, “loose parts” means anything that isn’t a single purpose toy. So it could be a pile of boxes, a drawer full of paper clips & binder clips, washers, lug nuts & bolts…stuff where imagination can be used to create.

So fun to set out the loose parts on a daily basis and see what the kids do with them, and the thousands of ways the parts can be used to create.

🚨Warning: once your kid builds this “loose parts” muscle, the whole WORLD becomes their playground. Which can be odd when your child has built a tower out of silverware at the restaurant, or decides his grandma’s dried pasta shells should be used as a toy… blessing/curse, ya know? 😂

07/03/2026

June Summer Camp snaps. What are we doing? Spending time with our kiddos at Cache Creek Nature Preserve. Letting our kids have repeated experiences with the same spot outdoors to help them develop a relationship with nature and get to know the area, bugs, rocks, plants more intimately. My son remarks on the daily changes to the landscape as we roll in each day, an observation he can only make as a now-expert of Cache Creek.

There are no built in features or playground equipment at Cache Creek, so our kids have to get creative. Yes, this sometimes starts with a moment of boredom, which is nothing to be afraid of. As at home, after my son complains of being bored, 3 minutes later is when I see his creativity start flowing.

Since we live in town, I’m so excited for him to have the relationship with nature that I also knew as a child. And I LOVE to see what projects he cooks up when I don’t have him somewhere that “entertains” him constantly. I’ve noticed a better ability to invent his way out of boredom at home as a result.

Love you Cache Creek. And love you Rainbow School!
🩷❤️🧡

06/27/2026

I'm a teacher, loving to be at the center of things, the bestower of knowledge, important. And I know from teaching at a Co-op preschool, valuing outdoor mixed-age play, that more often than not there is no center -- yes, we come in and end the day together, and yes, sometimes a book or a conversation at the snack table or an irresistible monster draws everyone into the learning.
Rather, learning is happening everywhere, all at once. It's there where the 2-year-old is engaged in onlooker play, not separate from the play they are observing, but extending into it. It's there where a parent has sat down to tinker in the making space, and two children have joined to co-create. It's there on the tire swing where the 5 year-old, 4 year-old, and 3 year-old are workshopping their jokes and figuring out how to make the tire spin and swing simultaneously.
It's a learning environment fabulously rich and textured and impossible to mass produce and pack into a curriculum box or a technology program with instructions for a teacher to follow as he corrals and herds the 4 year-olds in his charge.

It takes humans years before they fully comprehend their separateness from their caretakers. At least that's the widely acce...

06/26/2026

“Oh, my child hates when I leave, so I cannot send them to school yet.”
Yay, you! It sounds like you respect and want to be responsive to your child’s feelings and communication. And you are in a wonderful position for your child to learn that you welcome their emotions and that there are other trusted and responsive adults who will support them through big feelings. While your children are young, find someone you trust to help you with small times away. Show your child that even when you are gone, they WILL be safe and cared for, and you WILL come back. Welcome your child’s feelings. Make your goodbyes short.
No, it’s not easy. Yes, it takes time, repetition and commitment. (Hint: this will be a theme throughout parenthood).

And YES, you will still be their sun & moon. But don’t they deserve to experience all the stars, too? And children only form these other attachments once you EXIT the room.

06/16/2026

And it's fun! https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0s2BqFPcn2JvDzGBT8a28HpzUDmLiybaTS9zK4UYN8D8F8h5CDM8wbTvio4x6TrfMl&id=100076106251622

Why We Let Children Climb Up the Slide (Especially When Other Childern Are There)...

We’ve been led to believe that playground equipment, or slides rather, have one correct use: "up the stairs, down the slide." Orderly, predictable, and adult-approved. Yet when we insist on this one-way approach, we remove the very moments that build the skills children need most.

When children climb up while others want to come down, it becomes a lesson in frustration tolerance, problem-solving, resilience, communication, collaboration, cooperation, and decision-making. They learn to pause and wait (delayed gratification), negotiate, and consider others. These moments are the foundation of emotional intelligence.

Research from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child shows that self-regulation and executive function grow through experiences that require planning and adjustment. Peter Gray notes that when children navigate play on their own terms, they strengthen empathy and independence. Angela Hanscom connects full-body movement to focus and sensory integration, while Mariana Brussoni’s research on risky play shows that manageable risk helps children become more capable and careful.

And yes, sometimes children will get hurt. While we never want injury, it’s more concerning when children aren’t moving or testing limits at all. Skinned knees and small tumbles teach body awareness, balance, and recovery (while activating vestibular and proprioceptive development). We’ve become so afraid of falling that we stop children from running, forgetting that getting back up is how confidence is built. Preventing every scrape comes at the cost of deeper learning, courage, confidence, and trust in their own abilities.

Context always matters. Allowing children to climb up the slide doesn’t mean there are no rules. It means we shift how boundaries are taught (within play). Instead of enforcing them through constant correction, we let children experience and understand them through relevant and meaningful action.

When adults step back, children don’t lose boundaries, but rather, they begin to build them from within. They learn to move aside, wait, or communicate. Those are the beginnings of true self-regulation and respect for themselves and others. The goal isn’t blind obedience but awareness and accountability.

The playground is the perfect balance of freedom and safety. It’s where children can take risks, test ideas, and learn how to move within shared space under calm, present supervision. They discover what their bodies can do and how to exist alongside others doing the same.

Climbing up the slide doesn’t teach rule-breaking. It teaches discernment, confidence, and community. It shows that freedom and safety are not opposites but partners in growth.

Children have been climbing up slides since slides existed because they are wired to explore from every direction. The playground is where they practice challenge, coordination, and coexistence. When we stop interfering and start trusting, we give them what childhood is meant to offer: a safe place to move, negotiate, wonder, and grow. ❤

Join us this month for our FREE WEBINAR on how to better support resilience and frustration tolerance in our children. Register here: https://www.weskoolhouse.com/event-list