Photo: Audubon Vermont
Photo: Audubon Vermont

News

Forest Fridays

Eliza Minnucci, founder of a public school kindergarten Forest Day program at the Ottauquechee School in Vermont, speaks to the benefits of getting children outside.

We were thrilled to see Audubon Magazine's winter issue highlight Vermont's Eliza Minnucci and her success in starting 'Forest Fridays' with her Kindergarden class at the Ottauquechee School. Her class would head outside for the whole day while still keeping school rituals in place like snack, lunch and bathroom breaks. The piece is poignant and passionate, and reminds us of why we love our Forest Playschool program so much. The article underscores the ways the natural world acts as a platform for teaching fine and gross motor skills, communication skills and a sense of place and belonging. We certainly see these benefits and more in our Forest Playschool program. Playschoolers bond over dramatic play, take controlled risks, learn how to resolve their own conflicts through conversation and foster a deep sense of belonging and comfort in the outdoors. Our dream is to expand Forest Playschool beyond Friday and host a liscensed early-education preschool out of our center. Until then, we look forward to every Friday and all of the other days we are fortunate enough to bring kids of all ages outdoors! 

Check out the whole story here - Birding With Benefits: How Nature Improves Our Mental Health

We still have spots open in Forest Playschool! Contact darcher@audubon.org or click here for more information about the program

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