Featured Camp of the Week: Go Outside and Play!

From our friends at Cedar Tree Learning

Think back to your childhood. You probably remember hearing, “Go outside and play!” You likely played for hours outdoors uninhibited – making forts, climbing trees, getting dirty…

How would you be different without those experiences?

While many children are becoming more connected to our global environmental crises, their physical relationship with nature is fading.

What can you do to help reconnect your child with nature? Tell your child to Go Outside and Play!

This July 5th through July 23rd, registration is open for Cedar Tree Learning’s summer session. During each half-day class, children will explore nature and experience the joy of outdoor play. Each class will be at Whitaker Ponds or Columbia Children’s Arboretum in Portland, Oregon. Class size is small and limited to eight students per day.

Please visit cedartreelearning.com for more information or Register Now! 

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“Passion does not arrive [from screen time]… it is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save the environment, we must also save an endangered keystone species: the child in nature.” – Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods

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What is Cedar Tree Learning?

Cedar Tree Learning is a mixed-age learning community that supports the playful creativity, joy, and natural beauty that is CHILDHOOD. Our all outdoor education process is holistic, placed-based and learner-led. We hold space for children to develop through healthy engagement with risk, problem-solving and self-discovery, all within a natural environment in a hands-on and thoughtful manner.

Give your child less screen time and more green time!

At Cedar Tree Learning, play is at the heart of what we do. Outdoor, creative, open-ended play helps children develop in healthy ways, like:
• Being outside means more exposure to sunlight; which improves mood, sleep, and strengthens the immune system.
• Outdoor play encourages children to take calculated risks — and become more confident in their abilities.
• Children develop an understanding of emotional and social expectations, and have opportunities to share thoughts and ideas, to listen, and to compromise.

During our summer offering, your child has the opportunity to play with friends and make new friends! Your child gets to practice cooperation, communication, empathy and conflict resolution with others. These skills are crucial for success in the world.

“It was lovely to hear the fun, creative happenings of the day when my children came home joyful after outdoor school.” – Cedar Tree Parent

Cedar Tree Learning is part of a global family of child-centered people seeking to change the lives of children by connecting them with our woodlands and natural landscapes in a unique and inspirational way. Cedar Tree Learning is a member of the American Forest School Association. Cedar Tree Learning supports your child in activities that are engaging and appropriately challenging to your child’s skill level. We observe your child’s interests and support them throughout the flow of the day. We promote what is relevant, interesting and meaningful to your child. We facilitate open ended time for your child to shift into play and engage in the natural space around them, encouraging their ability to create and explore.

This summer, please consider telling your child to Go Outside and Play!