Fiddleheads Forest Preschool Online Learning

From our friends at Fiddleheads Urban Forest Preschool

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Help your child develop emotional intelligence and bond with nature safely while gaining 3 to 6 year old age-appropriate skills this fall with Fiddleheads Forest Preschool’s Online Learning Program.

Now enrolling for the fall semester!
Fall Semester September 7th through December 11th

We are a unique early childhood online learning experience in that we offer static, small group and one-on-one live instruction from qualified teachers, continuity of relationships, and opportunities for both online and in person community building.

What Parents Say

We just love this program so much! It’s been so thrilling to see my 4-year-old come alive this spring in the garden. She has learned so much and has fallen in love with nature and the natural processes she has been observing. I’m so grateful for these lessons. Thank you for sharing your passion and wisdom! “
Amber Votel Roth

Find out more about our program here.

In this time of great change and many uncertainties, focusing on emotional intelligence and connection with nature is both healing and enriching. Here are five reasons to choose nature study as your homeschool focus this fall for your 3-6 year old:

1. Early childhood is the best time for children to form a true and lasting connection with nature from which they can draw for support and solace for the rest of their lives. In these challenging times when many familiar aspects of children’s lives are disrupted and unavailable, outside play and curiosity about nature is safe, engaging and healing.

2. Being outside is physically beneficial. Early childhood is an important time to build coordination, large muscle development, and balance and agility. Outside exploration in wild places is perfect for honing these necessary skills. Dealing with different weather and seasonal clothing provides opportunity to practice patience, deal with some discomfort at times, and to notice our bodies and make wise decisions about layers, food, drink and activity levels to support our comfort and energy. Being outside invites us to get “out of ourselves” and notice the rest of the world around us, and that is a very healthy thing for all of us to do.

3. Learning to take risks. In order to be competent, confident people we need to be able to take risks and to trust ourselves. Nature study in the outdoors is a great way to build self-confidence, as it can involve taking small risks. Can I climb that hill without holding onto a hand? If I get up on that branch can I get down by myself? How do I go down this steep slope in a way that feels secure? As children practice navigating these challenges they gain immensely in problem solving capacity, physical ability and confidence.

4. Play is the work of early childhood. Time in nature is endlessly inspiring for play. The more that we can encourage imaginative play, and the longer that we can foster it, the more beneficial it is for our children. Educators now know that long frontal lobe development in our brains is key for creative thinking and problem solving later in life. The preschool years are a vital time for frontal lobe development, and early childhood is the crucial window for us to build our imagination muscle and to test our own ideas and intuition through play. Fiddleheads “lessons” take this into account and are designed around play and play based learning.

5. Emotional intelligence is a necessary skill of the future. Becoming self aware by learning about others, including other species, helps build empathy and connection. Recognizing that everyone and everything has its own experience and its own point of view and some kind of emotional life—even plants and bugs—is a valuable perspective that helps us to feel whole and allows us to connect to everything around us and feel secure.