Our Mission
Room to Roam follows the Forest School Philosophy. We believe that children are capable and whole, and we believe that nature is an excellent teacher. We aim to provide gentle guidance and support while allowing exploration and adventures that foster a connection to the natural environment.
Our goal is to offer local preschool children a chance to learn teamwork and healthy conflict resolution while building strong friendships and learning to care for Mother Earth. We teach kindness and empathy through example, and create a setting that allows our preschoolers to develop into their best selves, while making fun memories and building a foundation of healthy communication and inquiry-based learning.
Our View of the Child
We believe children are innately motivated to learn. They are primed to take in loads of information about their environment. Children have a unique and fresh perspective of the world. Children deserve to explore their curiosity. They are capable, creative, curious, imaginative, learners with the desire to contribute in the world around them. We believe every child has the right to learn about their natural environment.
Children learn through play. Play is essential for their development and children deserve the freedom to play. Children learn through all their senses and the outdoor environment provides a full sensory experience. Children learn by doing and by discovering for themselves.
Children have a voice. We, as adults, must listen to that voice. Children deserve to be treated with respect.
A Day at Room to Roam
No two days are alike in our outdoor program as we consider our environment and the children’s interests to guide us in what we do each day but generally we follow the following structure of the day:
Opening Circle time – welcome and kindness pledge
Free play and exploration – snack time open throughout the day
Gathering time with snack and/or tea and story telling
Closing Circle time – reflection and gratitude
Return to meet up spot.
Benefits of outdoor education
There are many reasons why the outdoors is so beneficial for children. Nature inspires and promotes creativity. Outdoors the children will find sticks, rocks, sand or mud which can be anything a child might imagine them to be. For example a stick can be a fishing pole, an ice cream cone, a car, a treasure, a pet or a stick could be used to create a fort, a camp fire or a tower. This is the type of play that fosters a child’s innate imagination and creativity.
The outdoors is the perfect setting to assess risk and challenges. Nature is an unpredictable settings. It could rain, the terrain is uneven, and there may be roots to traverse or boulders to climb. Physically it is a much more challenging setting than any indoor environment or playground. In the natural setting children must assess and evaluate risks. They learn what they are capable of and gain and build confidence in so doing.
The outdoors also offers a broad sensory experience. Young children are made for outdoor play because their young brains are primed to take in the experiences it has to offer, from the scent of leaves, soil and flowers, to the feel of grass, tree bark and mud, the sounds of running water, rain drops and bird calls. It’s a sensory experience that is full but it does not overstimulate unlike many indoor experiences. Many children in an enclosed room make for a noisy and confusing space. Outdoors all the senses are engaged but not overstimulated. Outdoors a child’s sense of wonder is allowed to flourish.
