Dear Families,

We are very excited to announce our second nature-based endeavor, Wonderforest Nature Preschool, which will join Brooklyn Nature Days in offering child-led, nature-inspired early education in Brooklyn.

Wonderforest Nature Preschool has been a vision of ours for almost 2 years and will open in September 2021 for the 2021/22 school year. Created with families in mind who desire a nature-based education for their child but also need full day care, our program will offer 2, 3, and 5 day per week options, along with options for early drop in the morning and aftercare until early evening.

Located on 6th Avenue off of Flatbush Avenue, our space will allow for daily nature exploration both inside and outside. With trips to Prospect Park, as well as other local green spaces, our nature kids will explore daily in all weather, year round. (In the case of inclement weather—thunderstorms, high winds, extreme cold—children's activities will remain indoors to ensure safety). Our indoor classrooms and communal spaces allow for movement, messy play, nature-based inquiry, and child-led discovery. With inspiration drawn from both the Forest School and Reggio-Emilia philosophies, natural items, loose parts, and recycled materials will be readily available, in addition to open-ended toys and natural art supplies.

While the natural world will inspire our activities, having a permanent indoor space allows for consistent daily care, including lunch and naps/quiet time. Further details, including information session dates and 2021/22 program specifics, will be available the first week of February. Join our Wonderforest Nature Preschool mailing list to ensure you receive upcoming announcements regarding enrollment!

Wonderforest will not affect our Brooklyn Nature Days park classes. Brooklyn Nature Days will continue, as we have since 2014, to offer the nature-immersion classes in Prospect Park that your children have enjoyed and the format and scheduling families are familiar with. Those classes will continue to remain fully outdoors and will meet in all weather (barring dangerous conditions), as we have always done since our humble beginnings 7 years ago. For more information on 2021/22 classes for Brooklyn Nature Days, please check out our website.

We are grateful to be expanding to allow for more opportunities for children to experience nature in an inquiry-based, open-ended environment on a regular basis. While Wonderforest Nature Preschool and Brooklyn Nature Days are separate programs with varied offerings, they are related through our love of and commitment to providing accessible nature immersion to budding urban naturalists across Brooklyn.

Thank you for being a part of our growing program. We look forward to this new adventure with community and a shared love of nature at its core.

Looking forward to new things in 2021/22,
Sarah Carlson