1. Where is your child at school?
Alice attended Growing Wild Forest School in Asheville, NC from January to August and will begin Asheville Farmstead School in Candler this September. Both schools are fantastic!
2. How does the school incorporate the outdoors into the program?
Growing Wild is a 100% outdoors forest school program, in beautiful west Asheville. They are adjacent to a public greenway, surrounded by lush bamboo, ferns, and wooded spaces for the kiddos to play.
At farm school, their goal is to spend 100% outdoors, though there is an indoor space for emergent weather. Weather in the hills and hollers can change in the blink of an eye.
3. How much time is spent outdoors?
All of it!
4. Has your child had an adjustment period to the outdoor approach?
We try to emphasize outdoor activities as a family, so she was used to spending so much time outside. The real adjustment period was that we can't spend all of our family time outdoors!
5. Would you characterize your family as "outdoorsy"?
Definitely! I feel that spending time outdoors beginning as a baby is how we raise a generation that appreciates, nurtures, and protects the Earth. As a family, we love to hike and camp. I'm also the Asheville area ambassador for Outgrown (formerly Hike it Baby.)
6. How has outdoor school benefited your child in particular?
Toddlers can be really particular about a lot of things and I feel that outdoor school has helped Alice roll with challenging circumstances. She is adaptable when it comes to changing weather conditions and plans. Best of all, it nurtured her spirit of adventure.
7. Did you pivot from traditional school to outdoor school? Maybe from one child to another, and if, yes, what was that decision process like?
Alice is our first child in school of any kind! We hope to continue outdoor schooling as long as possible. Fortunately, our area seems to have schools and nature-based curriculum through middle school. Her little brother, James, will follow in her footsteps to outdoor school, as well.
8. Was it hard to find an outdoor school in your area? How did you approach your search? Did you utilize the free ODSS Outdoor School Directory to find your program?
Asheville and the surrounding area has a great amount of outdoor schools! When we started our search for preschools, I knew I wanted to choose an outdoor school. I had just read "How to Raise a Wild Child" and "No Such Thing as Bad Weather" and felt that the outdoor approach was the right fit for Alice and our family. I did a basic search for "outdoor schools" which brought me to ODSS Outdoor School Directory and from there, I just started emailing programs!
9. How have friends & family reacted to your choice to embrace outdoor education?
We've gotten a mixed bag of reactions. Our immediate family and most friends really love the idea of outdoor education. Some of our friends feel a little confused by the entire "in all types of weather" approach to outdoor education. I always tell people who are curious about outdoor education that kids are resilient by nature and my goal is to support them as they learn their limits, which includes what kind of weather they're comfortable in.
10. Has it been difficult to find the right outerwear to keep your child happy, warm and engaged at outdoor school? How has ODSS been a resource for you in terms of gear?
Outerwear is such a challenge! The mornings can be brisk but humid, and by mid-day, it's sweltering (and still humid!) Afternoon thunderstorms are common. In the winter, we occasionally get snow. Finding outerwear that keeps Alice dry without restricting her movement and doesn't pose too much of a challenge when it comes to potty breaks was the biggest challenge. I used ODSS to get an understanding of brands, styles (bibs vs pants vs whole body suit) and make a decision from there. Then I discovered the gear list and that was a total game changer. Every season, I take a look at the gear list and personalize from there, based on what she's doing at school and how she tolerates the weather. I've discovered a slight obsession with Reima and Muddy Puddles through ODSS.