This amazing offering is a one of kind in the Jacksonville Area!  The Spring River Community has a long and rich history of supporting outdoor education, including the founding of the only all outdoor K-8 outdoor education program in Northeast Florida.

Our Forest School mission is to instill in our students a love and reverence of our local parks and natural wonders. After all, our children are the future stewards of this beautiful earth!

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Our nature immersion program is rooted in the Forest School traditions of North Europe with a focus on experiential learning that will help build students' reverence for the natural world.   With a holistic, learner-centered focus, our foresters will become invested in their education and foster a lifelong relationship with the land, their teachers and classmates, and the community. 

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Our twice-a-week class will take place in local forested parks and will be led by trained and experienced outdoor educators, whose bios you can read on the Meet Our Teachers page.

The Jacksonville area has many parks available to explore such as unspoiled Florida scrub hammock, forest, wetlands, marshes, dunes, and beaches to foster nature education and connection. The long-term benefits of learning outside in nature are well researched and documented and are the perfect complement to any homeschool program.  Our classes have spent time at Timucuan Preserve, Dutton Island Preserve, and Hanna Park.

                  FAQ:

• Forest School is a homeschool enrichment class for grades K-3 that meets on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the school year 2022-23.  Families can sign up for one day or two.

• The Class hours are 8:45 am - 1 pm

• Tuition/Fees:

  • Annual Commitment is $1,122 for the 1-day program or $2,244 for the two-day program.  

  • Supply Fees: $40 for one day program, and $80 for a two-day program.

• Class limit 10 with a lead and assistant teacher​

• The group will be visiting a minimum of one park each session period.

• Children should bring their own water bottle, backpack, sir spot blanket, hat, snack, and lunch.

• Any child attending will need to be mature enough to carry their own backpack and belongings

• Any child attending will need to be mature enough to stay with the group and listen to the teacher.

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Forest School (K-3)

During our time in the forest, exploration of the natural world around us is our curriculum.  The students will learn through direct discovery in firsthand experiences that engage the five senses. Observing, collecting, and categorizing natural objects, and other hands-on activities help acquaint students with the natural world in general – and with our local landscapes in particular.  We study Physical Geographies such as weather and seasons, plant and animal identification, eco-studies, trail reading and etiquette, and navigation.

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Our foresters will follow a predictable rhythm which will include circle time, nature hike/exploration, silent snack time to foster quiet observation, nature journaling with study observations, outdoor artistic or skill work activity, lunch, and nature-infused storytime.