Early education rooted in the beauty and wonder of nature.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
– John Muir
Program:
River Song is excited to offer the Forest (Elderberries) Kindergarten program!
The Kindergarten is a garden for the soul of a child to explore, a peaceful and gentle place filled with natural beauty, sunlight, and laughter. It’s a refuge where a child can enter the golden state of play where genuine learning occurs. It is found not only in a classroom, but in friendship and in nature, in time and weather.
The modern pace begs such a haven for our children. What is truly needed is not the crowded hustle bustle of academic instruction, but a sanctuary that breathes with a child’s rhythm and serves to build their relationship with the world through igniting a love of learning. Kindergarteners at River Song enjoy an intimate, wisdom based curriculum where they learn through art and story, through the rhythms of the seasons and poetry. Whether under a willow tree next to a laughing creek, sledding down hills in the snow, or interacting with our high quality natural toys, they acquire the skills to share a foundational human narrative.
The principle of flow is important: some of our “kinders” may engage the kindergarten experience again the next year as elders, and other friends may move on to 1st grade adventures (best in another Waldorf setting). You may rest assured that whichever way a child is inspired to go, he or she will do so with strong foundational skills to empower that journey.
Tuition 2025-2026
$1,295/mo (8:30-2:00)
$27/day after care (2:00-5:30)
$50 registration fee for new families
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Add your child(ren) to the waitlist by completing our Enrollment Interest Form
To schedule a visit, contact Becky Praamsma at 970.407.9185 or email riversongfc@gmail.com
Learn more about our tuition and fees, here.
Elderberry Schedule:
Our forest kindergarteners meet Monday-Friday, 8:30am-2:00pm at the River Song bus before departing for our location of the week. After care is available from 2:00-5:30pm back at the school (additional charge for after care).
The children's day is spent exploring parks and natural areas around Fort Collins using the River Song bus as our mobile classroom. Days are set up with a mixture of free play and natural explorations as well as more focused activities including circle, stories, hand crafts, etc.
Indoor locations are planned in the event of inclement weather, though most of our days will be spent fully outdoors.
They will often meet up with the Bluebells to learn and explore together with more friends!
A few extra special adventures will be scheduled with Bluebells, which may include pumpkin patches, farms, butterfly house, etc.
Resources
Below are some links and resources that will help you learn more about the Elderberries program and what to expect when enrolling your child in Forest School!
Psychological Benefits of Attending Forest School for Preschool Children: a Systematic Review
Plymouth Marjon University: The Benefits of Forest School
Exploring the Impact of Forest School Education: A Look at Notable Research
Unveiling the Cognitive Benefits of Forest School Education: Insights from Research
Forest Kindergarten Details
- Elderberries consists of a small class size of approximately 8 kids w/ 2 teachers
- It uses a Waldorf-inspired philosophy
- The children's learning takes place through building on their own interests and discoveries while connecting with the natural world around them and fostering their creativity and imaginations
- There is an emphasis on social/emotional development, sensory-motor health, and healthy risk taking.
- The Elderberries embark on seasonal field trips and adventures
- Healthy, organic snacks are provided
- Each child's need are met on an individual basis
- Children must be 5 by October 1 to be eligible. Exceptions may be made if space allows.
- Learn more about Forest Schools
What is Forest Kindergarten & Why is it important?
The idea behind outdoor education in early childhood is that children have a strong connection with nature and therefore benefit from an outdoor learning environment. Outdoor education supports the open-ended, self-directed play that is critical for physical and mental development.
Waldorf schools prepare children for the future by:
- developing their full capacities for creative imagination
- encouraging critical thinking
- allowing them to engage with the world around them
We follow a curriculum designed to encourage students’ emotional and physical development, in addition to their academic development.
Outdoor kindergarten is a natural progression for Waldorf schools, which have always emphasized imaginative play for this early childhood age group and encouraged students to appreciate the outdoors.
Our Curriculum:
Play is the best instructor, so our Kinders learn letters, numbers, and other concepts through experience. They hear the sounds of a letter repeated in stories and poems carefully selected to feature that letter. They draw the letter with their feet in the sandbox and fashion it in bread dough. They paint the strokes of the letter in watercolor. Through engaging the senses in natural play the true essence of the letter emerges for the child.
Numbers are experienced in a similar way. We may count stones to build an edge for a flower bed and measure the ingredients we need to make our snacks.
Shapes and colors are discovered in the natural world and described with love, only to be rediscovered with joyful enthusiasm on our regular nature walks.
Science surrounds us in everything we do both inside and outside of the classroom. We serve the learning of the whole child in this way, deepening their engagement with the world.
