2024 Session Registration Now Open …

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If we want our children to move mountains, we first have to let them get out of their chairs.

– Nicolette Sowder

What is Forest School?

Forest School provides learners with opportunities to connect to themselves, to others, to our land and to their source. It requires regular and repeated experiences in natural spaces combined with learning through inquiry, emergent and land based knowledge. The facilitator is not the holder of knowledge, rather a guide. The participants and the land work together to direct the learning in an authentic and natural manner that reflects the interests and needs of all involved. Learners find balance and resilience which allows them to thrive in a complex, busy and challenging world. We gain an awareness of community and a deeper connection with nature and our fellow human beings leaving us better suited to live authentic and rewarding lives rich with meaningful relationships. Our days will be filled with exploring and adventuring through the forest, supported risk taking, creative endeavours and meaningful connections to age appropriate curriculum. Together, we will play, problem solve, celebrate, reflect and discover ourselves and how we fit into the world around us.

our programs

Why Choose Forest School?

  • Create Connections
  • Build Confidence
  • Develop Resilience
  • Navigate Risks
  • Experiential learning

Our Forest School Model

  • Seasonal session lasts 10-12 weeks
  • Children attend 1 day/week
  • Sessions cost CAD $70-$80 a day (no HST required)
  • Summer camps are 1 full week at a time

Programs & Events

Explore the various programs and upcoming sessions that will suit your child’s needs.

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A Typical Day at School

Explore how a typical day at the forest school looks like from arrival to pick up.

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Our Facilitators

Our facilitators are certified educators with additional qualifications.

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Ebb and Flow Program Handbook

Ebb and Flow Official Handbook S24Download
My daughter absolutely loves this program!
We have been bringing our 2 year old daughter to the Burrs and Buds Program on Friday mornings for a few months now. The outdoor space/forest is beautiful and allows the kids to use their imaginations and explore nature! My daughter absolutely loves this program. Adam, Heidi and Beckie are so patient, interactive, and come up with great ideas to keep my little toddler interested. Each week different activities are offered that are always sensory and nature related and my daughter is never bored! There is always free play at the beginning which is then followed by reading and songs (a favourite with my little). Afterwards there is usually a craft and then some exploring in the forest! I find the two hours to be just enough time for my daughter and it makes for a nice morning out together. There are even treats and coffee or tea for the parents most weeks! I love the socialization time that my daughter gets through this program and I’m so thankful to have been connected with Ebb and Flow Forest School. We have received such a warm welcome from everybody. After having my second baby, my father in law has been attending with us as an extra hand and even he is ALWAYS raving about how much he loves what they are offering the kids. Trust me when I say you will not regret signing your child up for any of their programs! I hope for my children to be ongoing participants for years to come!
Aleah C
Parent
It is far from just learning about nature…
To be honest, with not having any idea what a Forest School was about, I was very skeptical. My first reaction to the concept was that it sounded weird and not for me or my kids. However after meeting Beckie, Adam and Heidi, then getting a tour of the property, my skepticism turned into pure excitement for our boys! Ebb and Flow has taught me that Forest School is far from just learning about nature! It’s about building confidence, being resilient, resourceful, trying new things, taking risks and best of all, being creative. There are some skills that are challenging to learn in a traditional public school setting and it’s these skills learned where I have seen the biggest impact in our two boys after attending Ebb and Flow Forest School. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like, our boys always come home from Forest School with lots of stories from their days’ worth of adventures. Then to top it off, Ebb and Flow will send photo collage summaries of what the boys learned in the day including quotes from the kids. Ebb and Flow have built something very special for kids and I highly recommend it to anyone (especially to any Dads who may be unsure).
Dave B
Parent
I knew we had found something special…
I cannot say enough great things about Ebb and Flow Forest School and our experience here. Making the transition to one day a week sessions at the Forest School has been a truly rewarding and positive change in our sons’ lives. I knew I wanted something a little different, a little more than what the public school has recently been offering and then I was connected with Beckie and we started chatting about kids and life and everything in between. She mentioned in one of our conversations that she and her husband were thinking about starting a Forest School and I immediately invited myself into the fold and I think our kids were the first two students enrolled after Beckie and Adam’s own two kids. Coming to the Forest School for the meet and greet tour, meeting Adam, Heidi and the other families, I knew we had found something special. The boys, who are 5 and 9, love going to Forest School every week. Their bags are packed and ready to go the night before and there is a level of excitement in the house when they know it’s Ebb and Flow the next day. Everyone has been a pleasure to work with and the information sharing around the programming and activities is amazing. I have never known so much about what my kids are up to at school as I do when they’re at Forest School. I have seen so many positive changes in the boys since joining the Ebb and Flow pod. They have a new found respect for the outdoors and nature and are constantly learning new things about themselves through their experiences at Ebb and Flow. I mentioned to Beckie the other day, after she sent over a picture collage of my youngest holding their new baby chicks, that I feel grateful that I met her and that’s the best way to describe Ebb and Flow, Beckie, Adam and Heidi. I am grateful everyday that my kids get to experience such an amazing opportunity. Thank you so much Ebb and Flow for everything you do for the kids!
Ashley B
Parent
Such an amazing experience for our two sons…
We are so glad we found out about Ebb and Flow! This forest school program has been such an amazing experience for our two sons. They have so much fun exploring and learning with their new friends that they’ve met. The leader, Adam, has such a unique way of incorporating different activities in nature with safety and really focuses on mindfulness and the children’s interests. And it’s a bonus to have our boys learning ukulele during their time at forest school! We definitely recommend this program!
Nikki B.
Parent