My kids don't spend their days in classrooms. They spend them exploring the woods.
Caitlin Conway, a Colorado mother, shares her experience sending her young children to an outdoor forest school and supplementing with homeschooling. She highlights the positive physical and emotional developmental impacts of nature-based education.
Why it matters
It offers an alternative perspective on modern child-rearing and education, highlighting the growing interest in outdoor and alternative schooling methods.
Caitlin Conway is a mom of two in Colorado. Courtesy of Caitlin Conway Caitlin Conway is a mom of two who lives in Colorado. She sends her two kids, ages 8 and 5, to a forest school and homeschools them. She says the impact on them physically and emotionally is unparalleled. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Caitlin Conway . It has been edited for length and clarity. Years ago, when my oldest was an infant, my husband and I had seen a documentary about outdoor schooling in Nordic countries . It really resonated with us, but it also felt intense because we're not used to seeing that kind of setup here. It was cool, but also terrifying — kids were using knives in the woods. Then I found a forest school in Colorado, where we live.
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