01 Apr Our Answers to Your Questions: Check Out Our New FAQs

Do you want to hear more on how Tiny Trees Preschools work? More on how we teach social skills, math or art? Or how we do naptime in the outdoors? Then check out our new Frequently Asked Questions page (FAQs). As we dig deeper into our operations and education plan I am adding additional answers to these FAQs, which means for the next six months they will provide the most up to date look at the how, what, when and where of a Tiny Trees Preschool education.

These FAQs have been created for two reasons:

The first is to provide our families with in-depth information on what our programs will look like, how we keep our children safe and how we manage the logistics behind the education (meals, naptime, bathrooms, etc.). Answering these questions is one of the first steps in creating our parent handbook which will be available in the fall to all currently enrolled families.

The second is to provide details on our operations to potential allies and funders. One of the first tasks our new board of directors took on was sharing our business plan with people they admire and asking for their thoughts, reflections and advice. During this process an interesting trend emerged. When learning about the big picture impact of Tiny Trees Preschools (like making education more affordable, or helping children build a lasting relationship with the natural world) many people’s first questions were operational (how do you make sure you can see kids at all times when in a forest? Will a port-o-potty meet licensing standards? The rain?). These FAQs are thus a resource for all of our potential allies who want to understand how Tiny Trees Preschools work.

One of the best ways to explore an outdoor preschool is to see one in action. Thus you will find two videos on Forest Kindergartens made by the Surrey County Council in England (Seemingly filmed in the same small town as Downtown Abbey. The rustic cuteness of the English countryside is in grand display). This piece called “Introduction to Forest School” provides a great overview on forest schools and a look at how an outdoor preschool works and the second covers health and safety where you can see how teachers keep children safe in an outdoor environment while helping them learn how to manage risk on their own. Although Tiny Trees will look quite a bit different in the curriculum (less time with knives and tools, more time playing with language, numbers and social skills) much of the risk management and safety systems will be the same.

After reading through our FAQs if you have thoughts on what we should add please contact us. Your suggestions will help future families and help Tiny Trees Preschool better share the richness, magic and wonder of a nature rich education with others.

By Andrew A. Jay
CEO Tiny Trees Preschool
andrew@tinytrees.org