Friday outdoor sessions at the state park where children learn to read the land, make things from it, and belong to the rhythm of the natural world.

Two groups. One day. One park.

Little Roots meets in the morning. Wild Makers meet in the afternoon. Both groups stay in the park and parents stay the whole time.

Little Roots

Ages 3–6

9:00 – 11:30am

Slow, sensory, and wonder-led. Little Roots is inspired by Waldorf traditions — unhurried time in nature, storytelling, loose parts play, seasonal rhythm, and art woven into everything. Littles don't need a lesson plan. They need mud, time, and someone who knows how to follow their curiosity.

Seasonal nature walks
Loose parts play
Watercolor + natural pigments
Storytelling circles
Seed planting + tending
Beeswax modeling
Singing + movement
Nature journaling

Wild Makers

Ages 7–12

12:30 – 3:00pm

Hands deep in the earth, minds wide open. Wild Makers learn what humans have always known; how to read the land, make medicine from it, build with it, and eat from it. Every session is rooted in the current season and ends with something real made by real hands.

Herbal medicine making
Natural dyes + pigments
Cordage + fiber craft
Foraging + plant ID
Fire starting
Wild cooking
Natural building
Seasonal preservation

EVERY SESSION

What Friday looks like

01

Gather + notice

We start in a circle. What season are we in? What changed since last week? What's alive, dying, or returning? Every session opens by paying attention.

02

Explore the land

We move through the park with intention — collecting, observing, tasting (when safe), touching, and questioning. The park is the classroom.

03

Make something real

Using what the season provides — plants, bark, fiber, clay, fire — kids make something with their hands. Every session produces a finished thing to bring home.

04

Close + carry

We end together. What did you make? What did you learn? What are you taking home — in your hands, and in yourself?

THE SEASONS

What we're learning about.

Each 11-week session follows the arc of the season. Winter keeps us connected with one monthly drop-in.

Fall · 11 weeks

Harvest + letting go

Seeds, roots, dying back, preservation, and what the earth keeps for later.

Winter · monthly

The quiet season

One Saturday drop-in per month. Indoor craft, seasonal story, and staying rooted when everything is still.

Spring · 11 weeks

Things that return

First green, new growth, planting, tending, and noticing what comes back.

THE PARENTS

You stay. You're part of it.

This is not drop-off. Parents stay for the full session, in the park, alongside their kids and other families. You'll watch what happens when children are given real tools, real materials, and real time.

Your role is to follow, not lead. The facilitator runs the session. Your job is to be present and to let your child surprise you. Resist the urge to help before they need it.

Come dressed for it. We go out in all Minnesota fall and spring weather. Layers, boots, and a snack. Muddy knees mean it was a good day.