Forest Play Nature School holds open house in Maynooth

September 15, 2023

By Bill Kilpatrick

On Saturday, Sept. 9 the Maynooth Forest Play Nature School held an open house where potential students and parents could explore, ask questions, and meet the teacher, Marion Lott. Lott, who has over 27 years of teaching experience is leasing around six acres just north of Maynooth where the forest school will be held. Lott took parents and their kids on a tour of what could potentially be their new classroom, a forest. Lott spoke about some of the activities that the kids would be participating in such as forest cooking, plant identification, hiking, fire starting with a flint rock, and much more. The kids were able to create their own name tags out of tiny wood rounds where they could show their creativity by decorating them as well.

The Forest School officially began on Sept. 11 and runs until Dec. 15 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Depending on the enrollment numbers Lott plans to follow the fall sessions by a winter and summer session as well. For those that missed the open house on Sept. 9, you can still contact Lott for a tour and sign up for the remainder of the session. Lott wants to remind parents that she will also be holding Forest School sessions on professional development days if parents are looking for an activity for their children.

For those who are interested in an occasional drop in day for their children on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, Lott suggests contacting her before hand. Lott encourages people to follow her Facebook page and webpage where she will be posting information updates including dates for what she calls “Welcome Days,” where children can try out the forest school for a few hours to see if it would be a good fit for them. The Forest School, according to Lott, is meant to compliment traditional teaching as it encourages both play and learning in an environment that promotes curiosity and self-directed inquiry.

For those who would like more information visit www.forestplaynatureschool.ca or on Facebook by searching ‘Forest Nature school Maynooth.’