Bend Forest School

How do trees communicate?

🥁

They bark!

📸: Kindergarteners making a card decorated with ponderosa pine bark that had fallen from a downed tree. 📹: If you scroll to the last slide you’ll find an exciting video of the other mysteries discovered underneath the bark.

Each card is filled with a joke as we spent much of the year exploring humor and what makes people laugh.
Forest school parents are built different and a year outside comes with many surprises both big and small. At the end of it all, we’ve found that laughter can feel just as sweet as a hug. This was kindergarten’s way of saying thank you for being as tough as bark and flexible like freshly sprouted saplings. 🌲 🌱 🌞

The Forest + Art Adventure Preschool is a collaborative program between Wondery Art + Adventure School and Bend Forest School for children ages 3–5.

Each week, children spend a day exploring outdoors in the forest and another day creating in Wondery’s art studio through paint, clay, storytelling, play, and hands-on projects.

Designed for families looking for a more creative early childhood experience with:
✔ Small 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio
✔ Play-based, interest-led learning
✔ Outdoor exploration + art immersion
✔ Emergent curriculum guided by children’s interests

Now enrolling for the 2026/27 school year.
🔗https://www.bendforestschool.com/forest-art-adventure-preschool

We have a few openings available for the upcoming season at our nature-based early childhood programs:

🌲 Bend Forest School
Now enrolling for:
• PreK openings in Tumalo & Bend
• Kinder openings in Tumalo

🎨🌿 Wondery Art Studio & BFS Forest Preschool
Now enrolling for:
• PreK openings in Bend

Our programs offer:
✨ Outdoor, play-based learning
✨ Small groups and nurturing teachers
✨ Creativity, connection, and hands-on exploration
✨ A gentle, child-centered approach

These spots tend to fill quickly, and we’d love to connect with families looking for a meaningful early childhood experience rooted in nature, art, and community.

Message us for details or to schedule a tour! 💛

We’re hiring PreK teachers for next year!
Bend Forest School is looking for grounded, curious, and compassionate educators to join our team! Please reach out via our website, www.bendforestschool.com if interested!

Join us at Pastini in the Old Mill for a delicious way to support Bend Forest School!

📅 Thursday, April 9

When you dine at Pastini that day, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Bend Forest School.

✨ Important: Please tell the staff you are there to support Bend Forest School when ordering so your purchase counts toward the fundraiser.

During free play and imaginative learning, our students often invent their own games.

Recently, two first-grade boys created a jumping game with a point system. Soon, third- and fifth-grade girls eagerly joined in. Watching an 11-year-old enthusiastically jump into a 7-year-old’s game is a powerful reminder of how mixed-age communities connect children across ages and experiences.

Each child grows on their own timeline. In our mixed-age classrooms, developmental readiness matters more than chronological age.

These environments:
• Reduce harmful comparisons
• Normalize developmental differences
• Encourage cooperation and mentorship
• Foster a family-like learning community

When children learn together across ages, they build empathy, confidence, and a stronger sense of belonging.

🌲🎨 Forest + Art Adventure Preschool 🎨🌲

What happens when forest exploration meets creative expression?
A preschool experience full of curiosity, movement, and imagination.

Through our collaboration with Wondery Art + Adventure School, children spend one day in the forest and one day in the art studio — exploring nature, creating with their hands, and discovering new ways to learn and play.

✨ Small group learning
🌿 Outdoor exploration
🎨 Hands-on art experiences

Now enrolling! Learn more and join us for this unique preschool adventure: www.bendforestschool.com/forest-art-adventure-preschool