Forest Play Preschool

History

Meredith Bunyard, the founder of Forest Play Preschool, dreamed of fusing her passion for environmentalism and early childhood education. In 2018 Play Childcare & Preschool was born. After taking the school solely outside as an answer to the Global pandemic. Forest Play Preschool born in 2020, meets in a beautiful outdoor setting. Using the diversities of the natural environment we support young children in their educational journey. One of our main goals is to expose children and families to the diverse wonders San Francisco's environments have to offer. We focus on creating a safe, respectful, and trusting learning environment where children are supported in social emotional development, self regulation, critical thinking skills, fostering creativity, and imagination. Primarily in Golden Gate Park, our program extends to multiple terrains throughout the city once a month.

Specialties

We believe each child is an individual capable of taking an active role in his or her learning. Children can expand beyond their learning comfort zones in learning environments where they feel loved, cared for, safe, and trusting. As they encounter new ways to explore their world both alone and with others, they have opportunity to build confidence, bond in everlasting friendships, and develop a deep love of learning, Subsequently these experiences become the foundation of their life-long educational journey. The mission of Forest Play Preschool to enact these goals is to bring together children's inherent curiosity and capacity for learning with the rich context of nature as an environment where that learning can occur. Through play that embodies self-sufficient practice of mindful engagement in the world of nature, children will have multiple opportunities for developing their skills of respectful thinking, critical observation and analysis, exploration through the senses, and evaluation of their surroundings. We aim to nurture young children's inherent curiosity through real-world learning by means of play in nature.