Thursdays

7 -9 year olds meet up on Thursdays at Cornwall Park for adventure filled days outdoors where nature is the classroom. Hiking, carving, crafting, running, sneaking, hiding, building, listening, and learning the whole time. Mountainside days are a great addition to a homeschooling curriculum and provide an opportunity for long term mentorship throughout youth development.

Program Details

Ages: 7 - 9 year olds

When: Thursdays 11am - 3pm

Where: Cornwall Park

Tuition: $700 ($100 deposit to enroll)

Payable in Full or in Monthly Installments

First Session: Thursday, September 3rd, 2026

No School: Thursday, November 26th, 2026

Last Day: Thursday, December 17th, 2026

mid-season enrollment is available!

Please review Student Readiness Checklist to see if this program is a good fit for your child.

Student Readiness

11am: Arrival - running games like foxtails or freeze tag, along with a nature museum for a more relaxed start to the day

11:30am: Morning Circle. The group gathers to share gratitude, song, and get excited for a day outdoors

11:45am: Morning Game: Camouflage, Hide n Seek, Rub Rabbits Run. A game to get the group moving around and activate the mind and body

12:30pm: Lunch

1:00pm: Hike and Explore. Time to hit the trail, explore the park, and see what we can learn from the forest. We'll be on the lookout for birds, animal tracks and bugs :)

1:45: Crafting with natural materials (carving, weaving, knot tying, etc)

2:15pm: Play time for the kids to let loose and create their own fun

2:45 Closing Circle the whole group sits down to reflect and share highlights

3:00pm: Pick Up kids head home tired, happy, and full of memories

Example Schedule

Philosophy

Mountainside Nature School's curriculum is built upon six core pillars. The six pillars are Community, Play, Crafting, Natural History, Harvesting, and Fire. These six pillars are naturally woven into the seasonal framework of each Mountainside program. They provide a broad range of activities and experiences for the students to engage with; some are naturals with Play and experience challenges with Crafting, while others are naturals with Fire but are challenged by Community. The six pillars are designed to provide a comprehensive and balanced approach to outdoor learning and nature connection.

Mountainside also follows in the tradition of coyote mentoring, which focuses on the learning and growth of students rather than the imparting of knowledge from teachers. Students will have the chance to learn, grow, and discover new things everyday on their own time. The outdoor environment and changing seasons provide infinite opportunities for exploration of all kinds.

Community - Songs, stories, personal growth, relationship to one another

Play - Joy for life, forest games, spontaneity, sharpening our senses, silliness, honing animal instincts

Crafting - Wood carving, weaving, twining, shelters, bushcraft

Natural History - Fluency with the natural world, knowing plant, animal, and fungi names, animal tracking, bird language, phenology, sit spot, nature journaling, nature museum

Harvesting - Being in direct relationship with the land, eatings plants and berries, harvesting materials for crafts, herbal and medicinal plants

Fire - Friction fire, tending the hearth, cooking

6 Pillars

Homeschool Curriculum

- Families frequently use Mountainside programs for science, art, and PE when filling out homeschool reporting notes for their district

- Families receive weekly emails with notes on activities that they can transfer into their homeschool reporting notes

- At Mountainside programs, students are often practicing the scientific method. When we find a caterpillar on the trail, we ask questions such as "What does it eat? How old is it? What will they turn into? What might eat this critter as a snack?"