8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Woods day
Merlin Bardwell · The woods behind the barn
Nature preschool, ages 3 and 4
Most of the day outside, at the edge of a farm
Redwood Hollow is a nature preschool in Arcata for children ages 3 and 4. The children spend the day in the woods, the garden and the farmyard, and come in to a warm barn room for snack, stories and a change of socks.
Forest days
A week of forest days
Every weekday has its own place and its own work. Children go to the same place on the same day, so the week has a shape they know.
Fall session
Monday
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Farm day
Litzy Nolasco · The farm next door
12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Farm day, afternoon
Litzy Nolasco · The barn room and the yard
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Marsh path day
Lorene Rainwater · The dry paths at the marsh edge
Thursday
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Garden and kitchen day
Lorene Rainwater · The garden beds and the mud kitchen
12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Garden day, afternoon
Lorene Rainwater · The barn room and the garden
Friday
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Meadow day
Merlin Bardwell · The meadow
Sample classes.
License and outdoor practices
License, adults per child and how we run a forest day
License
Licensed by CDSS, Community Care Licensing
Child care center license · CA License # 000000Verify
Adults to children
1 adult to 8 children
3-year-olds
Group size: 16
1 adult to 8 children
4-year-olds
Group size: 16
Group size
Up to 16 children
with 2 adults
Ages 3 years to 4 years
Staff checks and training
- Background checks
- CPR and first aid
- Mandated reporter training
- Food handler training
Safety routines
Weather rules
We decide at the barn door each morning where the day will be, using the forecast and a look at the sky. Thunder, strong wind and smoky air send the group to the barn room.
A walk of the site
Before the children arrive, two adults walk the day's place. They look up for loose branches, down at the trail and along the fence, and they check the animal pens.
Headcount
We count at the barn door, at every place we stop and at every move. One adult counts and a second adult confirms. The group never splits without an adult with each part.
First aid
Every forest day, two adults carry a first aid kit and a phone, and every adult is trained in first aid and CPR. A teacher tells you about any injury the same day.
Hand washing
Hands are washed with soap and water at the barn tap after the animals and the garden, before snack and lunch, and after the toilet.
Water and animals
Children stay out of creeks and ponds. On farm day an adult stands beside each child who meets an animal, and the farmer sets the rules for each pen.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
On the land
Stumps, mud, seedlings and puddles
Sample photos.
The team
The teachers who lead the forest days
The lead teachers plan and lead the forest days. Litzy speaks Spanish with the children and families through the day.
Litzy Nolasco
Director and teacher
Runs the school and leads farm day. She speaks Spanish and English with the children and families.
Merlin Bardwell
Teacher
Leads woods day and meadow day, and walks the site each morning before the children arrive.
Lorene Rainwater
Teacher and garden lead
Leads marsh path day and the garden and kitchen day, and keeps the beds and the mud kitchen going all year.
The year
Tours, applications and the first day
We give the exact dates at a family evening or on a tour.
The school year
- Open house
Family evenings
November and February
An evening in the barn room with the teachers: how a forest day runs, what to wear and what you want to ask.
Tours
Tuesday and Thursday mornings, all year
Walk out with the group and see the day as it happens.
- Applications open
Fall applications open
January
Returning families first, then the waitlist, then new families.
- Decisions
Offers go out
Late March
- Event
Orientation walk
August
Walk the site with your child, find the boot shelf and meet the farm's animals.
- First day
First day of the fall session
September
Sample dates.
Families
What families say
4.9
31 reviews
5★28
4★3
3★0
2★0
1★0
“On the tour Litzy walked us down to the stump circle and we talked while the group played. Nobody rushed us, and we saw an ordinary morning.”
Tessa W.“Drop-off at the barn door is quick. The teachers have the boots sorted by the time I am back at the car.”
Corey B.“The weekly note says where the group went each day, so we ask about the goats and the marsh paths instead of how was school.”
Imani S.
Sample reviews.
Walk out with a forest morning
A tour takes a forest morning. You walk with the group, see the barn room and ask what you like.