Forest Lake Nature School
Enrollment

Parent Child Enrichment

Program Info

  • Ages: 6 months - 5 years
  • Overview: These seasonal 2-hour outdoor sessions for caregivers and children are to offer rhythmic opportunities to explore nature, play, and connect in community. This non-separating class includes nature play, seasonal circle time songs with movements and gestures, meal preparation and blessing, snack & composting our food scraps, craft/parent discussion, closing circle and goodbye song
  • Daily Rhythm: 9:30 - 11:30am
    Gather, connect, & free play
    Snack preparation
    Meal blessing & community snack
    Free play & parent discussion
    Circle time
    Goodbyes
  • Seasonal Rhythm: Wednesday Summer Session: June 3- July 22 (8 weeks) Stillwater, MN
  • Tuition: $395/ 8-week session per family
    * Please note that sessions are not charged per individual child to support the growing family
FULL - Join Waitlist

Our Offering

Our Parent-child enrichment sessions provide caregivers and children with a gentle, rhythmic, nature-based community experience. Each week families gather outdoors to explore, sing, share food, share their curiosities, and create together. The rhythm of the morning offers balance between open discovery and structured connection, supporting children’s natural sense of security and parents’ desire for meaningful community.

What Makes us Unique

  • Outdoor Immersion: Sessions unfold outdoors, grounding families in the present moment, fresh air, and sunshine!
  • Family Connection: Parents and children share meaningful time together while also finding support from a circle of peers.
  • Rhythm & Flow: Activities balance open exploration with predictable rhythms, helping children feel secure and thrive.
  • Community Building: Small group size encourages friendships, shared experiences, and lasting connections among families.
  • Accessible & Inclusive: These 8-week seasonal sessions are not charged per individual child to support the growing household family structure.

Parent Child Enrichment Guides

Emily Barstad
Parent Child Enrichment
  • Holding parent child classes since 2017 in both public schools and Waldorf education
  • Founder and practitioner at Tending the Currents in Stillwater, MN
  • Master’s in Family Education from UMN-Twin Cities
  • Cranial Sacral Therapist through Heartwood Institute
  • Waldorf teacher trained Extra Lesson practitioner through Waldorf Learning Support
  • Forest Teacher trained through Forest School Teacher Institute
  • Continued training in primitive reflex integration through continued mentorship at Shen Men Spirit Gate and at the 2025 Learning Support Conference in Dornach, Switzerland
  • Homeschooling mother of 3
Melissa Ulrich
All Programs
  • Co-Founder, Director & Guide at Forest Lake Nature School
  • Spent 3 years assisting parent-child classes in Waldorf Early Childhood Education
  • Hosted & Facilitated weekly mother-child community gatherings rooted in nature, play, and connection (2023 & 2024)
  • CPR/AED certified through the Red Cross
  • Animal Tracker Level III with MN Wildlife Tracking Project (Nov 2025)Track & Sign Practice Assessment
  • Passion for wildlife tracking, mountain biking, archery, and walking snowy forest trails with my golden retrievers
  • Advocate of seasonal rhythms, place-based learning, and fostering a deep connection with the natural world
  • Mother of 2, seeking to bring wholehearted enthusiasm and an openness to the beauty and challenges it brings

Questions and Answers

This class is sold as an 8 week session and is designed to support a consistent group of families moving through the experience together. Over time, this shared rhythm helps build trust, connection, and a sense of safety in the group. Bringing in a new family part way through the session can feel disruptive to the container. For this reason, we are not able to offer refunds or credits for missed classes.

If you need to withdraw, tuition (minus processing fees) can be refunded up to 30 days before the first day of class. After that point, tuition is non-refundable.

We share a simple, organic community snack together during class. Because we hold care around food sensitivities and allergies within the group, we ask that outside food be kept in your vehicle. Sharing the same food helps create a sense of togetherness and a shared experience for everyone.

We believe that meaningful growth happens in all kinds of weather (and with proper gear of course). That said, if weather ever becomes unsafe—such as severe storms, lightning, poor air quality, etc. we will cancel or adjust class and notify families as soon as possible. When it makes sense, we’ll offer a makeup day.

This class is intended for children ages 6months – 5 years

If a class/classes are cancelled, we will hold one make up class in August.

Please bring a water bottle, sun hat, sun block, rain gear if the weather calls for it, and an extra pair of clothes for your child just in case. Most importantly, come with openness and curiosity. 

Testimonials

Melissa and Anthony are kind, gentle, loving souls with a fabulous focus on the beauty around and within. We met through the music classes I teach and they were focused on the rhythm of their children’s learning styles. Anthony brings an unmatched energy and Melissa brings a peaceful gratitude for all around her. They are right on track with healthy sustainable lifestyles for body, mind and spirit. Your family will be enriched by this family whether you have a moment with them or a blink of the preschool years or a lifetime of friendship. Highly recommend! With their thoughtfulness and dedication, their school will be of unmatched quality and bring joy to all who enter their life garden. 

- Tibbe

I would very much love for my children to be a part of Forest Lake Nature School. If I could roll the clock back in time and make it all happen somehow, cosmically, if they were small people, I think they would be nurtured well and certainly enjoy a couple days a week with you all. Which is the best compliment I can really give, because I am pretty particular about what I want my children to be a part of.

- Greg

Forest Lake Nature School has been one of the biggest blessings my wife and I have experienced in our community. Anthony and Melissa have created a space that is safe, that is nourishing, and the learning that happens is remarkable. My daughter is now a bird identifying expert, she has a deep desire to be outside, and the relationships she has created are set up to last a lifetime. We are so grateful for being introduced to the Ulrich family and everyone in this community.

- Aaron

In a crazy world where so many people are disillusioned with school systems, and kids are bombarded with screens, this is an amazing change of pace AND a place for kids to learn the way they were created to learn!

- Bethany

FLNS is a blessing to the twin cities! An educational and nourishing offering for families, an invitation to deepen relationships with the land and each other. A much needed invitation for children to experience the simple yet profound beauty of the natural world.. and to explore with freedom and ease!

- Bridget

My daughter and I are really enjoying the parent-child group through Forest Lake Nature School. Melissa and Anthony are so warm and welcoming and we’ve made so many friendships and found such a great community through our participation in their program. We love the community building, togetherness, learning, programming and atmosphere. Their group is always our favorite activity of the week because we get to play outside together while being apart of something that is really helping shape the next generation into loving, kind, responsible, aware and well rounded people who care about living a holistic lifestyle in balance with nature and who will be passionate about stewardship of the land. We love Forest Lake Nature School and look forward to our ongoing participation as part of this beautiful family they have created.

- Sarah

For our family, Forest Lake Nature School has meant connection, being closer to nature and nourishment of the mind/body/soul.

- Kyra

Join Our Newsletter

Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter! Learn about new programs, open enrollment, and other happenings.

Newsletter Form

Begin Enrollment

Secure your child’s place in our upcoming programs today.

Enroll Now
Join the Waitlist