Follow me to the Catskill Mountains…

CatSkill Wheelhouse

SUMMER 2022

Based in the beautiful CatSkill Mountains in Upstate New York, sits a site location for CatSkill Wheelhouse. Their website advertised Forest School for children ages 4 to 11. They welcomed me for a visit and I spent a day touring and observing their Nature-Immersion programs. Based on an interesting property that I believe used to be used as a motel, now acts as a space for children to utilize the forest for nature play. In the morning parents dropped off at the site location and children were arranged in various groups based on age. Instructors then led groups out to various parts of the forest. Catskill Wheelhouse has access to about a 100 acres of land that backs up to a beautiful river and public park. Throughout the day I observed two groups, the 4-6yr old group, and the 6-9 year old group. Both had the opportunity to hike, explore, and engage in free play in the forest. The older group chose to hike to the river but were not allowed in that day due to the cold weather.

One thing I noticed about Catskill Wheelhouse was their difference in philosophy that didn’t seem to mimic the traditional Forest Schooling method. Although children were outside all day, without a classroom, I didn’t get the sense that staff had been trained in the Scandinavian Forest Schooling approach. Although in some ways it looked like a Forest School, in other ways it reflected a different teaching style that operated outside and incorporated material items and toys. The director was unaware of the indigenous history of the land but mentioned a desire to learn. I would categorize this program as a Nature-Based program rather than a Forest School. Due to the lack of education and regulation surrounding Forest Schooling in the United States, you get different interpretations of programs that don’t all harness the same approach. Regardless of their teaching style, this program is getting kids outside and helping them to get comfortable in their local forest.