We interviewed two community members – Kerri Cohen in Maryland, and Katie Miller in North Carolina – who are both parents who have been running outdoor meetups in their local areas for several years. They share what it was like getting started, with tips and insights for caregivers wanting to do something similar.

Check out one parent’s top 10 tips for camping with kids!

Lina’s story shows how valuable it is to remove barriers and promote access to community connection and welcoming outdoor experiences for refugee youth.

Are you a caregiver or teacher looking for children’s books that have Black star characters AND feature outdoor play? This list is a great place to start, including 14 #OwnVoices stories by Black authors and/or illustrators.

One mom offers a few strategies she uses when her kids are reluctant to play outdoors.

Free Forest School began as a grassroots effort to bring parents and caregivers together with their kids to play outside. Now it’s become part of a larger cultural shift and movement, sustained by supporters like you.

Free Forest School is among six organizations chosen out of 162 applicants to receive a highly competitive national bridge grant. It will be used to expand FFS’s outdoor learning curriculum and guidance to more teachers, administrators, and homeschooling families who want to implement consistent outdoor emergent learning.

Nature collections are a way of bringing the outside in, serving as a tangible reminder of outdoor adventures and the joy of exploring. Research on the benefits of collecting backs up these instincts.

If your family is new to venturing outside regularly together, you’re not alone! Here are some key steps to get you started.

Outside in nature is where kids are free to be themselves. According to Free Forest School families with kids on the autism spectrum, this is a powerful experience that can be hard to find.

Mom and blogger Ellie White spoke with first grade teacher Maria Villavicencio about her journey integrating outdoor learning into her class curriculum. Read about the incredible transformation her students experienced by being outdoors on a regular basis.

In this New York Times opinion piece, Professor Shalini Shankar discusses the stressful impacts that packed schedules have had on kids, suggesting the need for more unstructured time.

Check out the stories of three families who are living and breathing examples of the national nature play movement.

Anna Sharratt, the founder of Free Forest School, takes you along on an outdoor romp with her kids on a chilly winter day…

Free Forest School is a national-and-beyond organization with a mission to nurture kids and empower caregivers by fostering connections to nature, culture, and one another through outdoor play. Our Board of Directors provides leadership and oversight to bring this mission to life, with sustainability and equity at the forefront.

Check out this new short story from author and school librarian Mélina Mangal. Young readers will get inspired by Jayden's journey connecting with nature in the middle of the city. 

FFS mom Anna Jennerjohn shares stories and eleven great books that highlight ways to find nearby nature in our everyday lives.

There’s been plenty of research on the benefits of risk-taking, but not so much on the impact of conversations about managing risk between caregivers and kids. Check out this blog post from Brenna Jeanneret, a climber/writer/mom who discusses new research on the topic as well as her own experience navigating risky play with a toddler.