About
Forest Bloom Outdoor Preschool is a Reggio Emilia-inspired outdoor program where children take part in activities such as art, dance, yoga, sound and music medicine, and seasonal exploration. Children may spend time tracking a beetle or building a fort as part of their day in this Reggio-Emilia inspired forest school. The program treats the park as the third teacher and views the environment as an active teacher.
• Ages: 2–8 years old
Forest Bloom Outdoor Preschool describes its community as a multi-age “village,” with children ages 2.5 through 8 walking the trails together. The program follows the child rather than a rigid curriculum, and children are described as arriving with a “Hundred Languages,” or a hundred ways of thinking, playing, and speaking. Children navigate gentle risks of the forest, such as climbing a branch or negotiating a game, in intentionally small groups so each child is the creator of their own journey. The approach blends forest schools of Denmark and Sweden with the Reggio Emilia approach of Italy, and includes seasonal camps, holiday and vacation camps, drop-in days, and an Academic Forest Program (Daily Forest Program) where children become residents of the park and engage in long-term projects and deep collaboration.
Forest Bloom is a Reggio Emilia-inspired community rooted in the wild beauty of the outdoors. Its mission states that preschool should be an adventure, with children as the captains of their own discovery, turning the meadows, groves, and trails of the park into a masterclass in curiosity. The mission also states that children are inherently capable, resilient, and curious “heroes” of their own education, and that the program curates a living environment in the wild where children build their own understanding of the world one discovery at a time.
The leadership team includes Founder and Co-founder Marnie and Director Susie White-Astier. In 2020, they traded four walls for the redwood groves of San Francisco. Susie White-Astier has a background in traditional Reggio environments and years of experience leading forest programs.
Last updated June 6, 2026.
• Ages: 2–8 years old
Forest Bloom Outdoor Preschool describes its community as a multi-age “village,” with children ages 2.5 through 8 walking the trails together. The program follows the child rather than a rigid curriculum, and children are described as arriving with a “Hundred Languages,” or a hundred ways of thinking, playing, and speaking. Children navigate gentle risks of the forest, such as climbing a branch or negotiating a game, in intentionally small groups so each child is the creator of their own journey. The approach blends forest schools of Denmark and Sweden with the Reggio Emilia approach of Italy, and includes seasonal camps, holiday and vacation camps, drop-in days, and an Academic Forest Program (Daily Forest Program) where children become residents of the park and engage in long-term projects and deep collaboration.
Forest Bloom is a Reggio Emilia-inspired community rooted in the wild beauty of the outdoors. Its mission states that preschool should be an adventure, with children as the captains of their own discovery, turning the meadows, groves, and trails of the park into a masterclass in curiosity. The mission also states that children are inherently capable, resilient, and curious “heroes” of their own education, and that the program curates a living environment in the wild where children build their own understanding of the world one discovery at a time.
The leadership team includes Founder and Co-founder Marnie and Director Susie White-Astier. In 2020, they traded four walls for the redwood groves of San Francisco. Susie White-Astier has a background in traditional Reggio environments and years of experience leading forest programs.
Last updated June 6, 2026.
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