About
A Thousand Mornings Forest School is an all-outdoors, all-weather forest school with a mixed-age program. It offers time in nature and rotates through a selection of diverse natural locations in Santa Barbara and Goleta approximately every 5 to 8 weeks. The program runs 5 days a week from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, late August through May.
Programs
- A Thousand Mornings Forest School — 3-4-5 · 5 days a week, 8:30-12:30 · All-outdoors, all-weather forest school; mixed-age program in Santa Barbara and Goleta; follows the Santa Barbara Public School District schedule for holidays.
At a glance
- Ages: 3–5 years old
- General schedule: Late August-May; 5 days a week, 8:30 am-12:30 pm.
About the provider
The program’s mission is to provide children with ample, unstructured time in nature for its role in their development into capable, whole people and for the joy of it. It follows the Santa Barbara Public School District schedule for holidays.
They are unable to process enrollment requests via email. Parents are notified of any changes via email as soon as possible. Alternate locations will not exceed beyond 10 miles from the original location.
What families say
“Give [the children] the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion.” — Mary Oliver
“Childhood serves a purpose. It isn’t something to “get through” or speed up. It’s there to protect developing minds. To nurture young souls. So, let’s give our kids the space to be unbusy. Let’s unschedule. Let’s “miss out”. Let’s hold the space for childhood. Because childhood isn’t a dress rehearsal for adulthood.” — Tracy Gillett
“An environment-based education movement—at all levels of education—will help students realize that school isn't supposed to be a polite form of incarceration, but a portal to the wider world.” — Richard Louv
Last updated October 30, 2026.
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