Winter Wednesdays Overview
The Winter is a special time to be in the forest. As the earth quiets down and the plants rest, a more subtle yet magical world is revealed. Come embrace this wonderful season and learn to love the outdoors all-year long. Activities will include learning to make fires for warmth & making tea, following animal tracks in the snow, creating hand-crafts by the hearth, and venturing out to explore the wide-open landscape.
Heartwood is the core of our nature-connection curriculum, the trunk from which our other programs branch out. Heartwood has been carefully crafted since 2011 to provide a progressive learning journey and comprehensive foundation in deeply relating to the natural world. Through games, stories and exploration children learn:
Outdoor Safety and Awareness • Animal Tracking • Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants • Wilderness Survival Skills • Bird Language • Ancient Crafts • Ecology • Community • Self-Discovery • And Much More
Ages: 6-12
Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm(varies by drop-off location)
2023 Dates: Wednesdays (7 sessions)
January 4, 11, 18, 25 & February 1, 8, 15 of 2023
Price: $395
- Monthly payment plan available
- $100 non-refundable deposit due at registration
Drop-off & Pick-up
Parents may drop-off & pick-up in town at Haw Creek Commons for van transportation or at Shope Creek Wilderness.
Shope Creek Wilderness
472 Shope Creek Road, Asheville, NC
Drop-off between 9:45 – 10:00am
Pick-up between 3:45 – 4:00pm
Haw Creek Commons (in-town)
315 Old Haw Creek Road, Asheville NC
Drop-off between 9:30 – 9:45am
Pick-up between 4:00 – 4:15pm
Registration
The 2023 session has concluded and registration is closed. The session was full with a waitlist.
Our 2024 dates are TBD and registration is not yet open.
Winter Weather Safety
With the goal of keeping our programs accessible to families throughout the Buncombe County area we will be observing the Weather Safety directives issued by the Buncombe County Public School system(BCS for short). This means that if the Buncombe County Schools cancel a day of public school due to ice or snow, so will Forest Floor.
Click here for more details on this policy and how to stay notified of these alerts. This information is also provided in the Confirmation Email sent upon registering.
After Camp
After Camp is not available for this program.
Why Choose Forest Floor?
We help children have fun, be healthy, and achieve their fullest potential with nature connection mentoring.
- Health benefits of nature connection
- Learn wilderness skills & traditional crafts
- Meet new friends and reunite with old ones
- Unforgettable adventures every day
- Skilled and caring mentors
- Exciting wilderness experiences
- Convenient in-town drop-off & pickup
- Boost long term cognitive & social development
COVID Safety Policies
Homeschool 2023
Our COVID-19 safety policy is based primarily on pre-screening and monitoring. It is our current position that the single largest preventative factor at our programs is the fact that we are open-air and outdoors.
Pre-Screening and Monitoring
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Any child arriving in the morning with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 will not be permitted to attend programs that day. If during the program day a child displays signs or symptoms of illness they will be separated from other students and parents contacted to pick them up.
- All staff will be self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19. If they develop symptoms, they will notify their supervisor and stay home. Any staff person who develops symptoms of illness during the work day will be separated from students and other staff and sent home ASAP.
Masks:
- As of Fall 2022, we will no longer require masks to be worn on our shuttle vans transporting students
- Children and staff will not be required to wear masks, but will be fully supported if they choose to do so.
We will do our best to fully support any child or staff who self-selects for more restrictive social distancing or mask wearing than the policies outlined above.