Baby Roots Nature Camp
SLIDING SCALE PRICING:
$120 / $98 / $78
Birth Roots is piloting a sliding scale fee structure to expand access to our classes for families at risk of experiencing inferior care and health outcomes due to structural and systemic inequalities. To learn more, or to engage the sliding scale, please read our Birth Roots Sliding Scale PDF.
BABY ROOTS NATURE CAMP mornings of nature immersion and emerging social skills in our toddler-scaled outdoor classroom!
IMPORTANT DETAILS:
If your child is younger than 18 months you have the option to choose Baby Steps sessions, designed to accommodate crawlers, new walkers and almost-walkers who would appreciate a slower moving peer group.
Registration & tuition is per family, not to exceed a party of 4 per visit: parents, grandparent, caregiver and siblings under 36 months.
Nature Camp sessions are held rain or shine.
WHO: Baby Roots Nature Camp is for the youngest campers – in the midst of the metamorphosis from baby to toddler, and the grown up that brings them (parent, grandparent, nanny). Registration and tuition enrolls one family.
WHEN: Between May and October families enroll in month-long sessions; participating once a week for 4 consecutive, one hour classes, typically 10-11am.
WHY: The Nature Camp Outdoor Classroom is a thoughtfully curated space designed to highlight the importance of open-ended play — play that isn’t organized or directed by adults and doesn’t have predetermined outcomes. Baby Roots Nature Camp happens in our outdoor classroom, a toddler-scaled ‘Yes Zone’ for making sensory station messes outside! (water, sand, pinecones, pine needles, etc.)
HOW: Our outdoor classroom features a fully fenced-in play yard geared to the height, safety and developmental window of toddlers under 36 months. Nature Camp is simultaneously an early childhood nature program, as well as a class for caregivers – structured to provide adults with new vocabulary and frameworks for recognizing and recreating sensory adventures that support: experimentation, discovery, curiosity and intrinsic motivation.
FAQs:
Does the same adult need to attend each week?
Answer: No, a toddler’s caregiver may change over the 4 week session to include more than one parent, grandparent or nanny. However, not to exceed a party of 4 per visit: on any given day.
If I have more than one child under 36 months, do I need to register them separately?
Answer: No, Siblings under 36 months are included in one registration & tuition. Please indicate both names and ages in your one registration.
Can my 3 year old attend Baby Roots Nature Camp sessions?
Answer: No. We recommend checking out local preschool age programs such as Maine Audubon, Timbernook, or Ketcha Outdoors for a child that is older than 2. Baby Roots is designed specifically so parents of babies, One’s, and Two’s can feel relaxed about the safety of their crawling explorer, and the freedom of their newly walking adventurer to roam (not stay right next to them). As such, three and four year old (preschool age) children begin to get bored and are not old enough to keep one and two year olds safe.
When should I register for this class?
Answer: We send an email when registration opens each year, and spots usually fill up fast. Make sure you’ve signed up for our newsletter so you can stay in the loop! This class is usually offered 3-4 times each month from May to October. If the class is full we recommend signing up for the waitlist. Last minute openings often happen.