We grow strong bodies, steady minds, and resilient, adaptable children.

A fully outdoor preschool, TK and kindergarten in Golden Gate Park and at Ocean Beach.

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Child leaning over the edge of a body of water, holding a stick or branch, with tall green grass nearby.
A person building a small wooden structure on the ground in an outdoor setting, with green foliage in the background.
Children at San Francisco Forest School playing by hanging on rings in a Golden Gate Park.

OUT IN NATURE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY

The first five years build a child's lifelong foundation. Ours is built on Nature + Play.

San Francisco Forest School follows the original Scandinavian model: children spend their days outdoors, through every season, with child-led play at the center.


Play develops the body, mind and sense of self at once, and nothing in early childhood has more evidence behind it.


Our job is to protect enough time and space for unstructured play, inside a rhythm familiar enough that children can settle in and go further.


Every day includes lesson time in literacy, math, science and art, and children spend more of their day in uninterrupted, child-led play here than almost anywhere else.

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Four children are playing outdoors around a large tree stump, with one girl sitting on top of it and two girls kneeling in front of her, holding hands. The children are dressed in casual clothes and rain boots, and other kids are visible in the background.
Two children climbing a large, weathered tree with twisted branches, surrounded by tall green leafy trees.
A group of children exploring and playing around a fallen, uprooted tree in a forest.

ADAPTABLE

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CONFIDENT

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RESILIENT

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SELF-REGULATED

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CREATIVE

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ADAPTABLE • CONFIDENT • RESILIENT • SELF-REGULATED • CREATIVE •

WHAT WE’RE DEVELOPING

A child develops all at once.

Mind, heart and body are developing at the same time.

MIND

Learns through play

Neon blue outline of a human head in profile with a plant growing inside and a star above the head.

Attention, memory, problem-solving, and staying with something difficult.

A young girl climbing on a large, fallen tree trunk outdoors on a dirt path, with greenery in the background, wearing a lilac beanie with a rainbow patch and pink jacket.
Blue outline of a heart with a droplet shape at the top center, symbolizing heart health or care.

HEART

Learns through relationship

Communication, empathy, negotiation, disagreement and repair.

Three young girls walking hand-in-hand on a dirt trail in a wooded area, seen from behind.
A simple neon sign of a stylized human figure with arms raised, glowing blue against a black background.

BODY

Learns through movement

Balance, strength, movement, risk
judgement and physical confidence.

A young boy is mid-air, jumping off a pole at the beach with his arms outstretched. The sky is blue, and there are two children sitting on the sand in the background.
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Uninterrupted, child-led play is the deepest form of academic preparation possible.

KINDERGARTEN READINESS

Children who lead their own play are building the exact capacities kindergarten asks for: focus that holds, working memory, impulse control, and the willingness to stay with a problem until it gives.

Hours of it, every day, uninterrupted. Lesson time in literacy, math, science, foreign languages and art sits inside that, and children meet it at their own pace.

  • “I can have a big feeling and find my way back.”

  • “I can decide something and keep going on my own.”

  • “I can join in, disagree, and put it right.”

  • “I can be disappointed and carry on anyway.”

  • “I can stay with something hard because I want to know.”

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A woman reading a picture book to a group of children sitting on grass in a circle outdoors, surrounded by trees.
A young boy in a gray hoodie holding a colorful snake in a forest with other children observing.
A woman seated on a rock reading a book to a group of children outdoors on a grassy field with trees in the background.
Children drawing pictures on white papers at an outdoor green picnic table.
Three children sitting inside a blue camping tent on the ground, surrounded by books and notebooks, in a wooded outdoor setting.

Mixed ages help. A four-year-old learns something from a five-year-old that no adult could have handed them, and nobody is measured against the child beside them.

Children gathered outdoors around a table with leaves, engaging in a nature activity.
A man playing guitar in front of a group of children sitting on the ground outdoors, with two adults standing behind them.

THE FLOW

How we sustain a day of uninterrupted play.

The Flow is the staff-led system we've refined over years to sustain uninterrupted play through close observation, skilled facilitation and clear boundaries.

Our educators train for it continuously.

It’s the San Francisco Forest School difference.

Children playing outdoors among fallen logs and trees in a wooded area, some climbing on logs and others exploring on the ground.

Observation

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Facilitation

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Co-regulation

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Reflective practice

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Communication

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Teamwork

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Observation • Facilitation • Co-regulation • Reflective practice • Communication • Teamwork •

See it in action

BUILT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Oogubi logo in black and white.

Oogubi produces high-capacity, premium family experiences across the Bay Area, built on one belief: children flourish when they have space to explore at their own pace, and the crew's job is to protect and maintain it.

The Flow is that same practice, applied to an all outdoor school where every day is an new event.

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