Homeschooling

We have been hard at work recreating our offerings for Teens at Through the Trees. After holding a brainstorming session with several teens who have been active in our TTT community, we have come up with some awesome new programs for the 13-16 age group:

• Oak Outing Club - weekly explorations including ocean dips and beach campfires, ropes courses, hiking, community service and more!
• Wilderness Trips - multi-day trips to different parts of Maine for white water rafting, wilderness survival sk…

We have been having a blast in our Youth Nature Immersion Programs (both Homeschool and After School), playing in the snow and the  mud, skating and sliding on the pond and exploring the magical Frost Gully Brook. We've been making bird feeders; sailing across the pond using a tarp for a sail and sled for a vessel; making pine needle tea; practicing fire building; cooking over the campfire (have you ever roasted an orange?!), working on whittling and carving skills; and ending our days with a ci…

Today's blog post is from Corie Washow of Elemental Counseling.

As a step-parent to 2 young adult children, a therapist to countless parents and several teens, and a person who was once a teenager myself, I am very clear that adolescence can be painful, overwhelming, confusing, and amazing--for both parents and teens.  I know and appreciate a lot of the developmental and cultural reasons for the turmoil and growth that can characterize this time.  But I had no idea how much the human journey …

This Thursday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. At Through the Trees, we encourage connecting with and caring for the Earth every day, but finding special ways to do this on Earth Day serves as a celebration for our beautiful planet. This week we would like to share several ways to care for and honor Mother Earth. 

1. Practice Sit Spot. We talk about and practice Sit Spot quite a bit, because it gives us the opportunity to slow down and be mindful in nature. Finding a place to sit or lie down outdoors …

“Play is a child’s work. 

It is through imaginative play that children process and integrate the social and cultural information they experience. The social learning that happens during play lays the foundation for social communication and emotional regulation skills that become important for getting and keeping a job, and maintaining close healthy relationships throughout life.

The imaginative games that children play equip them to read and intuit the feelings of others, laying the groundwork…

When did some of us stop listening to our body’s inherent and innate wisdom? When did we start feeling like strangers to nature? It usually starts early on in life when someone told us that we weren’t capable of something, that we would get in trouble if we didn’t listen to what we were told, that we would get hurt doing something, what to like, what to dislike, what to believe, that we should be scared, that life is scary and people shouldn’t be trusted.

And then what happened? Over time, perh…