News + Events
Happenings, events and news from the Forest!
Recent Newsletters
It is with heavy hearts that we share some difficult news regarding the future of our school. The 2025–2026 school year will be our last year in Ponderosa State Park.
This month, we embraced the power of collaboration, with special visits. These partnerships enrich our programs, foster curiosity, and strengthen our community.
We are sending a heartfelt shoutout to McCall’s Cafe 6 three 4 for generously donating a delicious batch of chicken soup with wild rice to help bring our January song to life.
Events
For the past 10 years, we’ve been inspiring young minds through outdoor education, fostering a love for learning in nature.
This Idaho Gives, we are setting an ambitious goal of $30,000 to meet the growing demand for our program!
Your support will:
- Fund student scholarships, making outdoor education accessible to all.
- Foster program growth, allowing us to expand our offerings.
- Help us build a permanent home, ensuring another decade of impact!
Calendar of events
Blog Archive
Snow sculpting with an expert
After being inspired by the sculptures we saw on our Winter Carnival field trip in town, students were ready to try out snow sculpting themselves. On Monday, the Ponderosa Pines were visited by veteran McCall snow sculptor and former teacher, Ellen McKinney. Ellen...
Nordic Skiing
As part of our January theme on modes of travel over the snow, our students have the opportunity to try out nordic skiing this week. We are grateful to our families who so generously donated skis and boots to us for the week, and the Bear Basin Nordic Center for...
December is for Bears
Bears have been woven in to our curriculum throughout December. These creatures capture students' imagination and lend themselves to a variety of stories and games. We are also lucky in that we share the greater forest around McCall with bears and that learning about...
Sorting and Comparing in our Environment
Roots students spend much of their day sorting and comparing. They sort blocks in the building site, found objects in the forest, and parts of their trail mix at snack. They are comparing when they choose a metal shovel over a plastic shovel and when they count how...
Exploring Our Community – Nursing Home Visit
As part of our place-based mission our students learn not only about our local environment, but also our local community. This week our Aspen class took a field trip to the McCall Rehab and Care Center to interact with a population in our community that is often...
Math and Physics with Snow Sleds
In the Douglas Firs class, enthusiasm abounded as a wooden sled was discovered underneath the tent deck. An organic math and physics lesson evolved as the children took turns pushing, pulling, and riding in the sled. What happens when two children want...
Field Trip To Visit Our Elementary Buddies!
Our Ponderosa Pine and Aspen classes have adopted a local 3rd grade class as their 'big kid' buddies. Our buddies came to visit us in Ponderosa State Park when they kicked off a science and literacy unit on non-fiction text, human and animal interactions, and...
Exploring New Materials
We have been fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of many wonderful donations this fall! Our students have enjoyed exploring, building, and learning with our new materials. These amazing branch blocks were donated to us by a local farmer in Meadows, Idaho. They...
Dried apples for winter
This week, students in all classes are learning about ways the animal, human, and plant worlds prepare for winter. Winter came earlier than we expected but we are continuing with our preparations! Today, the Ponderosa Pines used a hand-crank apple slicer to cut apples...
New Website!
Hello everyone. We are developing a new website that will allow us to interact more with our families and allow for more flexibility as we grow and offer more services to you. Please look around the site. It's not finished yet, but we will be getting it all squared...
“My favorite thing about going to Roots was being outside in the winter and exploring the forest. Another favorite thing was when my teachers helped me make a Rock Chipping Site so I could learn about the what rocks look like inside. I learned to work together with my friends and build cool things at The Building Site. My best memory is the day my spirit animal, the fox, came to visit my class after I wrote him a letter. I made really good friends at Roots. I think all kids should go to the Roots Forest School!”
– Blake, a Roots Alum and current First Grader
Roots Forest School
PO Box 2003
McCall, ID 83638
(208) 315-0925
info@rootsforestschool.com
