Classes
Outreach
Testimonials
Gallery
About
Growing curious minds in the city
Little Sprouts Nature Classes
Discover the natural wonders of fall at FDR Park. Enjoy stories, songs, games, and plenty of outdoor play!
Classes begin with sensory or art activities until everyone arrives. We open with a song, and then a themed story time, including finger plays, songs, felt board, and puppets. Whenever possible, children have the opportunity to see and touch natural specimens. The second half of the class includes more active play, such as guided nature walks, scavenger hunts, gross motor games, and occasionally making a snack related to the topic. Families will take home a fact sheet for further exploration at home.
Children are always invited but never required to participate in group activities. Young children are not always able to sit through a structured circle time, and that's OK. Families are welcome to engage with the class in whatever ways work for them.
Intended for children ages 2-5 and a caregiver.
Where: FDR Park (Philadelphia)
When: September 14 - December 8
Time: Thursdays at 4pm or Fridays at 10am
Cost: $15 per class or $140 for the full season (11 classes)
Dirty Birdies Messy Play Time
Bring your kids to FDR Park for a messy, good time that can only be had outdoors. With activity stations focused on sensory experience, creative process, and movement, children will be free to explore materials in their own way and in their own time. Messy materials include paint, shaving cream, water, and other natural items. Even parents can get in on the fun, and leave the clean-up to us!
This class is appropriate for ages 2-8, as younger and older children will engage differently with the materials.
Where: FDR Park (Philadelphia)
When: September 15 - 29
Time: Fridays at 11:30am
Cost: $17 per class or $42 for all 3
Tending the Garden:
A Mindful Family Exploration
It’s never too early to begin learning skills that can help us appreciate our surroundings, regulate our emotions, and become kind and compassionate humans. This class for the whole family will help you build a foundation for kindness and connection with fun activities and exercises you’ll want to make part of your daily routines.
Based on the Goldie Hawn Foundation’s MindUp program, used in schools around the world, this class will bring your family together to get in touch with your values, feelings, bodies, and each other. Don’t worry, we don’t expect your littles to meditate for an hour - we’ll be gradually working our way up to just 3 minutes at a time. The rest of the class will be spent in sensory explorations, art making, games, and brain-building, empathy-boosting fun.
Most activities are geared for families with children in grades K-3, but younger or older siblings will be able to enjoy the class as well.
Where: Coming soon!
When: This fall!
Time: Coming soon!
Cost: Coming soon!
Classes can be adapted for classrooms, libraries, camps, birthday parties, or other locations. Whether you're looking for a series of nature or mindfulness classes, a one-time presentation related to your curriculum, or just a fun themed celebration, I'd love to work with you.
What caregivers are saying
-
"Bri is a wonderful teacher. I love that activities are invitations. I like the combo of structured learning and open-ended exploration."
-
"Fun, casual and yet super informative. She thinks of little projects that I wouldn’t come up with on my own. Great for getting out in nature!"
-
"I like the range of activities during class, walking around exploring is our favorite - very inclusive vibe and I think Bri is a great teacher!"
About Briana
I hold an MA in Museum Education and have taught in a variety of settings, including both traditional classrooms and informal environments such as museums, theaters, play spaces, and nature centers. I am a mom to a 5-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, and a co-founder of the South Philly Cooperative Playschool (my third baby). I started attending nature classes at Tyler Arboretum with my son when he was 18 months old and was astounded by how much he learned. He could identify more birds at 2 than I could at 30! When his phenomenal teacher left Tyler, I was offered the opportunity to take her place. In the 9 years since, I have developed my own style of teaching that is respectful of children, meets them where they are, and follows their curiosity. I recently completed training to teach the MindUp program, based in neuroscience, social-emotional learning, positive psychology, and mindfulness, that blends perfectly with my approach to cultivating children’s love of nature and themselves as a part of it. It’s important to me that Philadelphia families can find joy in urban nature without spending 45 minutes in the car first to “get there.” We can be mindful and appreciate the beauty and wonder of the outdoors right here in our own city parks.