Growing Up Green Membership
Our $30 GUG annual membership covers the entire family and offers a variety of perks!! This membership is required prior to enrolling in any of our classes and replaces our former per-child application fee.
Memberships include:
- Ability to enroll all family members in ANY of our classes for one full year
- Invitations to 4 exclusive GUG sponsored events per year
(Spring Solstice Party, Summer River Float, Fall Harvest Party, and
Winter Sledding & Bonfire!)
- Coupon for $25 off any in-stock Kinderpack or woven wrap
- Exclusive invites to our GUG Van Outings and Experiences in addition to individual members-only van & driver rental options
If you can't benefit from these membership perks but still want to financially support Growing Up Green, please purchase a membership to help fund our continually increasing insurance costs.
NATURE SCHOOL
ROOTED IN MONTANA
Nurturing a Lifelong Love of Learning and the Outdoors
Growing Up Green is more than just a nature school; it is a place where children learn to see their natural environment as the ideal setting for exploration, discovery, and inquiry. We guide young students to recognize that literacy, math, and learning experiences are all around us in our daily adventures. Academic skills are organically honed and nurtured during play and outdoor discovery - fostering curiosity, confidence, and a deep respect for the environment.
Our School Bus Classroom
Although we are outside for much of our day, we enjoy spending time in our retro-fitted school bus — filled with books, toys, games, items to foster imaginative play, art & learning materials, etc. The bus also provides a space for us to warm up from the cold, eat in a dry space, cool off in the heat, or tuck away safely during any storms.
Snapshots of
Growing Up Green
Capturing the joy, the discovery,
and the adventures
● Place-Based Education
Immersing children in local landscape, heritage, and culture. We facilitate a deeper understanding of local ecology and community-learning through place-based education, inviting children to establish an ongoing relationship with the world we share, and those we share it with. Our main focus is educating children about their immediate surroundings-the animals, plants, weather, and traditions that make Missoula and Montana unique.
Our program is full of hands-on activities which inspire creativity and teamwork. Unstructured purposeful and productive nature play provides children space to create their own experiences. This involves using loose parts to support imaginative play with items that can be combined, moved, pulled apart and creatively put back together. While the majority of our day is spent in child-directed play, children also practice drawing, handwriting, public speaking, independent book exploration, critical thinking, listening comprehension, cutting/pasting, and creating art. Our environment and structure allows opportunities for children to take breaks and quietly observe the natural world. Children are encouraged to take alone/quiet time whenever they need it. The ability for children to recognize the need for space or to step away from a situation is an important skill.
● Small Group Focus
Learning & Respecting Consent:
Our students are taught the concepts of consent through daily play and our classroom puppet, Consent Carl. We practice and discuss giving and taking away consent, with an emphasis on requiring consent before engaging in physical play or interactions. We intentionally use the word consent to prepare students for the importance of consent throughout their lives.
