Naturing in Madison

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Naturing in Madison

Naturing in Madison offers outdoor nature play experiences for children and families

09/23/2026

On this first day of FALL, we played like busy fall animals preparing for the cold days ahead.

FALL is my favorite time of year for Together in the Park classes. The colorful falling leaves, nuts and seeds, apples, pumpkins, corn, busy animals—there is just so much to pull from to add a touch of wonder and magic to our classes. Follow along to see how we play Together in the Park this season.

It’s not too late to join!

09/21/2026

🐣Such a lovely morning together with other families at our pilot trial of our new Nature Baby & Me program! This “aftermath” image offers us such a sweet glimpse of the magic these babies had connecting to nature and engaging their senses. What do you see in this photo? Share below👇

From the educator Amy: “It’s never too early to get a child outside and connecting with nature. It’ll also be an opportunity for parents to learn what research tells us about the importance of nature for development, AND how to integrate more nature into our lives for mental, physical, and emotional health.”

Starting this week Wednesday , join Amy for a three class series. Ready to share the gift of the outdoors@with you littles ones?! 🐛 Register here: https://naturinginmadison.com/nature-baby-me

09/19/2026

Unable to commit to a full season of our weekly Together in the Park classes? Check out our monthly, one-off Together in the Backyard classes held at ! A scaled back version of our park classes perfect for a more intimate backyard vibe. This fall you can find “in the backyard” on 9/21, 10/19, & 12/16. Starting this Monday! Learn more and enroll at: https://naturinginmadison.com/together-backyard.

Working parent? Stick around for Studi-yo’s co-working session with kids after the class. Get a little work done while your child(ren) are entertained in the kid area!

09/15/2026

🍂What to expect at a Naturing class final part 5: TEA & NATURE JOURNALING! To wrap up our 90min together, we come back together at our opening circle location to enjoy some tasty herbal tea and nature journal together. Sometimes we draw with just crayons, other days we may paint (sometimes with mud paint!) or glue nature scenes. Us class leaders will keep your journal pages and return them to you in book form at the last class of the season and a lovely keepsake of the season! 🍂

Fall classes are starting up this week! Who is ready to play together in the park?!

09/14/2026

🌽What to expect at a Naturing Class part 4: NATURE TABLE! Near the Finding Spot, we have a secondary play station we call the Nature Table. Between the Finding Spot and Nature Table, we try to incorporate a range of sensory, fine and gross motor play options so that there is a little something for everyone’s developmental needs and interests in our mixed age group classes.

While the Finding Spot is often the star of the show with an emphasis on more group and gross motor play, we know that some kids will naturally gravitate more towards calmer, more independent and fine motor skill focused ways to play. At the Nature Table you will often fine more creative craft activities, small world building, clay, and/or nature observations. Kids are free to move back and forth between the two play areas as they wish. Some even take materials from both areas to create an entirely new play scenario!

09/12/2026

🍎What to expect at a Naturing class part 3: The FINDING SPOT. After our story circle, we all go on a mini hike to the Finding Spot, often on a mission to look for or notice things about our park along the way. The Finding Spot is where the kids will find the main materials for our play, based on that day's theme. These invitations to play, are just that, invitations. While we offer prompt ideas to help the adults see the leader's vision, the kids are allowed to play and use the materials in any way they desire, as long as it is safe.

In this image, following a reading of The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall, the Finding Spot offered up an invitation to pretend to make apple pies using apples and other natural materials. While some jumped into the nature bakery play, others were content to chop, gather materials into buckets, and/or play in other ways. How would you use these materials in your play?

09/10/2026

What to expect at a Naturing class part 2: Following arrival and gathering activities, we circle up for STORYTIME. Caregivers bring out their snacks and we come together for some songs and stories related to the theme of the day before we head out into our main play. Sometimes little bodies are wiggly and need to move about. Parents don’t stress! We fully support following the child’s needs, and if they need to move about and explore during this time, that is perfectly okay. Expecting all kids to sit still for a circle-time is not always a developmentally appropriate expectation for everyone in our mixed age group classes. On a personal note, I (Christie) developed these classes with my oldest in mind who is neurodiverse and struggled with this a lot when he was younger. ☺️

09/06/2026

🍁Each Together in the Park class begins with a simple GATHERING activity. As parents, we understand that getting out the door can be challenging at times. As you arrive to class, there will be a gathering activity ready for you to jump right into for the first 10-15min to give a little extra time for everyone to arrive. Some kids may need a little time to warm up to the larger group and prefer to stay close to their caregiver. In lieu of the prepared gathering activity, there are also always some books to select from to read with your little one too. 🍁

09/05/2026

🍁A snapshot of some upcoming FREE programs to check out this Fall! First up: a Together in the Park trial class this Tuesday! Learn more at Naturinginmadison.com 🍁

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Madison, WI

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