Tenafly Nature Center Review

I hadn't been here in a long time and was pleasantly surprised with its upkeep. I am not used to being charged $2 to walk around in a nature preserve but I get it. Trails are very well marked.

This review is for the Forest Preschool Program.

First off Amanda, the director and teacher is just exceptionally great! Forest Preschool has smaller class size of 5 students. Amanda is great at identifying each individual kid s interests and helping them each grow their skills. The smaller class size also allowed all the kids to connect very closely at a personal level.

The outdoor setting is amazing for kids at that young age to cultivate creative, problem solving, and exploratory skills. They get exposure to a ton of stuff like tools( I m
talking hammer, peeler and more) while keeping safety in mind and taking instructions from Amanda. They also get to explore the animals, birds, plants and weather that the enormous Nature center offers.. I m talking experiences like a snake eating a salamander, spotting 80 year old turtle in a pond, watching salamander eggs, week(s) long play and building tunnels in snow, endless splashing in puddles!! Some of these are once in a lifetime experiences for most people, at best !

I also noticed that my LO had a huge fondness and respect for nature, and preserving it and keeping it clean, after joining Forest Preschool. My LO also built stamina for long hikes due to the outdoor exposure everyday. Most importantly this helped my kid restore to nature for play or to spend time. I hope that continues.

I believe in strong foundations and I m so grateful to have found Forest Preschool. This has been a great unconventional learning experience (especially during Covid times) and I highly recommend it!!

PROS: This nature center is top notch compared to others. The main trail is nicely mulched and the other trails are clear from any clutter. There are a lot of nice sites along the way including the lake, streams, and seating areas. They have a huge gazebo for events and a cabin for activities. They even have a zoo

CONS: The hours for the cabin are limited and the parking lot is cramped. It's also difficult to read the trail markers

OVERALL: I would definitely throw a bday party for a kid here or even go on a easy hike. It's not adventurous but it's definitely for beginners

If I could give it 10 stars I would! Our scout troop did a class. Nick was great with them. Trails were all well maintained. Class was informative worth the price. Definitely recommend going here

This is a great place for weekly activities for home school kids. They have various camps during breaks as well. I love that they offers different hiking trails and all are extremely family friendly. They also have some birds of preys at the enclosure for young kids to view up close. Definitely a good place for a day out in the outdoor be it rain or shine.

Various types of birds. This place is good for education and picnic.

The Forest Pre-School is an amazing program that has gone above and beyond our expectations. Firstly, it is very safe when it comes to covid protocols as it outdoors and the kids are screened and masked daily. Secondly, the teacher Miss Amanda is super talented, educated, patient, kind, resourceful, and really knows how to bring out the best in all the kids. We learn so much as a family from her. Thirdly, being outdoors means not only exercise and natural discoveries, but so much evidence based research shows how kids thrive for life with early outdoor educations. Also makes for great dinner conversations about the salamanders or other creatures they encounter around the classroom. We are so grateful to have discovered this program and glad that there was room for our daughter. Highly recommend!

This review is for the Forest Preschool. This program has been absolutely amazing for our daughter! What initially drew us to the program was our desire to find a safe, outdoor preschool option where Covid precautions would be taken very seriously. We found that- and so much more. Our daughter has developed incredible friendships, a passion for the outdoors, and increased confidence to take on new challenges (think climbing tall trees, taking long hikes, playing in all weather, and using grown-up tools!). Ms. Amanda is a masterful educator, who weaves best practices in early childhood education (fine and gross motor, literacy, math/ science) into a nature and play-based curriculum. She is very attuned to the interests of the students and allows for lots of student voice and choice around how each day unfolds. She is also an amazing naturalist and her knowledge of and passion for the outdoors has left an indelible impression on our daughter. Finally, she speaks and listens to students (and parents!) with such respect and caring, modeling how to cooperate, resolve conflicts, and express feelings. These skills will be so important for my daughter as she moves into kindergarten next year. I truly could not imagine a more wonderful preschool experience for our daughter. I highly recommend Forest School!!!

This review is for the Forest Preschool (though the rest of the nature center is also awesome). We were so lucky to start our daughter at TNC in September 2020 after agonizing about Covid-safe activities for our very social almost 4yo. It has been a great decision for so many reasons.

Her previous daycare was 95% indoors, and I can see that forest preschool has given her a new appreciation and passion for nature. I m certain she can now identify more plants and animals than I can. She loves climbing, exploring, using her imagination for activities, and importantly no longer complains about the weather. Snow/wind/rain, no problem!

Ms Amanda is THE BEST and is so great with the kids, coordinating fun activities and hikes every day but also mediating fiery kid arguments and defusing moodiness like an empathic wizard. She provides full updates and photos every day so we always know what the kids got up to. They also take Covid very seriously and have daily health checks (in 8 months there has never been an issue).

We moved farther away from TNC after a few months, but continue doing the 45min drive because our daughter loves it so much. If not for the commute we would have loved to sign her up for another year. It s such a unique educational experience and I know it will stay with her for a long time. Cannot recommend this program highly enough!

Beautiful space. A biodiverse swamp in the middle of a patch of wooded mountain. Great for birding and looking at frogs and dragonflies in the summer.
The staff are knowledgeable and passionate and friendly, as well.