FAQ

What is Cache Valley Forest School?

We are a community of like-minded individuals who are striving to strengthen the homeschool community through outdoor science and wilderness education.  We also offer summer camps and other short-term based classes to children through out Cache Valley from all walks of life. Classes are designed to be hands-on, relevant, engaging, and fun!  

What programs do you offer?

Class offerings are constantly growing and changing, but our program highlight is our weekly Forest Fridays, which provides outdoor science education to homeschool families.  We also have summer camps and seasonal classes such as Wilderness Survival, Outdoor Cooking, Yoga in Nature, Nature Journaling, and more!  

What curriculum do you use?

Curriculum is curated by experienced and licensed teachers using a hands-on approach.  Each week we have science and/or wilderness topic of study that is catered to the individual class' academic level.  Each week we also strive to teach one of the core wilderness topics such as knots & rope, fire, shelter, orienteering, and woodcraft. Weather permitting (when fingers won't freeze) we have a strong emphasis on Nature Journaling.  We also have intentionally scheduled time for student-led learning, which allows the direction of learning to be driven by the curiosity of the group, giving the students voice and choice over what they are learning.  

Do you cover all science standards?

Our program is designed to provide supplemental science, therefore, we don't cover a specific list of standards, but we do try to touch on standards every week.  In winter we generally have more of a focus on wilderness/survival skills, as the cold temperatures require us to keep moving, keep fingers covered, and find creative ways to stay warm like building fires and shelters, but we still try and incorporate topics such as snow science and animal hibernation.

Who are your mentors?

Our mentors come together with a variety of backgrounds and together we create a well-rounded diverse group of educators. All mentors have been background checked and most of us are licensed teachers.  Meet our team here!

Are students placed into age groups? And what ages do you take?

Forest Fridays (homeschool enrichment) will be broken into three age groups:  Junior Rangers (Ages 6-7), Explorers (Ages 8-9), and Trailblazers (Ages 10-12). Other classes will list specific age ranges when posted.  (We are working on creating teen classes that will be topic specific and shorter in duration.)

How many students are in a class? 

Class sizes are capped at 15 students.  In addition to our experienced and capable mentors, each group is assigned 1-2 volunteers.  This allows us to have at least 6 adults present during classes for a ratio of about 1 adult to 7 students. Parents are always welcome to join class.  We ask that younger siblings be left at home.

When will Forest Fridays (homeschool science classes) take place?

Classes take place on 30 Fridays throughout the school year.  Please see our 2024-25 school calendar for more information.  Our 2025-26 School Calendar can be found HERE.

Where are classes located?

Classes will be held in various outdoor locations throughout Cache Valley.  We have students from all over Cache Valley and even some that drive in from outside of Cache Valley, therefore, we strive to keep all classes within a 25 minute drive from central Logan.

Do you accept payment from homeschool programs?

Yes!  We are approved as 3rd Party Vendors for Harmony Ed, OpenEd, Utah Fits All, and Carson Smith Scholarship. 

Do you cancel class for bad weather?

We strive to operate rain or shine and children should be dressed for the weather, but we will cancel for extreme weather that could pose a danger.  

What is the withdrawal/cancellation policy?

The registration fees are non-refundable and they are used to hold your space and purchase insurance.  Tuition can be refunded in full up to 2 weeks before the start of class. Tuition will be refunded at 50% from 2 weeks before class until 2 weeks after the start of class.  Tuition will not be refunded after the second week of class.  We do no pro-rate missed days due to illness, travel, or other circumstances.  If class is cancelled due to weather we provide one make-up day per session.  If more than one day is missed due to weather, families will be reimbursed at 50% for the missed day.  The remaining 50% is used to pay overhead costs and to pay mentors for their prep-work. We do not issue refunds for ending class early due to weather. 

Please contact us if you have further questions.