Winter Weather Fun
Paula Lillard Preschlack • January 31, 2017

Winter Weather Fun: Braving the Outdoors


We all know it’s important for our children to get outside and play. But what about when the weather is…well, uncomfortable?


This is when having good equipment, and knowing how to use it, is paramount. Every year, I spend that first icy blast of winter shuffling between buildings, chiding myself, “There’s no such thing as too cold, just bad clothing choices.” After a few weeks, I finally get into the habit of layering and sealing myself off from the cold, and I marvel at the change in my comfort and approach to winter weather.


In Contact with Nature


Starting from the time they are very young, we can make it possible for our children to enjoy all kinds of winter weather fun. By preparing them with the right equipment and modeling the outdoors spirit, we give them many gifts: Wisdom in how to care for themselves, respect for the elements, healthier more active lifestyles, and the peace and renewal that comes from being in nature. We must actually experience being outside to gain the benefits; Montessori wrote, “There is no description, no image in any book that is capable of replacing the sight of real trees, and all the life to be found around them, in a real forest. Something emanates from those trees which speaks to the soul, something no book, no museum is capable of giving. The woods reveal that it is not only the trees that exist, but a whole, inter-related collection of lives…[that] no one can bring into the school…How often is the soul of man – especially that of the child – deprived because one does not put him in contact with nature.”


A little girl is having a tantrum on the floor.

Bundle Up


When my son and daughter were little, they went outside after school almost every day in the winter, even when the temperature was in the teens and the wind was blowing. They wore heavy wool socks, polyester-fabric long underwear top and bottom, snow pants and parkas, wool sweaters, wool hats, thick mittens that came high on their forearms with straps that sealed them securely over the coat-sleeves, face masks, neck warmers, and ski goggles! They looked like astronauts, but they were happy as clams out there. Not a single inch of their skin was exposed to the cold, and because they were moving their bodies, they were warm enough to enjoy some fresh air and all that nature gives us in winter.


Our daughter, now an adolescent, traveled this month on a school trip with her Forest Bluff Secondary Level classmates to Ely, Minnesota – where temperatures typically hover around zero degrees – to cook, sleep and work outdoors for ten days. The group spent weeks preparing, learning about how to help one another and themselves stay comfortable and safe in such temperatures. The students served the Wintergreen Dogsledding Outfit by clearing sledding trails of brush and tree branches, using sleds and work dogs. This school trip is incredibly challenging but deeply rewarding; I consistently hear that almost all our Forest Bluff School graduates refer to their experiences on their Secondary Level Winter Trip in high school or college entrance essays. Our adolescents build great strength, fortitude and reserves for teamwork in the extreme outdoor setting.

Prepare and Enjoy


At other times of the year, we and our children face very windy days, rain, and other varieties of uncomfortable weather. We can still find ways to get out into it and enjoy what the outdoors offers. Whether or not our children mind being wet, hot or cold in order to be outside, we still need to teach them to prepare and wear the best equipment to keep themselves safe. Quality fabrics and equipment may be costly, especially since our children change sizes every year, but if you get just one of each item and the children really use them, these purchases may reap great rewards for your children in their full development. You might share your used items with extended family members or other Forest Bluff families when your children outgrow them. We have a culture in our school community of loving the outdoors, and we want to encourage it for our growing children.


At Forest Bluff School, our students go outside in the fresh air several times a week. For instance, 6-to-12 year olds have a work choice of forming groups of four and playing outside during the day, as long as they have the proper equipment for the conditions and have been working responsibly in the classroom. They also go out as a class with their teacher to play games, learn sports or to learn a skill, such as how to build a real snow shelter. Spending time outside, in every kind of weather, is an important part of the children's school experience and forms some of their fondness memories of Forest Bluff School.

Montessori told us, “Set the children free, let them have fair play, let them run out when it is raining, take off their shoes when they find pools of water, and when the grass in the meadows is damp with dew let them run about with bare feet…; let them rest quietly when the tree invites them to sleep in its shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them up in the morning, as it wakes up every other living creature which divides its day between waking and sleeping.”


Seize This Day!

Winter Activity Ideas:


  • Walk in one of our Lake Forest Open Lands Preserves all around Lake Forest (dogs are welcome in many areas and some trails are prepared for cross country skiers)
  • Go to a Lake County Forest Preserve and look for animal tracks, water that has iced over, berries or leaves still stuck on branches or birds.
  • Rent cross country skis at the Heller Nature Center in Highland Park
  • Go skating at Artesian Park in Lake Bluff or West Park in Lake Forest
  • Go for a winter picnic in the woods – bring thermoses of warm foods to be eaten right out of the containers. If a utensil is required, make sure you will be able to handle them without removing your gloves or mittens.
  • Have an outdoor fire to roast marshmallows or just to enjoy the warmth. There is something magical about fire, especially when you are outside under a nighttime sky of stars.
  • Skate on patches of ice near your home. (Our children discovered a flooded area in the woods behind our house years ago and still amuse themselves by skating on it. It’s only about 6 inches deep, so they can do this activity independently and safely).
  • I know some families who have flooded their yard to create a “rink.” Ask for some advice on this, as I have never done it.
  • If we’re lucky enough to have snow, build a snow fort, snowman, tunnels… There’s so much to do with snow!
  • Go birding or on a nature walk with a theme, led by Lake Forest Open Lands or the Botanic Garden
  • Go for a walk in our many preserves and look for signs of winter – berries on branches, birds, owls, identify trees, animal tracks in the snow. Many of our nature preserves have classes to teach young people about these and other wonders of nature in the winter. Lake Forest Open Lands, the Lockhardt Center (also called Mellody Farm) on the corner of Waukegan and Deerpath roads has maps and pamphlets that may give you and your children ideas for your own nature walks.


Places to get gear:


  • Gearheads
  • REI
  • LLBean online catalog for kids
  • Land’s End online catalog for kids
  • Lake Forest Bootery for winter boots and rain boots


Interesting Tidbit:


Paul Schurke, who founded the Wintergreen Lodge, where our Secondary Level students work on their Winter Trip, has been to the North and South poles with sled dogs and is an expert in winter outdoor expeditions. He’s been written about in National Geographic Traveler Magazine, the Smithsonian, and Outside Magazine among many others, and has been featured on Good Morning America and the Discovery channel as well as other programs. He loves having our Forest Bluff students help Wintergreen by clearing their trails every other January!


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A teacher and Montessori student at Forest Bluff School in Lake Bluff, IL, shake hands.

Montessori and Accountability: Developing a Moral Compass

By Alice Davidson with contributions by Margaret J. Kelley • February 25, 2026
In Montessori education, we view each child as inherently capable of developing a strong sense of right and wrong. A child’s moral compass is not something we impose upon them—it is something that grows within, guided by experiences, reflection, and consistent modeling from the adults in their lives. For that moral sense to take root, children must be allowed to experience accountability for their actions. When parents shield their children from consequences or defend behavior they know is wrong, they unintentionally undermine that process, creating confusion and instability in the child’s understanding of truth, fairness, and responsibility. Many parents defend their children out of love and protectiveness. They wish to spare their child from discomfort, embarrassment, or the feeling of failure. Yet this kind of protection, though well-intentioned, teaches the opposite of what true love demands. One of the tenets of Montessori is to put children in contact with the real world in age-appropriate ways, trusting that they have the inner capabilities to grow and adapt when they have real experiences. When parents constantly justify, minimize, or excuse poor behavior, a child misses an opportunity for feedback; they learn that honesty is flexible and that integrity can be negotiated. This erodes their moral foundation and leaves them uncertain about what is right—not because they cannot feel it, but because the adults they trust most are contradicting that inner voice. In Montessori, children learn to do work and make decisions based on intrinsic, not extrinsic motivation. We trust that they have goodness inside of them, and while they absolutely need guardrails and guidelines, we can best serve them by teaching them to distinguish between their internal drives, and to take action in accordance with their conscience. Children are perceptive. They often know when they have done something wrong—whether they spoke unkindly, acted selfishly, or disrespected another. When their parents immediately defend them or blame others, the child experiences an internal conflict. On one hand, their conscience tells them they made a mistake; on the other, the parent’s response tells them they are in the right. Over time, this mismatch between inner truth and external validation creates confusion. The child begins to question their own moral instincts and may even learn to ignore the pangs of conscience altogether, relying instead on external approval to define what is acceptable. This is one of the greatest harms of over-defending a child: it separates them from their natural moral compass. When children are consistently told they are right—even when they know they are not—they start to equate love with being defended rather than being guided. They may learn that relationships are maintained through justification and blame-shifting instead of honesty and repair. Later in life, these patterns can manifest as difficulty accepting feedback, resistance to authority, or an inability to take responsibility in personal and professional relationships. In Montessori classrooms, we see accountability as a cornerstone of growth. When a child makes a mistake—perhaps they take another’s materials without asking or speak rudely to a classmate—we respond not with shame, but with calm guidance. We help the child reflect: What happened? How did this affect others? What can you do to make it right? This process nurtures empathy and clarity. It helps children see that they can correct their mistakes, that doing wrong does not make them bad, and that making amends restores both harmony and self-respect. Accepting that your child can be wrong is not a sign of parental failure—it is a sign of courage and wisdom. When you model accountability yourself, your child learns that truth is not something to be feared. They see that mistakes are part of being human, and that integrity means facing them with grace. Ultimately, allowing your child to experience and accept the consequences of their behavior builds confidence, empathy, and moral clarity. Shielding them from accountability may protect their feelings in the short term, but it confuses their conscience and weakens their inner sense of right and wrong. By guiding them lovingly toward truth and responsibility, you empower them to grow into kind, honest, and self-aware individuals—qualities that form the true foundation of a moral life.
A Montessori student at Forest Bluff School uses grammar symbols and color-coded tiles

Grammar the Montessori Way

By Margaret J. Kelley • January 24, 2026
Discover how Forest Bluff School on Chicago's North Shore uses Montessori symbols to teach grammar, making language arts engaging for Primary and Elementary students.