Welcome to Singing Nettle Forest Stewards!
We are a small, part-time learning community that savors in the learning bounties that nature, music, and language have to offer! Leaps and bounds! We have 501 (c) (3) status and have the Twin Cities area as our lifelong learning community!
Paving the Way
For Our Future Generations
Think of a world in which future generations would be built up to be confident forest stewards – tending to the land, mending our spirits, and keeping students and our planet healthy for years to come. We envision this and so much more here at Singing Nettle!
From the bog blog!
Stay up to date with the latest from our bog blog.
Mission Statement
At Singing Nettle Forest Stewards, we strive to bridge the wild natural world with the manmade world by using each of our voices to lift each other up!
We foster a learning space for liminality and creativity!
Singing Nettle Forest Stewards (SNFS) aims to promote holistic development by integrating nature-based, music-based, and multilingual activities into our curriculum. Studies show that these three modalities of education enhance engagement, confidence, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, resiliency, and a sense of safety and community in children.
Meet Our Director and Learning Guides!
Christine Shoemaker, FSTI-Certified Director / Teacher, and Learning Guide (Ms. Christine)
I have always felt a deep connection with nature and have had a range of profound learning experiences in the outdoors, from a fascination with tadpoles and raising pigeons as a girl to numerous nature-based pursuits as an adult. These pursuits bring me joy and fulfillment, a sense of being alive, and the feeling of being a kid again. By practicing the art of rewilding and bridging the natural world with the human world, I strive to cultivate community and a sense of being for all of us.
Some of my pursuits include:
- Certified Forest Therapy guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT)
- WRFA/CPR/AED certified through the Red Cross
- Forest School Teacher and Forest School Director certification through the Forest School Teacher Institute (FSTI)
- Intermediate forager (mushroom certified in MN and WI)
- Has a Minnesota Trapping Education Certificate through the Minnesota Trappers Association
- Beekeeper and Youth Beekeeper Scholarship Committee Chair of Minnesota Hobby Beekeeper’s Association
- Herbalist / grower / farmer / vendor of Thistle Bear Honey & Herbs LLC
- Oakdale Farmer’s Market, Lake Elmo Farmer’s Market, and Mahtomedi Farmer’s Market
- Private music teacher at Shu-Bop Studios LLC (teaching piano, flute, vocals, aural skills, sightreading, music theory, music history, musical enjoyment, etc.)
- Classically trained in piano since I was four, flute since I was nine
- Instrument Instructor for Saint Paul Public Schools during 2018-2019 school year
- Attended Augsburg University Master of Music Therapy Graduate Program 2016-2018
- Lead Sales Supervisor at Rock Hard Landscaping Supply in Oakdale
- B.A. in Philosophy and minor in Biology at Gustavus Adolphus College
Christine Tuhy, Learning Guide, Bilingual Parent, Realtor (Ms. Chris)
“Mothering, land-loving, and traveling have all connected within me to form one rooted tangle of healing and love. Once a lonely soul wandering the city in search of myself, I have now become interconnected (planted, so to speak) in my home, on the land, and in my community. Connecting with children allows me to pass on the simple wisdom of nature-based values in ways that I love.”
- Mother to Violet, Steward at SNFS!
- Bilingual (Spanish-speaking)
- Real Estate Agent at Coldwell Banker Realty®
- Hypnotist
- Light worker
- NeoEden Urban Off-grid Solar Farm Project
- Conscious Living Academy
Emergent
CORE & WILD
Curriculum ~
Flow & Grow Learning ~
Inquiry-based ~ Individualized ~ Organic
Tentative schedule:
Tuesdays & Wednesdays, Sept 16 – Dec 17,
Jan 6 – March 4, March 24 – May 20
- 9:00am – 9:30am: Quiet Homework Time or Getting Settled into Day – Bring Homeschool Work or Review / Recap
- 9:30am – 11:00am: Lesson / Subject of the Day (Music on Tuesdays, Spanish on Wednesdays, CORE subjects on individual needed basis, etc.).
- 11:00am – 12:00pm: Lunch and Free Time
- 12:00 – 1:00pm: Review & Apply Lesson(s)
- 1:00pm – 3:00pm: Hands-on Nature-based Application of Lesson of Day (inquiry-based, emergent)
- Geared towards 8 – 12 year olds ~ can be flexible & adapt
The curriculum at SNFS is designed to align with child-led learning experiences and nature-based principles. Research supports the benefits of hands-on outdoor learning to improve academic performance and overall well-being.
Steward Pricing
25-26 School Year
Pricing? Please contact Christine S.!
Singing Nettle Forest Stewards (SNFS)
School Calendar (Highlighted in Yellow and Green)
What people are saying
“Christine S. has been nothing but an absolute miracle in our lives. Her approach to forest schools and learning are unmatched.”
Britt E.
Parent of Enrolled Forest Steward
Subscribe
Enter your email below to receive updates.
Contact us
Singing Nettle Forest Stewards
(612) 449-3969
thistlebearhoneyherbsllc@gmail.com
Reach out & Enroll to become a part of this special learning community!
Fall Session begins Sept 16th, 2025! Fall Session Ends December 17th!
Christine Shoemaker, FSTI-Certified Director, Teacher, and Learning Guide
Your message has been sent
Singing Nettle Forest Stewards 