Now enrolling for Spring & Summer 2026
Extended Day option now available!
About Us
Wise Forest Preschool is a child-centered outdoor preschool program with classes and camps held in a beautiful wooded area of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Our play-based curriculum is designed for children ages 2.5 to 5 and is modeled after European forest kindergartens. Activities include valuable free play time, hiking, hands-on ecology lessons, fort building, creative arts, and circle time. Our ratios are 4.5 students per teacher. We carefully observe each student's natural strengths and interests and we strive to empower them to embrace and cultivate their unique abilities.
Students have the opportunity to develop their senses, creativity, powers of observation, and coordination by exploring and engaging the natural environment. We foster emotional awareness, and we praise mindfulness, effort, and concentration. Our goal is to cultivate compassion, empathy, and a lasting connection to the natural world.
About the Founder
By: Mara Aaberg
Mara Gladden launched Wise Forest Preschool in 2014. She holds the highest level of forest school teacher certification from one the leading forest school in the country, Cedarsong Nature School on Vashon Island in Washington State. Coming from a family of physicists and chemists, Mara has had a passion for science and nature from a young age. She found her calling in the life sciences and studied Biology at the University of Washington. Mara has ten years of professional experience teaching children in an outdoor classroom setting.
Mara grew up in a rural area in Washington state and spent any and all free time outside exploring and building. She developed a deep reverence and appreciation for the natural world. Through direct experience, Mara learned that contact with nature boosts children's self-confidence and promotes joyfulness. Mara is passionate about providing city children the opportunity to form lasting bonds with nature. Outside of forest school she enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, and trail running with her husband and three kids.
"Knowledge without love will not stick. But if love comes first, knowledge is sure to follow."
-John Burroughs
Mara Aaberg is the director of Wise Forest Preschool in San Francisco. Mara is passionate about providing city children the opportunity to form lasting bonds with nature.
About the Director
Faye Terry
Director & Lead Teacher
Faye has been part of the Wise Forest community since 2017. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and carries those roots with her—curiosity about people, a deep respect for the relationship between cities and nature, and a belief in collective care. She studied International Development and Social Change as an undergraduate and went on to earn a master’s degree in Community Organizing, experiences that continue to shape how she thinks about learning, power, and belonging.
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Alongside her work at Wise Forest, Faye also works at BAVC Media, a media arts nonprofit based in San Francisco’s Mission District. Across both worlds, her work is guided by a shared passion: connecting with young people and supporting them as they discover who they are and how they want to show up. She believes deeply in helping littles build confidence in all parts of themselves—the curious parts, the quiet parts, the weird and wonderful parts, the parts that feel unsure or still unfolding.
Faye lives in Oakland but has many roots planted in San Francisco. She loves to write, spends as much time as possible outdoors, and can often be spotted in the neighborhood in her little loud truck—keep an eye out for the flame decals, a favorite scavenger hunt for the littlest Wise Foresters.
About the Assistant Director
Teacher Kayla
Kayla Dzurek is a dedicated early childhood educator with over ten years of experience
supporting children across a wide range of settings, including: indoor and outdoor preschools, Waldorf and Project Based programs, K–12 athletics, and tutoring/enrichment programs. Her teaching is grounded in a child-centered, holistic philosophy that honors each child’s identity, needs, and natural curiosity. She believes in the power of projects and continuity in learning to help children feel excited and empowered in their earliest learning experiences. Kayla brings a warm, steady presence and a deep belief in the power of outdoor learning to support emotional regulation, resilience, and joyful exploration. She is passionate about creating inclusive, relationship-driven learning environments where all children feel seen, safe, and free to express themselves.
Kayla earned her B.A. in Sociology with honors from the University of San Francisco, where she focused on the intersections of childhood, gender, and identity. Her undergraduate thesis explored how preschool children express and interpret gender, with particular attention to racialized social dynamics. She is currently working towards her Masters degree in Early Childhood Education at San Francisco State University, and owns and operates Little Buds SF LLC, an aftercare program run from her licensed daycare in Ingleside, San Francisco.
Outside of the classroom, Kayla enjoys gardening, camping, practicing yoga, and
spending time with her partner, cat, friends, and family.
About the Teachers
Lead Teacher Tina
Teacher Tina was born and raised in Mumbai, India. She immigrated with her family to Toronto, Canada when she was 16 years old. Tina worked at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as a ticket agent and then moved on to become Assistant Station Manager for Malev Hungarian Airlines. In 2007, Teacher Tina moved to London England, and went on to pursue her true passion, educating children. She attended the Maria Montessori Institute in London where she received her Montessori diploma for toddler teaching and worked at a Montessori school.
A few years after giving birth to her two children, Teacher Tina started working at Forest school and has been an integral part to the teaching team since. Tina blends her knowledge of Montessori teaching with forest school approaches to create learning environments that foster a sense of independence and meet children where they are, while experiencing the joys of the natural world.
Teacher Jaymee
Jaymee Chaides was born and raised just outside of Los Angeles with two parents who enjoyed taking their three girls out into nature. While camping and hiking, her father taught her about everything from cloud formations to how canyons are formed. At a very young age Jaymee’s eyes would sparkle when she spoke of forest critters and exploring the ocean.
Once she graduated high school, she decided to continue living among nature by moving to Mammoth Lakes, CA. There, she worked as a snowboard instructor while supervising children aged 3 to 5 years old. In this line of work, as well as taking many courses in earth science, geography and biology at the local community college, Jaymee realized how much she loved studying science as well as interacting with children in nature, and could see how kids thrive in a more primal outdoor environment.
Upon leaving Mammoth Lakes Jaymee transferred to San Francisco State University where Jaymee studied biology with a concentration in Ecology and Marine Biology. Throughout her studies, she worked in various research labs, however she always felt there was an aspect in science that she was missing, sharing discoveries with children. Upon graduation, she moved to San Diego to work as a scuba dive guide and a children’s surf instructor. While interacting with kids in a forever changing environment like the ocean, Jaymee thought about how fantastic it is to instill confidence in children that they can work with nature to achieve great things.
Teacher Jaymee goes into every class with more excitement knowing not only how much she could share with the children, but also what the children could teach her.
Teacher Jenna
Jenna Comstock began teaching elementary and preschool age children after graduating college in 2022. She has worked with students in various capacities as an afterschool program teacher, outdoor preschool teacher, dance instructor, reading tutor and as a one-on-one SEL specialist. Jenna strives to facilitate exploration and creativity through hands-on learning and collaboration. Jenna earned her B.A. in English from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon. During a gap year, Jenna was a crew member and assistant crew lead on a Wilderness Conservation Corps based in Southern Oregon. This experience still informs how Jenna views learning and education, as something that happens through shared experiences, challenges, and projects. She aims to instill a sense of capability and curiosity in students by providing opportunities for them to collaborate with each other and their environment. Jenna believes in and employs the Reggio Emilia idea of “environment as the third teacher.” Our environment is something we all learn from and engage with, and she believes that students and teachers alike inspire one another to engage with nature and art materials in different ways. In her time outside of work, Jenna enjoys running, swimming in the ocean, drawing and reading. She also loves listening to live music with friends and family and is learning to play the bass.
Teacher Nesley
I’m Nesley, originally from Milwaukee Wisconsin but have been living in SF since 2015. I am currently studying at Santa Clara for a Masters in Counseling Psychology specializing in bilingual therapy, LGBTQ+ therapy and children and adolescents. I have worked as a creative writing and literacy teacher for 6-18 year olds in the Bayview district as well as an Education Manager at Foodwise (Ferry Building Farmers Market). I am excited to continue working with kids in a non-traditional learning environment, especially with San Francisco as the classroom! Outside of school and work you can still find me at the farmers market curating my next delicious meal!
