Mountain Kids! After School Program

Join Mountain Kids! for an adventurous, nature-filled, skill-building and wildly fun afterschool program this fall!

We are now offering school pick-up and longer hours to support working parents and get more kids out to play!  We suggest participation for a minimum of two days weekly, and children may register for up to five days.

Mountain Kids will explore a diversity of trails around Santa Fe. Kids will learn and play through engaging games, activities and hiking adventures. Themes include ecology, nature awareness, survival skills, and seasonal awareness and changes.

Spending time in nature is beneficial to children’s social, emotional and physical health. Children develop greater confidence, team work skills and build tolerance for adversity by spending time outside.  All of this while having fun, getting dirty, and best for parents; tired!

Monday-Friday | September 2 – December 19 | Grades K-6

Monday-Thursday: 3pm-6pm. School pick-up requires a two-day minimum.  Parent drop-off is also welcome.

Friday: 12:30-6pm. School pick-up requires a two-day minimum. Parent drop-off also welcome.

Challenge Level: (Age-Appropriate)

Scholarships Available

Registration Begins Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Forts & Foraging

Aug 4 – 8 | Monday – Friday | 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Ages 5-7, 8-10 & 11-13 | $570 + tax

In this week, we will explore shelter building and grow our understanding of our plant friends! From foraging for nutritive teas to scouting shelter building materials and learning how to camouflage in the woods; with plants we can thrive in nature. By the end of the week, the knowledge we gain will leave us feeling inspired and empowered!

Did you know? Trees communicate and share nutrients with one another through an underground network of fungi in the soil!

Challenge Level

Drop-off/Pick-up Times and Locations
We are offering two drop-off/pick-up locations to choose from: Patrick Smith Park and Swan Park. Swan Park campers will meet at 8:30 am and be shuttled to Patrick Smith, leaving at 8:45 am to join the other campers. Pick up for all groups is between 3:30 – 3:45 pm at their respective locations.

 

Scholarship Application

Register

Para registrarse en español, haga clic en el botón Registrarse arriba y seleccione español en el menú superior derecho del sitio web de Active. Para obtener ayuda, envíe un correo electrónico a: hello@sfmountainkids.com.

 

Wilderness Skills

July 14 – 18 | Ages 5-7, 8-10 & 11-13

9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Monday – Friday $570 + tax

Have you ever wondered what it takes to survive in the wilderness? Come learn the essential skills for staying safe, building shelter, finding water, making fire, navigating, archery and more! You will not only have a fun time exploring the beautiful Santa Fe National Forest, but will leave feeling more confident and safe in the outdoors. Ready for adventure? Let’s go!

Drop-off/Pick-up Times and Locations
We are offering two drop-off/pick-up locations to choose from: Patrick Smith Park and Swan Park. Swan Park campers will meet at 8:30 and be shuttled to Patrick Smith, leaving at 8:45 to join with other campers. Pick up for all groups is between 3:30-3:45 at their respective locations.

Challenge Level:

Scholarship Application

Register

Para registrarse en español, haga clic en el botón Registrarse arriba y seleccione español en el menú superior derecho del sitio web de Active. Para obtener ayuda, envíe un correo electrónico a: hello@sfmountainkids.com.

Intro to Backpacking & Wilderness Skills

July 7-11 | Ages 10-13

9:00 am – 3:30 pm, with overnight campout Thursday

Monday-Friday, $695 + tax

Campers will learn about backpacking and challenge themselves on a two-day, one-night backpacking trip close to home. We will hike the Borrego Trail and camp next to the Tesuque Creek for an overnight adventure in the woods.  Campers will learn how to prepare and pack for a backpacking trip, learn about menu planning and what to carry, and what to leave at home. There will be plenty of time for good old-fashioned fun; games and shelter building.

Drop-off/Pick-up Times and Locations
We are now offering two drop-off/pick-up locations to choose from: Patrick Smith Park and Swan Park. Swan Park campers will meet at 8:30 and be shuttled to Patrick Smith, leaving at 8:45 to join with other campers.  Pick up for all groups is between 3:30-3:45 at their respective locations.

Challenge Level:

Scholarship Application

Register

Para registrarse en español, haga clic en el botón Registrarse arriba y seleccione español en el menú superior derecho del sitio web de Active. Para obtener ayuda, envíe un correo electrónico a: hello@sfmountainkids.com.

Repetition is Good!

Why Repetition Matters in Nature-Based Learning

At Mountain Kids! camp, you might notice that certain themes, stories, and activities reappear from year to year—like building survival shelters, exploring insect habitats, or learning how to purify water. This repetition isn’t just tradition—it’s intentional, and it plays a powerful role in your child’s development.

Here’s why children thrive when themes and experiences repeat in outdoor education:

1. Familiarity Builds Comfort and Confidence

Returning to a familiar story or activity—like hiking a beloved trail or learning how to whittle—gives children a sense of security. In nature, where so much can change with the weather or season, predictable rhythms help children feel grounded and safe.

2. Mastery Through Repetition

Each time a child revisits an activity, they deepen their understanding and build new skills. Whether it’s identifying birdsong or safely using hand tools, repeated practice allows campers to grow more capable and confident each year.

3. Deepening Learning Over Time

Nature is a rich teacher, and repetition gives children the chance to notice more details with each encounter. A frog pond visited last year becomes a deeper source of curiosity this year, revealing new layers of learning as their brains and interests develop.

4. Emotional Connection and Joy

Familiar activities carry emotional memories. Singing the same campfire song or walking the same morning trail evokes joy, creates traditions, and builds a lasting bond with the natural world.

5. Pattern Recognition and Seasonal Awareness

Repetition in nature—like watching leaves change color each fall or tracking animal tracks in the snow—helps children recognize natural cycles. These patterns foster ecological awareness and support early scientific thinking.

6. Lifelong Learning and Transferable Skills

As children repeat and refine their outdoor experiences, they begin to apply what they’ve learned to new situations—understanding how weather affects different ecosystems or how teamwork improves a group project. This generalization is key to lifelong learning.

In Nature, Every “Repeat” Is a New Discovery

Even when we revisit the same activities, nature ensures that no two experiences are ever exactly alike. With each return, children notice something new, grow a little more, and deepen their connection to the world around them. That’s the magic of learning through repetition—especially when it’s rooted in the rhythms of the natural world.

A Walk on the Wildside

Our Saturday Wildside group had a blast this past week hiking along the Santa Fe River.

We started the day finding north and orienteering for treasure; it turns out kids can use their spidey senses to find treasure (apples and oranges), rather than compasses. 😉 We also used a stick compass to find north and all four directions, so easy and useful.

We were challenged in some physical agility; walking across logs, climbing and descending muddy slopes, and playing King of the Log; where one person tries to  bounce an opponent off a log without touching them. A fun new game!

The rope swing was another fun-filled challenge, with some giddy swinging and Tarzan whoops filling the warm winter day. Only two kids took to the river for a wee splash and were none the worse for wear. Plastic bags and extra socks sure come in handy for wet feet on a winter day outside.

We hiked down the river through towering cottonwoods, in awe of the beauty, and the two hawks we encountered, who were just as interested in watching us as we were them.

We finished our day with a lesson on how to harvest willow and used our kitchen peelers to take the medicine rich bark from the plant. Each Mountain Kid went home with a paper sack of bark to make tea as a remedy for fever, diarrhea or sunburn.

What a beautiful winter day to wander and play along the Santa Fe river.

#mountainkids #santafe #simplysantafe #letyourkidsouttoplay #kidsnature #kidsoutside #plantmedicine #winterwander #adventures

August 19: Cooking Adventures in Nature

Monday morning greeted the Mountain Kids with the chance to harvest apples at the beaver ponds, which of course included some tree climbing for those who felt called to do so!

The Eagles were very successful in the apple hunt, picking more than 200 apples in a short amount of time! They did most of the coring and slicing of apples to make apple sauce for everyone to take home. (The Hummers would have their turn on Thursday with the peaches!)

On Tuesday morning we sliced and strung apples to dry them for a lovely dried fruit snack.

The remainder of the day was spent hiking at Tsankawi,
part of Bandelier National Monument. The children learned about how the Ancestral Pueblo people once lived. While enjoying lunch in a wonderfully cool cave dwelling. Mountain Kids learned of the many different types of food and animals in the local area and the ways in which the Native peoples would have gone about harvesting and hunting them for food.

 

On Wednesday, we headed out to Rio en Medio, where we were able to gather fallen acorns and experience the sweet taste of freshly plucked red currant berries and a few raspberries along the trail.

The heat of the afternoon was spent splashing about the crisp river water, creating dams and building boats from nature to sail down the river. On our travels back to Santa Fe, the Mountain Kids spotted a couple of beautiful fruit trees full of apricots and apples, which they harvested for a juicy afternoon snack! Foraging sure is fun, and tasty. 🙂

The Eagles hiked to the Rio en Medio waterfall, crossing the river many times, an adventure in itself. It was a challenge if you wanted to keep your feet dry!  We and had a blast getting wet and exploring the frigid waterfall at the end of the hike.

That afternoon the Eagles headed to Chupadero for our Cooking Adventure Campout. We roasted our dinner in the ground (Chicken, sweet potatoes, and corn), learned how to use a handdrill and bowdrill to start a fire, and pitched a large shade structure to provide respite from the hot sun.

We enjoyed time around the campfire roasting apples, apricots and telling stories. A quick rainstorm didn’t deter us from a fun evening under the stars.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday morning started with an early trip to the Tesuque Pueblo, where the Hummingbirds and the Eagles joined together to pick peaches for the Pueblo people.

In return for the hard work gathering the fruit, we were able to pick our own peaches to enjoy and take home. Soon after we found our way to Chupadero where we spent the afternoon slicing peaches for a fruit compote and practicing archery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone got to take home fresh peaches that afternoon. YUM!!

With our bellies full of sweet fruit, it was nice to spend Friday playing in the woods and exploring our creative side. The Mountain Kids headed up and into the mountains where we spent the afternoon building shelters at Aspen Vista, creating hand made bows, arrows, and spears (from sticks, rocks, and yarn). It was a ‘sweet’ end to a super sweet and tasty week of foraging, eating, camping and archery! What an awesome end to an amazing summer 2019! Thank you families for being a part of it! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Survival Hunting Tools: July 15-20

This was a week full of watery fun, skill building with knives and bows, and some good heart pumping hikes with views for miles and miles.

Monday we started with spear making at the Big Tesuque. Knife safety was the most important lesson of the day.  Campers made some pretty nice looking spears in preparation for our Atl Atls on Wednesday.  We played games to get to know one another and explored nature in all of it’s glory. (Caterpillars and all.)

Tuesday was a Rio en Medio adventure, a good wet hike to a waterfall where the campers enjoyed plunging into the icy water.  They quickly chose to wear rain jackets to protect them from the icy flow. It was a joyous day on the Rio en Medio trail.

Wednesday was our day of Archery and more tool making in Chupadero.  We worked on our spears and Atl Atls (an ancient hunting tool which provides speed and leverage fro throwing a spear).  We then tried our hand at archery.  Bark Bunnies was a fun game for all –  aiming for chunks of bark, laden with jerky. If you hit the bark, and knock the jerky down, you get to eat the jerky.  Yum!

Thursday we headed up the Winsor Trail for Raven’s Ridge.  It was a challenging climb, so Michael helped break it up by teaching the kids how to make animal traps in the wild.  Super simple and cool.  The view from Raven’s Ridge was worth the climb! Nice work, all.  We had a great week of tool making, hiking and playing with you all!