River's Edge Forest Play

Reviews

• AP

  Amy Poole

  May 18, 2025
  1.0
  As a River’s Edge Family for many years, I am saddened to report that this last year has been a terrible experience for my family. The program has been sold to new leadership, and things are not transitioning well. I am hoping to prevent further trauma to families. I’m deeply disappointed by our experience with the Learning Lab at River’s Edge. While the program presents itself as nurturing and inclusive, what we encountered was a pattern of exclusion, unaddressed bullying, and a lack of meaningful emotional support. Over several months, I raised concerns to staff and leadership about children being repeatedly targeted or isolated; often through intimidating group behavior that went unaddressed by staff. Games involving themes of war, slavery, and jail were used as play frameworks, creating power dynamics that many children (including mine) found distressing and confusing. These themes encouraged dominance and exclusion rather than cooperation and empathy, and they quickly escalated into dysregulated and unsafe interactions. Rather than guiding children through conflict resolution or emotional regulation, staff frequently minimized or ignored what was happening, despite many attempts to inform. Even when children showed clear signs of overwhelm or distress, intervention was inconsistent or absent. In some cases, children were blamed or labeled as “the problem” in front of others, which only worsened the sense of exclusion. When I continued to advocate for a safer, more thoughtful environment, the program chose to remove my child instead of engaging in dialogue or making improvements. This was devastating and will likely leave a lasting impact on my child who already struggles to find a place of belonging in the world, but felt like he once found it there. I’m sharing this review in hopes that River’s Edge leadership will take these concerns seriously and make needed changes. Every child deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported, especially in environments that claim to foster community and growth. Even if it’s too late for my kid.
• LD

  Libby Diamond

  Jul 31, 2024
  5.0
  What an amazing place for children. Teece and her team are special. Our kids went here for both outdoor school and summer camp over the years. It is a beautiful balance of nature-based imaginative play and learning. Both of our children blossomed from this program. They learned to take care of themselves and nature (hence the hike in hike out rule) while having fun using natural props from the land. Don’t miss out!
• AB

  Amy B

  Jun 8, 2022
  5.0
  My son has loved his days at River's Edge. He comes home happy and tired. He has enjoyed the many activities out in the woods and streams. If you want to get the kids away from screens and into the natural world, this is the place!
• TH

  Tricia Huffman

  May 11, 2022
  5.0
  We started with REFP by chance- winning a week of summer camp on a FB contest. That week of camp turned into a school year program for our 4yo, followed by multiple weeks of summer camp for 2 of our boys. Then another school year program, more summer camps, school year during virtual learning and now our daughter is in the school year program and will return again in the fall after.. you guessed it- more summer camps! Our kindergartener didn't have the best academic prep for starting school, but what he had was so much more and allowed him to pick up on all the other pieces rapidly. He had confidence, the ability to effectively communicate with his peers and teachers, top notch problem solving skills, eagerness to learn (and SO much more) and has excelled. I attribute much of this to his experiences at REFP. You can't teach what they learn here in a classroom. Don't question signing up, I promise in doing so, you're giving your children a gift they will cherish for a lifetime.