Family Workshop Series: Connecting with Your Child, Connecting with Yourself
Holding Healthy Boundaries in a Child-Led (Not Child-Run) Relationship
🗓 Saturday, May 10th
🕙 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Wonderforest Preschool
38 6th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
This introductory workshop is open to the families and caregivers of all currently enrolled Brooklyn Nature Days & Wonderforest students. This is a ticketed event. To sign up, use the form at the bottom of this page.
$49 base cost of workshop (covers 2 adults)
$25 additional adults and caregivers
on-site childcare is available for $30 per child with access to Wonderforest' classrooms and open play area.
As of 5/5/2025: This workshop is now full. Please use the form below to add yourself to the waitlist.
Join us for the first in a series of community-centered workshops where we’ll explore how to build deeper, more balanced connections with our children—and ourselves.
In this introductory session led by Wonderforest Founder Sarah Carlson & former Brooklyn Nature Days Director (current BKNatur(Ed) Director) Lilly Clark, we will share the core philosophy and foundational practices that guide our approach. Designed for families and caregivers, this workshop offers insight into how we can cultivate meaningful, lasting relationships with our children through a grounded and thoughtful approach.
When we are able to connect and co-regulate with ourselves and our children, we begin to establish a strong, resilient foundation for connection that extends well beyond the early years. Together, we will explore practical tools to support a more balanced and empowered parenting journey.
In this workshop you will learn the foundational skills to:
Develop self-awareness and embodied practices to support your child’s developing emotional regulation skills
Foster deeper connection and ease in our relationships with our children
Engage in community-centered self-care that supports both individual and collective well-being
This workshop is a space for reflection, support, and shared growth — an invitation to begin, or deepen, your journey in conscious parenting.
Beverages and light snacks will be available. You will receive a digital packet of resources at the conclusion of this workshop to reference the skills, concepts, and practices explored during our time together.
Space is limited. RSVP using the form on this page. You will receive a confirmation in 1-2 business days and can expect an invoice via Brightwheel to secure your family’s spot in this workshop. We look forward to welcoming you!
Workshop Facilitators
Noelle Ghoussaini (she/her)
Current Wonderforest Parent & Workshop Facilitator
Noelle is a theatre-maker, educator and ritual artist. She facilitates embodied experiences that nurture freedom in the very fabric of our being. Bringing together meditation, creative expression and communal gathering, her work supports our inherent connection with our creative voice and inner light.
Noelle is the founding artistic director of SacredSpace, which curates creative, healing journeys. She also has 20 years of experience teaching theatre, movement and creative writing at public schools, detention centers, cultural institutions & theatres in the US and the Middle East: facilitating youth programs, directing plays and leading master classes for teachers.
Most recently, she has curated healing arts events for organizations such as the New York Public Library, UNESCO, PlayCO Theatre, Target Margin Theatre, Public Assistants, the Asian American Arts Alliance, Holes in the Wall Collective, Mercury Store and EmergeNYC. Noelle received her MA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in Arts Politics & her BA at Northwestern University in Performance Studies, French and African Studies. www.noelleghoussaini.com
Sarah Carlson (she/her)
Founder: Brooklyn Nature Days, Wonderforest Preschool, BK Natur(Ed)
Sarah is a Bank Street Graduate with an M.S. Ed. in Early Childhood Elementary Education, and has taught in a variety of public and private school settings in New York and New Jersey for the past 19 years. She is the 2018 recipient of the Margaret O’Neill Early Childhood Nature Educator Award for her work with Brooklyn Nature Days. Sarah is certified as a Forest School Kindergarten Teacher through Cedarsong Nature School and is currently pursuing her New York Master Naturalist Certification through Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension Program. She currently serves on the Board of the Eastern Regional Association of Forest and Nature Schools (ERAFANS). Sarah holds Permanent Teaching Certification in both New York and New Jersey. She is inspired by children's authenticity, energy, and expression and is rooted in the idea that we are always learning through experience, reflection, and finding the magic in day to day moments. Sarah believes strongly in the freedom, health, and creativity that ample time in nature can provide.
Lilly Clark (she/ella)
Director, BK Natur(Ed)
Originally from New York City, Lilly Clark graduated from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in Childhood Education, minoring in Sociology. She continued her professional studies at Bank Street College of Education, focusing on the Reggio Emilia approach.
Lilly has been a part of our organization since 2014, first as a teacher and eventually in a leadership position as Director of Brooklyn Nature Days. She recently shifted her position, spearheading program development, research, and fundraising as the director of BK Natur(Ed) in 2024.
Lilly believes is an avid Play Enthusiast™ and believes in nurturing the whole child through unconditional acceptance and compassionate interactions that are respectful of the child's ideas, input, and social-emotional development. In her spare time she enjoys papier-mâché, color-coding spreadsheets, and discovering new hiking trails in the Hudson Valley with her family. Lilly recently earned her certification in Wilderness Mental Health First aid with the Institute for Wild Med.