What to Wear?
LAYER ONE: BASE LAYER
Your child should have 2 sets of baselayers for the year. One should be a midweight polyester set or midweight wool set for keeping them warm in the fall and spring. I don't recommend going below the 250 weight for wool as it is paper thin and rips easily. The second set should be a supreme insulator for deep winter. I highly recommend the Ragged Mountain Polartech Powerstretch pants or the LL Bean Fitness Fleece set to go under their clothes in the winter, while the Wicked Warm set is great for warmer weather. You will need 2 weights of wool socks to keep their feet warm- medium for fall and spring and a winter ski sock for the coldest days. Please no cotton for winter socks or long underwear, as cotton does not insulate well. Check out Mountain Man in Saratoga for good deals on some of the kids' items below. Of course on hot days, regular clothing will suffice!
Ragged Mountain Polartec Powerstretch Tights
LL Bean Fitness Fleece Top/Bottom Set
Columbia Midweight Crew 2 Shirt
LL Bean Toddlers Wicked Warm Midweight Long Underwear Set
Helly Hansen Kids Lifa Merino Set
Smartwool Socks- medium hiking crew for fall and spring
Smartwool Ski Socks- wintersport ski socks for winter
At Little Wings, we will be outside every day no matter the weather. Farmers can't take a day off just because it is a bit chilly or wet. Plus the forest always offers a naturalist something lovely in all weather! There are a few amazing pieces of gear layered in a specific way that will help keep your child warm on days that are below freezing, raining, or snowing. If the weather is dangerously wet, cold or windy, we may choose to hold program indoors. For the most part, we will all be safe, warm, happy and dry on most days of the year if we follow the layering system below.
What follows are some links to clothing that we know works well. This is not an exhaustive list or a gear list of what you should buy, but rather gives you a sense of what is available.
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If these brands are out of your price range, check out secondhand shops, swaps, FB Marketplace or resale sites online such as Ebay—they do not need to be brand new to keep your child warm! Just check the labels to make sure baselayers are 100% wool or synthetic. Also, let me know if you need anything! I have begun collecting outdoor gear to share. Almost every company here will have a clearance sale of last year's colors. Hunt for a deal! If my link doesn't work it is because they have a new season of colors- just search the product name.
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One full “forest school” outfit is plenty—we don’t mind if they come to school wearing the same thing every day! Do not feel the need to buy multiples of these items unless you want to. Just know that laundry will be a part of your day!
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You will see the phrase “NO COTTON” repeated often below—that is because cotton absorbs sweat/moisture and when wet, does not insulate! During the colder months, please do not send your child in cotton sweatpants, sweatshirts or socks, as these will not do a good job keeping them warm and dry while they are busy exploring and playing outside.
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Please label your child’s clothing! This makes it much easier for us to return your clothing to you when it gets mixed up! You can purchase custom name labels or just write your child’s name on their tags.
LAYER TWO: FLEECE LAYER
On the warmer fall or spring days, your child may only need a fleece vest to go over their baselayer. But on the coldest of days, your child should have a baselayer plus a pair of warm fleece pants and a wool sweater or fleece zip-up jacket with a hood for their second layer. I highly recommend the hood because it helps to keep warmth in, protects the neck from snow and rain and can be pulled up over a hat or under a hat to protect the ears. Bonus points if the hoodie has thumb holes, as this means we can pull mittens on over the sleeve keeping snow and ice out! These layers can be worn alone or under the waterproof layers during the fall, or underneath their insulation layers in the winter so are very versatile. Again, NO cotton—a cotton or cotton/poly blend sweatshirt will not keep them warm enough. I find kids tend to hate bulk and restriction, so the baselayer needs to be tight fitting while this midlayer needs to be a bit thin in order to comfortably add waterproofs or insulation layers on top. Don't necessarily think the thicker the better, as it is the layering that traps the warm body heat between the fibers and your child may not be able to move freely, happily and safely if they look like the Stay-Puffed marshmallow dude! Here are some of my favorites so far, but honestly, fleece is fleece! If you find a good deal, take it! And never buy full price y'all- shop around for last year's colors or a holiday sale!
Columbia Toddler Steens Fleece Vest
Columbia Fast Trek II Full Zip Fleece Hoodie
Patagonia Boys Micro D Snap T Fleece Jacket
REI Toasty Fleece Pants
REI Outdoor Fleece Jogger Pants
Columbia Glacial Fleece Joggers
LL Bean Mountain Fleece Pants
LL Bean Mountain Fleece Leggings II
OUTER LAYER (SNOW)
Your child should have a down or synthetic puffy jacket for powdery snow days or a ski type coat outer layer for wetter winter play and a pair of snow pants for days when it is especially cold or snowy. After a year of experience, we have new advice! Our favorite has been the Polarn O Pyret fleece lined waterproof bibs. They are truly waterproof and are easily wiped down when muddy. They are preferred when there is any exposed dirt, water or wet snow at all. They allow us to take off a hot coat to regulate temperature without having to take the bib on and off. We've also had great luck with the Obermeyer Volt Bibs lasting us 2 seasons because they have a removable stitching in the hem to lengthen them and have pretty burly knee reinforcement which is where the pants will break down from kneeling. I caution you away from plain snow pants and a jacket because snow will find its was down their pants and up their back! Reminder: most puffy jackets are NOT waterproof. Great for cold powder days, but not wet days.
Primary Puffy Jacket
LL Bean Down Jacket
Patagonia Girls Everyday Ready Jacket
REI Timber Mountain Jacket
Polarn o Pyret Wear Everywhere Waterproof Winter Jacket
Polarn O Pyret Fleece Lined Waterproof Rainpants
Obermeyer Volt Snow Pants (boys)
Obermeyer Snowverall Snow Pant (girls)
OUTER LAYER (RAIN)
Reima Lampi Waterproof Rain Jacket
Polarn O Pyret Fleece Lined Waterproof Rain Jacket
Polarn O Pyret Waterproof Suspender Rain Pants
Reima Lammiko Waterproof Rain Pants
HEAD, HANDS, & FEET
Your child should have a fleece or wool hat, a fleece neck warmer, a pair of thin fleece, wool, or synthetic gloves, a pair of waterproof mittens, and a good pair of snow/cold weather boots. Rain mitts are really a must to go over a cheap acrylic mitten or glove or thinner fleece mitt or glove on cold rainy days. Cold and wet hands or feet will be the major hurdle we face daily. Please make sure your child comes to school with at least 2 sets of clean and dry mittens daily in the colder months. We are only as strong as our coldest child. My new favorites are the Reima Ote mittens paired with a cheap acrylic magic mitten or glove underneath. The truly go over the top of every jacket sleeve without bunching but don't fall off. If the kids can't get their thumb in, they hate it. I am NOT recommending winter gloves or thick fleece gloves at all this year. They never stay on! We also prefer the fit of the Reima waterproof rain mitten vs. Polarn O Pyret because of how the thumb is sewn in.
Skida Fleece Hat
Lands End Fleece Hat
LL Bean Kids Mountain Classic Hat/Gaiter Combo
Polarn O Pyret Soft Merino Wool Mittens
Reima Ote Fleece Lined Mittens
Reima Puro Lined Waterproof Rain Mittens
Bogs Winter Boots
Kamik Kids Boots
Kid Orca Rain Boots with Knee Waders
A NOTE ON COLD HANDS
For kids whose hands get very chilly in the winter, we recommend a two-part hand covering system! Use a thin, fleece pair of gloves or mittens as the base layer and then, on top of the thin gloves/mittens, put a large, insulated, waterproof pair of mittens. This method allows for a few things: 1) for their hands to be covered always, even when they take their big mittens off to draw/write/eat a snack, etc, and 2) for a handwarmer to be safely slipped in to the big mittens without having a handwarmer on bare skin (not recommended).
