What We Recommend

Merino wool is the gold standard here. It regulates temperature, wicks moisture, and stays warm even when wet.

A puffy jacket or snow pants over the fleece, under the rain layer. You may not need this layer until November or December, but when the temperature drops below 40, it makes all the difference.

This is the most important layer and the one we’d recommend buying new. Used waterproofing can break down over time, and a leaky rain jacket on a PNW morning is miserable for everyone. Buy it big enough to fit all your other layers underneath.

Every brand below is PFAS-free and PVC-free, so you don’t have to dig through the fine print on any of them.

For cold days, add a fleece or wool hat, a neck warmer (easier than a scarf for toddlers), and waterproof mittens with cuffs big enough to go over the jacket sleeves. Thin fleece or wool glove liners underneath waterproof mittens give an extra layer of warmth and mean their hands are still covered when they pull the big mittens off to eat snack or pick up a pinecone.

Wool socks: A pair of wool socks makes a bigger difference than you’d think. iksplor’s trail socks (above) (opens in new tab) work just as well on cold days. Avoid cotton socks on cold or wet days.

A tuff tray is a shallow, sturdy tray built to contain messy, open-ended play. Think of it as a portable version of the forest floor: fill it with mud, water, sand, ice, paint, or loose parts from the backyard and let your child decide what happens next.

These are the same trays we set out at every Little Roots session. Each Thursday they become our sensory stations: water play, mud kitchen, nature sorting, ice exploration. Kids who are used to seeing them at class already know how to engage, which means setting one up at home gives you a ready-made invitation to play without a lot of setup on your end.

Designed by an Early Years Educator, made with BPA-free, food-contact compliant materials. Little Roots families get 5% off with code LITTLEROOTS.