Fire! Fire!
At the end of the 6/7/8 sessions of Forest School a class does, we celebrate the finish or our F.Sch.Experience with a campfire and toasting marshmallows.
During the weeks before we have learned to observe a 'Basecamp Rule' that ensures the children are aware of the space where the campfire will be lit. Even if there is no firepit at basecamp we respect the area it will be (with younger classes the placing of a tyre in the same spot helps) and walk around it carefully.
The children who have never done Forest School before have heard rumour of Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows from siblings and friends, and they constantly whisper about it from day one!
We make it clear that a campfire is a dangerous thing, the potential for harm is discussed briefly each week, and the understanding that we have to trust the children to listen well and NOT venture into the basecamp space is reiterated at every session.
Quickly the class will police each other, reminding peers to avoid the space, and they are so very good at reciting the 'Basecamp Rule' even if many often forget when the space is empty of staff or fire!
In our experience, when the Forest School Leader begin to build a campfire only about half of the children want to watch, the rest want to go and explore until called to have a go at toasting. This process alters from group to group. With the youngest children, kneeling in front of the flames and holding out a skewer is a 1:1 activity, maybe a 1:2 ratio depending on the children. As they grow older and have experienced it more often, are more aware of what it means to get hurt, are able to listen better, and can be trusted to take the activity seriously, there may be a whole circle of children around the fire toasting in unison.
This week we had a campfire for an outdoor learning session, where Year 4 made Roman Bread and baked it on a whittled stick as Centurions once may have done, AND we had celebratory campfires to mark the end of Term 1. Approximately 80 children across 4 sessions... and common sense prevailed!
(NB - whenever there is a campfire the Forest School Leader does not leave basecamp once the fire is lit!)
The children who have never done Forest School before have heard rumour of Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows from siblings and friends, and they constantly whisper about it from day one!
We make it clear that a campfire is a dangerous thing, the potential for harm is discussed briefly each week, and the understanding that we have to trust the children to listen well and NOT venture into the basecamp space is reiterated at every session.
Quickly the class will police each other, reminding peers to avoid the space, and they are so very good at reciting the 'Basecamp Rule' even if many often forget when the space is empty of staff or fire!
In our experience, when the Forest School Leader begin to build a campfire only about half of the children want to watch, the rest want to go and explore until called to have a go at toasting. This process alters from group to group. With the youngest children, kneeling in front of the flames and holding out a skewer is a 1:1 activity, maybe a 1:2 ratio depending on the children. As they grow older and have experienced it more often, are more aware of what it means to get hurt, are able to listen better, and can be trusted to take the activity seriously, there may be a whole circle of children around the fire toasting in unison.
This week we had a campfire for an outdoor learning session, where Year 4 made Roman Bread and baked it on a whittled stick as Centurions once may have done, AND we had celebratory campfires to mark the end of Term 1. Approximately 80 children across 4 sessions... and common sense prevailed!
(NB - whenever there is a campfire the Forest School Leader does not leave basecamp once the fire is lit!)
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