Not with a Bang but a Whimper

Dear Santa, for Christmas please may I have a mini JCB digger because my back, hands, and for some reason my elbows, hurt from digging holes to plant Fruit Trees in! And if Santa can throw in some new trowels and garden forks it would be much appreciated as our rocky ground has literally broken 5 tools this month!

Our site is more flint than soil it seems, so even with the help of the children it's a nigh on impossible task! Having spent most of this term planting 400 Woodland Trust Trees you'd imagine we were at least used to forging these holes in our challenging site! However the fruit trees are a lot bigger 'baby trees' and need substantial space to bed in. As it is we're running out of Term and they need to be settled into their spaces before school closes till January.

In between digging for England there was the small matter of Forest School Celebration Week. We always end the term with a week of campfires and treats. This Term it celebrates the previous experiences of the last 6 weeks, the start of Winter, the completion of planting our trees for both part of The Big Climate Fightback AND Tree Week, and Christmas and Hanukkah for those who celebrate.

This year schools are thwarted in most of the festivities that they participate in. Things like Christmas Fetes, Christmas Raffles, and Christmas Discos have had to be abandoned or moved online somehow. This has seriously effected fundraising. Class Parties, School Xmas Dinner, Carols, and Santa visits have had to find creative alternatives to the usual social, crowded, atmospheric, seasonal bundle they usually are.

Arts & Crafts and the growing excitement for the holiday season is still there, after all, schools are still populated by children who love the mere idea of Christmas. But staff are having to get creative with how they make celebrations special. 

Forest School has managed to help a little here. Last week we hosted a Story around the Campfire for the Reception Classes who have been looking at Evergreen Trees, and started December with a story about turning a fir tree into a Christmas Tree.

This week the children had a chance to sing a little - outside where it's a safer activity. And to chat and talk about the upcoming holidays while enjoying warming Hot Chocolate, marsh mallows and biscuits around the campfire. Basecamp has been decorated, mostly by the children. I hung up a decoration a child made back in September and since then classes frequently donate something they create. Staff have joined in, and people bring me chimes and mobiles to add to the collection. It doesn't really meet the 'leave the forest as you found it' remit, but the children see basecamp as the Forest School Classroom and therefore they like to put their mark on it!

One of the advantages of Forest School Lite is that everyone is involved. Out of fourteen EYFS, KS1, KS2 plus 2 SEND classes who come outside too, there are only a handful of children who say anything negative about Forest School. Often what they 'dislike' is an overhang from inside classroom dynamics. Some hate the cold, yet never arrive dressed properly for it! Some arrive with their own agenda and don't like the safety boundaries they need to stay within. This is literally about 6 children out of almost 400. However they ALL seem to like campfire week! 

I also have to add that if it wasn't for the great staff at Chartham Primary School (some of whom have more fun than the kids) this wouldn't be possible! 

A campfire anchors me to the fire pit and staff have to be prepared to step in and observe, mentor, watch, support, and pretty much take over actual Forest School while I keep the flames on the go all day! 

As you may be able to tell, I never fail to get a minor injury from the saw or axe, and usually end up dehydrated as I don't get a proper break across the day and literally forget to drink and never have time for lunch!

This week has been really cold, frosty mornings and a temperature that struggled to drag itself past 6oC at it's peak. The campfire looks good but doesn't really throw out enough heat to make basecamp toasty warm! The dry weather was welcome, as cold and wet can be a miserable combination for children not dressed in waterproofs. It also made the fire easier to keep burning little easier!

So here we are, pretty much at the end of this School Term. 2020 is fading fast and we have no idea what 2021 will bring!

All 16 classes will continue to experience 'Forest School Lite', shorter sessions on the school grounds, in Term 4 (or the first half of Spring Term 2021 for those who have 3 Terms a year). It will take some time for the covid vaccine to effect our Risk Assessments for Forest School and for School in general. It's existence doesn't negate needing a good air flow in the building even if it is freezing outside. The children (and staff) will still be safer outside, albeit in rain, sleet, snow and winds! With restrictions impacting other parts of their life the children will need the time and space outdoors to explore nature and escape the building as much as possible. 

No 'recovery curriculum' will work unless pupils wellbeing is the foundation for whatever work they do. We will continue to get as many children as we can outside as frequently as possible. 

Let's hope the New Year brings a little easing to the need to be outdoors to avoid Coronavirus and the pent up restrictions of Tiers and Lockdown, in the hope for an increase in the recognition of the need to be outdoors to connect with nature.