Mama Beech

Everyone's life is still upside down! School's have to react daily to ongoing changes, many Forest Schools are closed, parents & carers are both working from home and supporting remote learning, and it looks like nothing will change until March 8th... It can be stressful, and despite the fact that we are over 10 months into this fluctuating situation , it's definitely unknown territory to navigate! Throw in a bit of understandable fear about jobs and income, childcare and health, and school life and home life can feel unsettled, even for the children. The only thing that remains constant is their want - and need - to play. As adults we see play as down time. Play is our hobby, it's our leisure, but for children it's their main source of learning, and as necessary as breathing! Grown ups see play as unproductive, even though we may expect colleagues to 'play with that idea' and come back with something productive, it is what we do when NOT working.  For a...

When I switched to two days on site and two days working from home I thought I might get bored.... Whereas over four days I would usually facilitate 14x75min Forest School Sessions, fitting planning and admin in around them, now I have 7 sessions on site and 2 days at home doing the paperwork etc. Adhering to the 'essential travel' only guidance I don't travel 50 miles to use the school computer, and as I have no classroom, just basecamp, I usually open up the laptop in the staff room while at school. Again, I now don't spend any time in the staff room unless it's to grab a cuppa! I don't need to loiter in the building at all. But as we all know, the danger of paperwork at home is that it's not a 9-5 log on! Last week I scanned in over 200 documents at home, old Nature Detective  sheets and other guides, information, and spotter pictures that I have collected over the years, many that I can no longer find online! Having scanned them, I spent the following da...

Lockdown has been devastating for a lot of Outdoor Learning providers, forest schools are just a small section of sports and activity clubs/events that are on hold right now. The regulations make it either logistically impossible or financially difficult for many of them to open. Schools that are signed up to providers, or employ staff to facilitate outdoor learning on school grounds are in a very lucky position. Their sites remain open and outdoor learning is easier to run within their own risk assessments while catering for Vulnerable/Key Worker children.  Can you spot the free range children in this picture? But normal service has not been resumed ! In January 2020 we had three 2hr long full sessions of Forest School running per week. We also had a gardening club, and assorted outside interventions that meant various small groups were working on the Royal Forestry Society Junior Forester Award , the RSPB Wild Challenges , the RHS Campaign for School Gardens , and the Woodland...

  Is it me or does this year not feel particularly new?!  So far 2021 is a hangover of 2020. Not much 'out with the old and in with the new' to celebrate! Where as January is usually filled with the determination (and struggle!) to make changes for the better, this year it's overwhelmed by a want and a need to get back to the norm. I know for a lot of Forest Schools Lockdown means shut down - and I am so sorry that small businesses offering such a amazing opportunities to children are having to take a step back. I'm also heartbroken at how many children will be missing out on those opportunities. There are pros and cons to running a Forest School within a Primary School. Working around other peoples timetables and, for some, working with other people's themes and plans can be difficult and frustrating. But many have at least managed to continue to provide sessions because they are based on a school site. In Lockdown March 2020 we kept minimal staff on site and the r...