After the Storm
This first week of term arrived in the wake of the worst recorded storm to hit South East England, and in the midst of other storms circulating assorted areas of the UK which sent further wind and rain our way.
I have no idea how we managed to weather the storms almost unscathed but we did. No torn canopy, twigs everywhere, a couple of small branches, but all trees upright and accounted for. Tarpaulins flicked to one side and nestled by their dens. Pallet Kitchen 99% upright, nothing broken, lifted back into place and tied on in 5 minutes. Forest School was untidy but not broken in any way!
However kind Storm Eunice had been, Storm Franklin was throwing gusts of 58mph our way which brought the usual issue of cancelling Forest School and throwing together an alternative to Forest School. With further winds potentially dislodging anything damaged there was no way to safely use the strip of woodland that the children love to explore. Also, there was little chance of any equipment staying put if I tried to provide activities outside. As there was debris littered across one side of the field the possibility of the wind blowing broken items from local gardens into a group of children seemed likely, so there was no trip to Basecamp for Year 4.
However, by the afternoon the winds had dropped to gusts maxing at 30. It was still blowy but I was willing to take Year 1 out to Forest School. Basecamp is in a copse of trees and is vaguely sheltered, but there were very few resources that could cope with the gusts that would blow through, so the TA and I decided we'd head outside and come in once the children were bored. We could always draw out the end of a session with stories inside, so we took a deep breath and headed out.
The children were told about the dangers of high winds and were asked not to go into the trees, but exploring around the copse and using the dig pit, mud kitchen, and swings/slackline at basecamp was fine. I said I was going to fix the roof of the Book Nook and the dens that needed attention and a few children asked if they could help.
I really shouldn't have been surprised that the entire class were happy, active, focused on their own activities, motivated, innovative, engaged, and busy for the entire session. With just a few pots and pans in the mud kitchen, a few gardening tools, and some peelers they had a go at an 'activity' then invented their own.
I spend way too much time banging on about how Forest School doesn't need a lot of resources or presiding over, yet I still try hard to ensure there are resources available to support the obvious exploring they will do (like bug hunting and bird watching), yet with almost nothing available a class of 5-year-olds embraced 90 minutes outside and managed to get as muddy and excited as they always do!
This made me observe carefully when other year groups had their sessions this week.
Once the usual resources were available many children did dip in and out of using them, and it was heartening to watch when year 2 found a struggling bumble bee that one child ran for a bug pot, one ran for ID information, and a third went looking for flowers to relocate it to! The children knew exactly where to find the equipment and information they required and it was useful to them. Having the bee on their sleeve was way more exciting than the bug box, but the magnifier was well used, and they observed it only had 5 legs and speculated on why and how that has happened. The bee (named 'Honey' by this point) was found an open daffodil trumpet to settle into, and with care and concern was returned to the wild.
The equipment which takes at least 30 minutes a day to set up is helpful, I never know which piece will be required, so there is a range, and the children access it independently. But for most of the time, most of the children are exploring without needing it.
There will always be one or two children who spend a long period of time with peelers, palm drills, and string, or sanding their creations. Many of these are discarded as it's the process they engage with much more than the product. Plus those who are determined to find a bug or two, and ALWAYS children excavating the Dig Pit and using the Mud Kitchen!
For the majority of their time outside the children are collaborating and cooperating in devising games, planning dens, arranging rules, scavenging for useful items, and exploring. Their activities are self-led, their learning independent. They demonstrate a progression of skills they glean from each other, from necessity, and from asking for help or advice from an adult. They are quick to investigate further when distracted, usually returning to their original task once satisfied. They help each other. They test themselves, trying new things, going a bit higher, or faster, or further than before. They show curiosity, bring knowledge, and discover all kinds of things each session. Their motivation runs high. Their self-esteem grows. Their skills and understanding evolve.
I could honestly run sessions with nothing but spades and old saucepans and the children would join in with enthusiasm!
Equipment, craft activities, planned sessions and learning intentions don't guarantee a better Forest School experience or outcome. Sometimes they may hinder it.
Children who are used to Forest School and its routines and boundaries will utilise their experience to grow as humans, physically, cognitively, imaginatively, creatively, and socially.
So let us just keep on doing it!
Prepare a space.
Offer support.
Stand back.
Allow the children to enjoy!
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