For The Love Of Outdoors

Most of the time I keep this blog quite light. Generally, I assume I'm preaching to the converted, and the people who pop by and read this don't need convincing that Forest School has many benefits, although occasionally, I do add links to research and bang on a bit about some aspect or another. 

There is no real 'aim' of this blog except to document what we do and how. It's a record of tried and tested successes and failures that we've learned from, and a little bit of an explanation as to why we do it at all. 

The start of a new school year is a huge learning curve for children. Six or seven weeks away from the routine of school means the children need to re-engage with school life, moving up a year alters expectations, and being a little older assumes a little more maturity, but each class has gone back to the start of being in year 1, or year 2, or year 3, etc, and has a path ahead of them to become settled 'old hands' at being in their year group.

Staff are learning new names and a new curriculum. Timetables have altered, colleagues have come and gone, teams have been mixed up, new children have joined, and the new academic year throws up different challenges every September.

The combination makes everything a mix of exciting and exhausting! Getting to know each other, getting to meet families, assessing what the class needs to know, and planning the learning that will happen this week, this term, and this year, all while getting to grips with tweaks to the curriculum, new systems for teaching, and ensuring mandatory training is squeezed into the schedule.

Little changes in Forest School, but the children will always bring their worries, celebrations, and habits (good and bad), with them into basecamp. We may be a constant in their school life, but it's not stagnant! 

We have a six-week term in which to deliver Forest School to 6 year groups. We need to prep for whenever eyfs is ready to join the timetable, liaise with the Nursery next door to make sure we keep space open for them and arrange our timetable to ensure hosting Level 3 Training runs smoothly. This particular term we are also hosting a conference; workshops and skills development, CPD for outdoor learning. Plus we have a display space coming up at the East Kent Ploughing Match down the road in a couple of weeks. There are visits from a local Foraging company to organise, links with a local community farm to forge, and a set of weekly Stay & Play sessions to pilot for our families and community. It is hectic!

We have 2 Forest School Leaders on staff and a third in training, a 9-acre site to maintain and develop, 3 basecamps to set up, and both seasons and weather to contend with.

Through it all we try to involve the children as much as we can. Their ideas for change, their wishes for new developments, and their physical help in rebuilding, altering, and improving Forest School. This certainly means that whatever we do, the children support it! But it does make the process take a little longer!

Last week, the first week back, we just let the children settle back in. Basic Forest School Activities and children independently exploring, getting reacquainted with the space. This week we started by explaining what their opportunities would be. For instance Year 4 and Fire Skills, Year 6 and penknife skills, etc. No one HAS to do these activities, but they will be available across the term.

What skills we offer are broken down into a Progression of Skills. These are not arbitrary but aim to bring an exciting element to each term. Children at Chartham School have Forest School regularly across their 7 years here, by spreading out the skills they can learn and develop we keep the classes excited to join in. Our ratios are frequently quite high so we also have to factor in how long we can offer an adult-led activity for during a session. For the most part, the children are independent explorers, discoverers, investigators, and learners, with adults standing back to observe and support, but tools and fire require close supervision!

Each class has its own personality. The Year 3s who are great nature lovers have always been great nature lovers! It's what the majority choose to do. Half of year 5 are developers and investigators who love all things nature, while the other Year 5 Class are much more explorers and physical challengers!

Moving their development of skills along requires understanding this about them and tailoring activities to suit them. 

This week there has been a lot of hunting for grasshoppers and crickets. The distinct buzzing in the long grass has created a huge amount of stalkers and capturers, as well as a lot of care, consideration, and observation. 

There has also been an interest in woodwork, new tools, and new skills to learn, and when it finally rained - the mud was, as always, the 'best thing ever'!

The children have made links with what they are learning in class and what they can do outside, Year 3 are trying to make Stone Age Tools while ambitious Year 6 planning to build a WWI bunker in the dig pit...

Who knows what the rest of term will bring!? Or the year!?

All we can say is watch this space.

It will always be Outdoor Learning.

It will always be Child Led.

And it will always be independent exploration.