Choice

Often in a classroom you see 30 little models, all at least similar if not worryingly identical. 

These are a great demonstration of how to follow instructions, but not creativity. 

In Year 3 Forest School this week Sara Holman from Neurodiversity Me invited those who wanted to participate to create an animal. She had prompts that could (and in some cases were) be ignored, and a few tools, the rest was sourced from the floor! Twigs, Leaves, and Pine Cones created texture. Mud and Charcoal changed the colour of the clay. 

Hand-Eye coordination, dexterity, manipulation, muscles: all fine motor control was exercised and imaginations fired! Some children followed a prompt, some didn't!

Some made something, squashed it, and started again, and did this over and over.

Some were inspired by Forest School and made birds, bugs, squirrels, foxes, and hedgehogs, others made their favourite turtle or dolphin...

Some children took inspiration from what others made, the dolphin led to a mermaid and a starfish.

A few made 3D shapes, wrestling with the materials determined to find a way to make them structurally sound.

A few children did this activity of a whole hour, some started this way and to explore elsewhere once they were satisfied, while other wandered back from other activities to have a go. A few chose to not join in at all.

The next day we were cutting wood cookies, children found some discarded clay and used it to secure a hanging loop, or to glue something onto their cookie. A few made miniature snowmen to hang on their Christmas tree, one made a clay reindeer...

Creativity.

Art.

Process not product.


Choice.

Forest School is here to provide activities, facilitate opportunities, foster independence, and allow children to follow their own interest. 

Some of Years 3, 5, and 6 were literally filling their wellies with puddles, whittling sticks, and playing 'manhunt'!

Others were creating, concentrating, and cooperating like the pros they are.

Proof that even an adult 'focus' can remain child led.



Find Sara on LinkdIn in here



Location: United Kingdom

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indoor Forest School

Image
On rare occasions, we need to cover a Forest School session INSIDE. It may be because the weather prevents a session, it may be a staffing issue, it may be an introduction for children who will find the outdoors challenging, but whatever causes it, there are times when setting up activities in a classroom is suddenly needed. I've said before that I have a large IKEA blue bag that I keep certain activities in, these are not necessarily ones I can/will use in Forest School, like jigsaw puzzles, colouring, cutting out, etc. It's fairly quick to add some of the nature table items, bug ID, and bird guides, etc. into the bag to make what is basically 'nature learning' feel a little like Indoor Forest School! One week in December started with me under the duvet with a fever and headache, and a PCR test pending. School canceled Forest School because waiting each day to decide what the following day's timetable would be was too hectic. So once back in on the Wednesday indoor...
Read more

Stormy weather

Image
At the risk of sounding even older than I actually am "We have way more storms than we uses to"! Which may or may not be statistically true, but definitely a lot more have impacted our Forest School since 2021 than before. (Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning!) Often, these charge in overnight or at weekends leaving me tip-toeing onto site to see what damage has been done. Frequently they gather pace at 4pm leaving the school day clear for sessions, and sometimes, the gods are smiling and they blow themselves out in the morning before the first class is due on site! They always make their mark though. Torn parachutes, flapping tarps, tree debris everywhere, litter blown in, on one occasion a 6ft trampolines rolling across the school. Field... There's the risk assessment required to ensure the site is fit for use, and damage to manage or remove. We're never totally unscathed! Sitting on a plateau at the edge of the South Downs doesn't help. The wind rush...
Read more

Outdoor Learning

Image
In my own head, I separate Outdoor Learning and Forest School.  They are interconnected but to me, FS offers activities and supports what the children choose to do, whereas OL has learning intentions and aimed-for outcomes. Year 3 are currently looking at the Stone Age as a theme, and I was asked if I would provide activities to support this. In doing so I would have to remove the children's usual choice, their opportunity to follow their own interests & learning outside, and the ability to respond to what they discover and expand on it. This isn't a 'bad' or 'wrong' thing, but it isn't Forest School. Hence approaching it with a different ethos. In giving 21st Century children a tiny taste of life over two million years ago the week began with a definite learning intention. I went with 6 activities that every child could try on rotation. They would end up with perhaps 10 minutes at each exercise in life long ago, after a chat at basecamp that explained w...
Read more