Mama Beech

To fully understand how children learn we need to understand how they experience that learning. A lot of what we as adults have learned in life feels innate. Most of us don't remember being taught to walk or talk, we don't necessarily remember being taught to hold a pencil or crayon, or how to wash ourselves. We just 'know' these things. Yes, for some of us, these skills were trickier than others, but if we have 'mastered' them, we do them without a second thought.  We never had planned 'lessons' in tidying up, most of us started when we were small by putting things back in a toy box, hopefully as a game! Yes, it may have been a struggle once putting things away ceased to be fun, but we all understand the concept - even if we're not good at it! I appreciate there are factors surrounding something this' simple' which means even as adults there is a vast scale of who does and doesn't do this well...! In education, we go through waves of ...

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...

Happy New Year All! A New Year is always a good time for change. Like a new School Year, or New Term, Birthdays, starting a new job, moving house, or any other time that feels like a perfect reason to make a change. In Forest School every day feels like a new start! Different weather, different seasons, different groups... nothing ever feels routine. It's what makes planning almost pointless and guarantees boredom is rare!  Every session I run has a 'plan', but no details. Activities I aim to have available, adaptable to weather and abilities, and open-ended to allow the children to follow their own learning, makes what I put on paper simply a guideline!  This year will be no different. I have a bank of ideas in my head and in the laptop that I can draw on to offer activities. There is no point in resolving OR intending any different! Personally, I've never made any resolutions, life gets in the way and makes them difficult if not impossible, but occasionally I use the ...