Mama Beech

This week in Forest School we have been readying the Wildlife Garden for Winter. It sounds a little premature, especially after such glorious weather, but as we see the Garden as belonging  to the Wildlife, we decided to ensure there were more Hedgehog Houses in the hedges, more Toad Abodes in the Amphibian Village, more nesting material and opportunities for a House for a Mouse, and more feeding stations available for all creatures.  We've been working flat out to make sure every class has the chance to contribute. We want these things in place for the Chartham Wildlife to acclimatise to before they look to hibernate later in the year. This specific area of our grounds we see as a large Natural Science Area, a chance to link everything in the curriculum regarding life cycles, food chains, hibernation, plants, habitat, care and understanding, teamwork, observation, and seasons (to name just a few curriculum threads) to real life experiences. Building a terrace of hedgehog...

Anyone involved with Forest School knows that it isn't just aimed at EYFS. The Early Years which works best as a hands on investigative process does compliment the pedagogy of Forest School, but children of all ages benefit from exploration and experimentation. To me, Forest School is an educational philosophy, a WAY of teaching and learning rather than a 'subject'. Although there are definitive skills that are linked to Outdoor Learning, it basically encourages 'learning' of all kinds, at all paces, and in all areas, while allowing for a fluid and diverse outcome specific to the child. There are skills that will be learned along the way, and when attached to a Primary School it's easy to make these compliment the Indoor learning and fill in the gaps that that curriculum leaves. This week all year groups have had the opportunity to join in a Forest School session. Well, Year 1 through to Year 6. Reception Year are settling and will be included in the next round....

Mama Beech sits on a hill just outside Canterbury in Kent.  This photo is from last winter. It can be a frosty place, exposed on one side, and battered by the elements all day every day. It can be ridiculously hot on the field with no shelter, breezes become gales despite the trees around the perimeter, and rain likes to seep in around all the edges whenever it falls! A few miles away is an amazing place called  Wildwood Trust ,   a centre of excellence for the conservation of British wildlife. A place I have been to many times and even did some CPD there a few years ago. Luckily for us there is a swathe of forest between us, w ith over 11 square miles of distinctive ancient woodland (complete with walking and cycling routes, plus wildlife spotting and horse riding), and a City! Both can provide good community links. Part of  Blean Woods  is a  RSPB  nature reserve, but the west Blean Woods includes land belonging to  Kent Wildlife Trust  who...

I spent 25 years working with a three term education system so I still get confused by my shift into 6 terms with no 'half terms'. This doesn't make much difference at all to day-to-day outdoor learning, just to my labelling of chunks of the year! The biggest impact it has this week is the realisation that we're speeding towards the end of Term 3, The February (half term) week off of school starts on Valentines Evening and marks the half way point through this academic year.  Snowdrops and daffodils are beginning to emerge, 2020 is a month old! We're half way there! (yes I can hear Bon Jovi in my head when I type that!) So much has happened yet there is so much yet to come too! It's a mix between incredulity that five and a half months has sped by and amazement that in another five and a half months we will be enjoying the Summer Holidays. Mama Beech is stoical about it all, as the shells of long discarded Beech nuts crunch underfoot I can see new growth ...

Firstly, the outdoor classroom is almost complete. Hand built literally from green wood. Trunks stripped and carved into peg & hole joints to create the roof, others sawn into planks to make roof slats. It's been amazing watching the progress and the children have been in awe of it's creation! Even the benches to sit on are rustic and hand made... 😍 Then there's the usual construction going on in Forest School as Year 4 make their own dens using whatever they can find And finally there's the unusual and exciting prospect of Level 3 Forest School Training taking place on our grounds in April!  CANCELLED DUE TO COVID 😢 Anyone interested in doing training with the renowned Forest School Learning Initiative in Canterbury, Kent needs to check out their website FSLI.co.uk and book themselves on to the course!  HOPEFULLY WE WILL RESCHEDULE IN 2021 I promise you will get to see the amazing roundhouse complete, and p...