Mama Beech

Things have been so busy we have pretty much abandoned writing a blog! Winter does seem to be developing into Spring, all the signs are there, and the weather is being very kind (at least here in Kent!), but there's always the concern that frost will come and ice will kill off all that has started to bloom. The Terms are flying by, how are we approaching two-thirds of the way through the school year already?  Not only does Christmas feel a bit like a fortnight ago, but the September start certainly doesn't feel like it was six months past!  Forest School is a constant no matter what, and we continue to take classes outside whatever the schedule, as well as co-plan Forest School training provision and hosting First Aid, and juggle the school's needs with offering more to the community. We are a team. There are three of us delivering sessions. Two FSLs have an additional role in school and our Forest School Lead deals with Forest School only. Even with a shared workload there...

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 ...

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 i nvited 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 ...

Children love being outside.  All ages. Yes, many will opt to be on their computer given half a chance, and this preference sways more to online activities as they grow older, but offered a day at the beach or a chance to ride a bike in a park, the vast majority of children will choose to go outside and do something. Parents' are constantly trying to reduce screen time and keep children occupied while they are not online. Frequently the result is that children are 'climbing the walls' with parents going crazy to keep them entertained. However, as they say: if children are climbing the walls take the walls away! Teachers are constantly trying to engage pupils with ever-growing range of abilities. They want to make their lessons memorable and meaningful. Frequently the result is that despite a high percentage of children on task, trying to appeal to those who are struggling with an aspect of their learning is demanding. In October 2021 the UK Government published the results ...

Many Forest School sessions run within Primary Schools. Trying to keep to the ethos of the pedagogy we know and love while influenced or even pressured, towards doing something very different is not always easy. For those of us who trained while working in education, a career of providing proof of learning is inbuilt. There's an entire philosophical PHD somewhere in the question of whether learning happens without proof! We reduce it down to tick charts, numbers, and letters, and load it as data onto reports and software. Often 'proof' becomes a product, something 'to take home', something tangible that stands solid as evidence of achievement. At Chartham, we don't use Forest School as an extension of what is happening inside. We may offer activities to support what's happening in their themes and topics, and the children themselves frequently bring their new knowledge outdoors and ask questions, act it out, and explore it in a different way. What happens in...

Firstly - apologies for no blog last weekend! I knew we had a visitor to help conclude a current chapter in our Child Led experience (see last blog ) and wanted to include it.  LAST week was celebration week  which basically means back to back campfires and 400 children loving life on hot chocolate and toasted Marshmallows! No matter what alternatives I offer - the mallows remain the treat of choice! This term was our first time having simultaneous campfires, one in The Copse and one into the Wildlife Garden - or - one in The Copse and one Under The Trees, as all three Forest Schools are up and running and embedded in the timetable now! My colleagues have found their feet, are developing their sites and their practice, and are forging forward. So it was 12 fires across 3 sites in 4 days with no issues at all! THIS week (just gone), was off timetable and there was some time to catch up on admin, check the site, promote the training we're hosting next May AND invite a visitor in...