Mama Beech

Seasonal Adjustment Disorder is something that I've never had to struggle with. I love all the seasons. Each has it's own personality, joys and faults! Sheffield Pk Gardens My favourite season is probably Autumn. As Summer fades, the sun lingers low in the sky and the light becomes golden and shadows streeeeeeetch! Trees turn orange and yellow and red, and a carpet of rust and gold and coffee-coloured leaves builds on the ground. The first frost sparkles. Warm breath steams the air. We're not quite there yet, Summer is lingering this year. The mild weather since the Equinox has allowed exploring the gradual changes of the season to play out in sunshine. It also means leaving the house with boots and jumpers, with coats and thick socks to hand, and heading home in an overly hot car, with the a/c blasting, most of your clothes stuffed into a bag, and feeling somewhat boiled from the climbing temperature. I don't mind piling on layers of clothes in Winter, I love the crisp...

Many of you will have watched the David Attenborough TV series Wild Isle . A beautiful in-depth exploration of the British Isles and its surrounding seas. It made it clear that the wildlife, ecological balance, and therefore the life led on these islands is facing decimation. Within the school curriculum there are pockets of learning regarding ecosystems, flora, fauna, pollution, and sustainability, which aim to explain what they all are before the class move on to the next subject. However, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and with the current predictions perhaps these lessons need to be a constant.  In Forest School we provide the opportunity for that theory to be seen in practice, week in and week out. Children are exploring and observing the natural world, encountering wildlife, watching life cycles and food chains play out, experiencing season changes, and are encouraged to support and preserve the environment they are in. Sadly, for most child...

The children and I have been trying to put together a 'podcast'. This will inevitably end up more of a soundtrack to accompany photos of Forest School, but the chatting part of it has been recorded in the school radio room and I've aimed to step back and let different children voice their opinions. This isn't easy. Children can be shy, can struggle to explain themselves, and love to go off at a tangent when talking! Often I have had to ask a question to encourage the end of a long pause or interpret a facial expression or a shrug! The one thing I haven't had to do is prompt, maneuver, or insist they talk about Forest School. Each child has been enthusiastic, some stammering in desperation to get their point across, some quiet and considered, but all those involved have had valid observations and thoughts on what sessions mean to them.  I make it clear they can tell the recording what they like or dislike, they can include any small groups we have branched off into ...

The very Mediterranean-looking Scilly Isles are confined to the summer and Term 1 of the 2022/2023 School Year begins! (Sorry - I just needed one last look!) It will be a bit of a rollercoaster as we establish a whole new way of delivering sessions, build what is now a Forest School Team, and continue to develop outdoor learning opportunities at Chartham Primary School. We are entering a difficult year for schools - and the population in general - in England. The predicted costs of energy is potentially crippling for many businesses, families, and educational settings. The effects will be financial but could also easily affect other aspects of school life. Heating and lighting are not something we have to budget for, but the impact of staffing and funding could yet reach outside into the woods. Right now, we are forging forward as planned. There are now three fully qualified, enthusiastic, and skilled Forest School Leaders on staff and three very different areas of the school grounds s...

Last week I pondered how bad campfires actually are for our health. The effect on both the Forest School Leaders spending a lot of time alongside them breathing in heated air, smoke, particles, and any number of possible unknown toxins, and on the developing lungs of children in our care. There are ways to mitigate risks, and a good risk/benefit analysis should make how we practice as safe as we can. There is no way to totally eliminate the pollution of our bodies without saying no to fires completely. The decision has to be up to the individual - but I do think we are heading towards participation being something we need informed parental agreement for. We also need to consider the effect on both our immediate environment and how it affects our carbon footprint. I have a love of woodland... and hills... and mountains... and the coast... and nature... being outside in general! It's one of the reasons I do my job. At home, I try to be as environmentally friendly as I can, in what I...

This week has been a bit manic. We are co-arranging the Level 3 Forest School Training which is happening next term at our site, and the admin around it arrives in fits and starts and takes up more time than expected when the emails ping in!  Meanwhile, usual sessions are going ahead across the school and need provision and development.  Across the week I have engaged the groups to help alter the Mud Kitchen a little. It is simply a makeshift structure of pallets, but they like using it - a LOT! So we discussed what they wanted to add, worked out how to add it, and then the children helped create the changes. This has ranged from planting a small hedge to hammering nails and using the bow saw to cut wood.  Children from Year 1 to Year 6 have had an input in the design, which will remain quite fluid to ensure it can easily be changed at a later date. The children decided they wanted a table, a sofa, and a way of 'serving' food to people not in the Mud Kitchen. So far, the ...