Mama Beech

I love a Snow Day. By that I don't mean a day off work because the commute has become epic, I mean a day outside in, or after, a decent snowfall!  It's not something that happens too often in South East England, and when it does it rarely lasts, so when the temperature dropped at the weekend it was exciting! Sunday is not a Forest School day - or a School day for that matter, but it was a busy day for children as they ventured out into the snow that had fallen overnight, and was still falling! There was a lot of fun had by all. Children and their families were out with a sled, or a tray, or anything they could find that would slide down a slope!  People finally saw their wider communities, socially distanced, but in the same parks, on the same commons, doing the same things, side by side in shared celebration of snow!  Children who have spent much of this term stuck in front of a screen were outside from 9am until the sun went down. Outside in the fresh air. Outside ...

Wellbeing is a difficult thing to gauge. O btaining a sense of wellbeing  requires different things for different children, and requires different things from each of us who work with them to help them achieve it. Since the coronavirus disrupted life as we knew it, the need to maintain a balance of comfort, health and happiness has become more and more important in day-to-day life. Of course wellbeing isn't just being OK in the minute, although it can often be a good time start, as a relief from whatever is causing stress today .   Many adults are struggling to cope with Lockdown Restrictions, most of us are used to a very different existence, children are finding it difficult too, especially if the adults around them are not coping well. Research suggests the pandemic may affect children and vulnerable groups more than the general population (ie: Holmes et al 2020 ), so a Forest School active and experiential approach to learning is very important. There is a lot to feel worr...

Everyone's life is still upside down! School's have to react daily to ongoing changes, many Forest Schools are closed, parents & carers are both working from home and supporting remote learning, and it looks like nothing will change until March 8th... It can be stressful, and despite the fact that we are over 10 months into this fluctuating situation , it's definitely unknown territory to navigate! Throw in a bit of understandable fear about jobs and income, childcare and health, and school life and home life can feel unsettled, even for the children. The only thing that remains constant is their want - and need - to play. As adults we see play as down time. Play is our hobby, it's our leisure, but for children it's their main source of learning, and as necessary as breathing! Grown ups see play as unproductive, even though we may expect colleagues to 'play with that idea' and come back with something productive, it is what we do when NOT working.  For a...

When I switched to two days on site and two days working from home I thought I might get bored.... Whereas over four days I would usually facilitate 14x75min Forest School Sessions, fitting planning and admin in around them, now I have 7 sessions on site and 2 days at home doing the paperwork etc. Adhering to the 'essential travel' only guidance I don't travel 50 miles to use the school computer, and as I have no classroom, just basecamp, I usually open up the laptop in the staff room while at school. Again, I now don't spend any time in the staff room unless it's to grab a cuppa! I don't need to loiter in the building at all. But as we all know, the danger of paperwork at home is that it's not a 9-5 log on! Last week I scanned in over 200 documents at home, old Nature Detective  sheets and other guides, information, and spotter pictures that I have collected over the years, many that I can no longer find online! Having scanned them, I spent the following da...

  Is it me or does this year not feel particularly new?!  So far 2021 is a hangover of 2020. Not much 'out with the old and in with the new' to celebrate! Where as January is usually filled with the determination (and struggle!) to make changes for the better, this year it's overwhelmed by a want and a need to get back to the norm. I know for a lot of Forest Schools Lockdown means shut down - and I am so sorry that small businesses offering such a amazing opportunities to children are having to take a step back. I'm also heartbroken at how many children will be missing out on those opportunities. There are pros and cons to running a Forest School within a Primary School. Working around other peoples timetables and, for some, working with other people's themes and plans can be difficult and frustrating. But many have at least managed to continue to provide sessions because they are based on a school site. In Lockdown March 2020 we kept minimal staff on site and the r...