Forest School Sept 26

Posted 27/09/2016 20:09 : By: EdKenyon

Jumping, crawling, digging, climbing, collecting - just some of the main themes which the children immersed themselves in during their time in the woods yesterday.

We all noticed there was a hint of Autumn - in the way the leaves were hardening and losing their sheen and the nettles no longer felt like they were on the march.

We welcomed three new children to Forest School and I don't think I have ever seen the group so busy! There was excitement and discussion over what had happened to The Ogre's house, which was no longer standing. "The wind blew it down," said one. "It must have bumped him on the head when it fell down," said another. The general view was that The Ogre had moved house after it blew down but we didn't know where to!

Slugs, slugs and more slugs! Niki helped Charlie and I today and she proved adept at unearthing big, fat slugs - much to the surprise and delight of the children. We came across so many that, at one point in the day, we observed some of the children pretending to be slugs - crawling along the woodland floor, accompanied by giggles and bold exclamations that "I'm a sluggy slug!" This really amused the watching children standing nearby and they followed the 'slugs' and prodded them tenderly!

With colder days ahead I had started to collect dry firewood from the woodland floor and many of the children really engaged with this task. They came naturally to it - rather than being directed to it. Drawn in by the sense of purpose and satisfaction of gathering sticks. Some of the children brought back longer and longer sticks which we broke into smaller lengths together, making very satisfying 'snapping' sounds. Together we made a large wood pile under a bush - stacked in rows - and then we covered it with a camouflaged tarp I had brought along. We then spent some time hiding our log-pile as best we could so no one else could see it. Not long after we completed this most satisfying of tasks the rain began to fall! The children could see the colour of the trees and sticks changing as they became wet and they realised that we had finished our wood store just in time!

The wood collecting task had gone on for quite some time. The beauty of being in this environment is that the children are free to follow their imaginations and interests away from the confines of four walls. Some children stayed with the log-pile task from beginning to end, while others came and engaged with it for a period of time before moving away and trying other things - occasionally coming back to the stick task. There is no right or wrong. The children are free to follow their natural instincts knowing they will be supported in whatever it is they wish to try.

There was a great deal of climbing and balancing. Some of the children were hesitant to begin with, watching the more confident ones pull themselves up and slide along the fallen tree. Yet, with just a little encouragement, they were soon hauling themselves up and 'riding the horsey!' or 'driving the bus!'. This is one of the most immediate benefits of Forest School: confronting the 'I can't do it!' feeling and, discovering for themselves, that they actually can do it! Confidence building gives them a huge sense of satisfaction.

Dirt, soil, earth - so alien in too many children's day-to-day lives. It was heartening to see so many of our Forest School children revelling in connecting with it. Scraping, digging, pouring, flattening, scooping, making, 'cooking' (Charlie and I were offered more soil 'food' than ever before!). Not a thought given to 'dirty' hands. Experiencing a real connection with the elements.

And then a walk back through the woods in the pouring rain. Not a moan. Not a word of complaint. Just comfortable being truly immersed in nature.

"Ed. Do you like drinking rain like this?" Tongue stuck firmly out to catch the fat rain drops.

"You bet I do!" I replied, as I stuck my own tongue out and felt the freshness of the rain on my face.

I wonder what our beautiful and varied woodland will entice our Forest School children with next time?