Our Forest School is 1 Year Old
Milla Peterkin
It has been a year since we first ran some taster days and got the programme going. Forest School has been running through the summer once a month, with over 15 different families bringing their children, aged from 4 - 11. We have been fortunate to have a ‘magical secret wood’ in our village which has given us a rich environment to watch the changes over the seasons in plant and insect life. We have made creatures out of wood, cooked over the camp fire and generally had a lovely time in a wonderful natural space. Above all, children have been able to form curious, creative, informed and appreciative relationship with nature.
Our final summer session of Forest School is on August 30th. We may also try to run a couple of sessions in September to October depending on the weather and then re start the spring programme in March. Every session is different and inspired by our wonderful Forest School Leader Clair (Editor—Clair explained her educational philosophy and the methods she uses in Issue 3 of our magazine https://re-bmagazine.weebly.com/34.html
What do the children think?
We have been running FS once a month through the summer and have just had the 5th one. I thought it would be good to find out what one of the children who attend FS thinks about it all. Riley is 11 years old and has managed to get to all of the FS afternoons so has a pretty good idea what she likes about it! She likes the fact that what you get to do each time varies, so there is no time to get bored. Her favourite activities are cooking on the camp fire (pretty much everybody’s favourite) and wittling wood.
Riley said that she looks forward to learning about nature and new life skills and even though the children range from 4 – 11 years old, there is always something for everyone. She pointed out that one big difference from school is you don’t have to sit still and its quite o.k. to go for a wander or hang out in the hammock. There are structured activities like looking for mini beasts or listening to a story but also have the freedom to just make a huge mess in the mud kitchen. Riley thinks we are really lucky with our site, which is hidden in a secret wood.
To find out more about Forest School events please contact Clair Cobbold at: [email protected].
Milla Peterkin
It has been a year since we first ran some taster days and got the programme going. Forest School has been running through the summer once a month, with over 15 different families bringing their children, aged from 4 - 11. We have been fortunate to have a ‘magical secret wood’ in our village which has given us a rich environment to watch the changes over the seasons in plant and insect life. We have made creatures out of wood, cooked over the camp fire and generally had a lovely time in a wonderful natural space. Above all, children have been able to form curious, creative, informed and appreciative relationship with nature.
Our final summer session of Forest School is on August 30th. We may also try to run a couple of sessions in September to October depending on the weather and then re start the spring programme in March. Every session is different and inspired by our wonderful Forest School Leader Clair (Editor—Clair explained her educational philosophy and the methods she uses in Issue 3 of our magazine https://re-bmagazine.weebly.com/34.html
What do the children think?
We have been running FS once a month through the summer and have just had the 5th one. I thought it would be good to find out what one of the children who attend FS thinks about it all. Riley is 11 years old and has managed to get to all of the FS afternoons so has a pretty good idea what she likes about it! She likes the fact that what you get to do each time varies, so there is no time to get bored. Her favourite activities are cooking on the camp fire (pretty much everybody’s favourite) and wittling wood.
Riley said that she looks forward to learning about nature and new life skills and even though the children range from 4 – 11 years old, there is always something for everyone. She pointed out that one big difference from school is you don’t have to sit still and its quite o.k. to go for a wander or hang out in the hammock. There are structured activities like looking for mini beasts or listening to a story but also have the freedom to just make a huge mess in the mud kitchen. Riley thinks we are really lucky with our site, which is hidden in a secret wood.
To find out more about Forest School events please contact Clair Cobbold at: [email protected].