Forest Schools

1-2-3 Back to Base

When I was in Kindergarten, my friends and I spent recess running through grassy fields, digging in the dirt and playing 'home' among the massive root system of old eucalyptus trees. We came to school clean, we often went home dirty. To this day, the smell of eucalyptus stirs wonderful memories of my time in Primary School. On weekends the kids in my neighbourhood would gather and plan our outdoor adventures. We'd often get lost in the adjacent bush, find our way again, wade through creeks and climb trees, sometimes we made small fires and toasted bread. We learnt to be resilient, to work as a team, to take calculated risks and to be home in time for dinner. Mostly we succeeded, sometimes we failed, but we very clearly understood that our actions resulted in consequence, sometimes good, at times bad. 

Providing children with the opportunity to venture off by themselves leads to excitement, motivation and a feeling of self belief. The notion of children exploring the great outdoors, experimenting and learning surrounded by nature is not new. Kurt Hahn, founder of the UWC Movement was an early advocate for taking education beyond traditional boundaries through outdoor and experiential learning. Hahn was convinced of the importance of learning that takes place out of the classroom, that through challenge and adventure, students would learn confidence, tenacity and perseverance. (Read more about Kurt Hahn in the Zelinski book referenced below)

During the 1950's, Swedish and Danish early years educators encouraged children to play in the woodlands and forests surrounding their schools and this 'open air culture' way of life spread quickly across Scandinavia and the UK. Today, the Forest Schools movement has reached all corners of the globe. Recently our UWCSEA Infant School students in K1VMa had their first taste of 'forest friends' Singapore style!

First Forest School Session for K1VMa

Outdoor learning advocates O’Brien and Murray define Forest Schools as "an inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence through hands-on learning in a woodland environment". Their research indicates that children are stimulated by spending time outside and that being given ongoing outside opportunities leads to an increase in confidence, improved social skills and communication skills, increased ability to concentrate, improved fine and gross motor movements, as well as a deeper knowledge and understanding of their world.

Introduction to Forest Schools Video

Infant School teacher Tor Marshall introduced her K1 class to the Forest School idea by setting the scene and creating boundaries, asking the children to agree on "how can we keep safe during these sessions?" Suitable agreements included returning to basecamp when the teacher calls, treat the environment with respect, care for living things, listen at all times, stay within the agreed boundary, and use safe movements only. The children then established an agreed boundary by spreading ‘magic fairy dust’ (green glitter) to physically mark the outer edge.

Spreading 'magic fairy dust'

The children were taught the signal for returning to base, “1-2-3 back to base" called by Tor, followed by “1-2-3 back to base" echoed by the children as they return to the basecamp. The call was repeated until the whole class had gathered. 

“1-2-3 back to base"

After a few practice runs the children were ready to begin the adventure within their new outdoor classroom and off they went! They explored in teams, discovered new spaces, investigated nature.

Exploring

Discovering

Investigating

Before they knew it our forest friends heard the call "1-2-3 back to base" and back they went! 

“1-2-3 back to base" here we come!

Erin Kenny, Director of a Forest School expresses concern that so many children today are deprived of the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature, to run barefoot on the grass, to dig in the mud, they risk losing the innate connection to nature which leads to compassion for the natural world.  Forest Schools and learning in an 'outdoor classroom' are ideal approaches, providing fun and meaningful ways to authentically connect children with nature.

“In the 21st Century, our Great Work must be the creation of a new, restorative relationship with the rest of the natural world. It’s time to envision that future. It’s time to bring down the barriers, which are not only between people and nature, but also between people. It’s time to bring down the barriers. Hard? Of course. But we can do the best we can while we’re here on Earth, and millions of children will surely experience the wonder of nature that past generations took for granted." 

(Louv 2005)

References

Kenny, E. (2013) Forest Kindergartens: The Cedarsong Way. University of Cincinnati

Louv, R. (2005). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit

Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.

O’Brien, L and Murray, R. (2006). A marvellous opportunity for children to learn: a participatory evaluation of Forest School in England and Wales. Forest Research, Farnham. 

Zelinski, M. (2010) One small flame: Kurt Hahn’s vision of education. Ontario: From the Heart