Embracing The Forest School Way

AD – Item gifted for review

Ask Erin what part of school she is missing most at the moment and her answer would be pretty instantaneous. Forest School, With the exception of not seeing her friends every day, forest school is the part of her school education that she loves the most, desperately looking forward to that visit to the local woods once a fortnight with her class and the opportunity to stick on her wellies and get her hands dirty.

As a family, we are huge fans of Forest School and the benefits of getting the girls outside in the fresh air to learn in the presence of nature. In recent years there has been a real increase in risk averse parenting; the so called bubble wrap generation, with social media and TV making us all a bit health and safety gone mad and more conscious of strangers. There has been a massive increase in our dependence on technology, and as such our children, now more than ever, are leading a very sedentary and indoor lifestyle.

With childhood obesity on the rise, this is a really worrying trend, and something that I really want to try and prevent in our own household where possible.

Incase you haven’t heard of the term, Forest school is a grassroots movement aiming to connect children with nature.

Developed in the UK in the 1990s as approach to early years learning, Forest School is inspired by play-based, nature entered pedagogy of Scandinavia known as ‘Friluftsliv’ or ‘Free open air live’

Forest School is defined as “the opportunity to achieve and develop confidence and self esteem through hands on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees.”

What I love about Forest School is that it allows children to take managed risks, be independent, be active, play and learn, all whilst having a direct experience with nature.

During her sessions at Forest School, Erin has been able to move, explore, and discover things at own pace, away from the traditional learning environment, whilst getting involved in educational games, crafts and skill based activities with her friends.

There are loads of benefits to the Forest School approach including:

• Providing a forum to help connect children to the natural world.
• Helping children sleep better at night after walking / burning off energy
• Proven health Benefits – sunlight and soil micro organisms boost Serotonin which is linked to wellbeing and improved mood.
• Exposure to Vitamin D which helps bone and muscle health
• Improved muscle strength from uneven terrain and climbing trees
• Minimal kit required
• Encourages curiosity by letting kids work things out for themselves

If you’re interested in learning more about the Forest School approach, then we have the perfect prize to help provide some inspiration!

These books offer suggestions for Forest School games, crafts, skill building activities and is written for parents, teachers and guardians. Some of my favourites include:

• Scavenger Hunts
• Photographic Memory (tray game)
• Magic Wands
• Nature’s headresses
• Ice Art
• Survival Skills
• Building Shelters and Dens
• Team Games

The Year of Forest School even allows you to pick appropriate activities by season, whilst the 48 Cards of Forest School pack is full of cards in a fun handy pocket sized box – perfect for taking out with you on your daily exercise. Why not pick a card at random or let children choose the activity?

For your chance to win a set of all 3 to kick start your Forest School experience please enter using the Gleam app below.

Forest School Book Bundle Giveaway

Good Luck! Our standard giveaway terms and conditions apply. Please note due to the ongoing situation in the UK, please allow longer for delivery of prizes. Giveaway opens 5th May 2020 and closes 24th May 2020. UK entries only.