Forest School Taster Session

I wrote an introduction to Forest School last year and so it was a great pleasure to be able to revisit the topic last week. I had enjoyed finding out about the objectives and benefits of Forest School, and I couldn’t wait until Finn was old enough to join in. Unfortunately, at the moment, due to work and other commitments, it is hard to find time to do any extracurricular activities at all, especially those that require attendance over a number of weeks. Then I happened to see that Outdoor Tribe were advertising taster sessions in North Northamptonshire and I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to go along and experience first hand how positive it could be for me and Finn.

In my last post, I mentioned that Forest School is an ongoing process, with a minimum of 6 weeks needed to have the desired benefit. However, that’s not to say that a one off taster session has no merit. It’s a great chance to learn about the theory behind Forest School and try out some of the activities. Any time spent outdoors is never wasted as far as I’m concerned!

As Finn is only 2 years old, I had to help him and tailor some of the activities, but having said that, he surprised me with his understanding. With older children, the idea is that they very much decide the agenda, but as decision making isn’t his strong point (unless it involves food) I guided him as best as I could.

Finn loved exploring the wood and balancing on the logs.  It was great to see him getting stuck in as he is quite cautious by nature, plus he was the youngest there. One of the activities we did was finding different leaves. This encourages children to look around them and connect with their surroundings. I didn’t expect Finn to understand, but he actually did. I had to get the leaves, but he was very good at matching them with the correct picture on his sheet.

After a drink and a snack, I encouraged Finn to go and explore. I tried not to dictate to him, but it’s very hard taking a step back. I suggesting climbing on a tree, which he loved after a bit of gentle persuasion!

His favourite activity of the day was building a den for ‘his’ badger. After choosing our animal we set off to find some sticks, Finn was in his element and happily raced off looking for the biggest ones he could find. He understood perfectly what we had to do and really enjoyed it. He loves being given a job to do so this suited him down to the ground.

The two hours went really quickly and, although I enjoyed it immensely, we were both tired by the end. Even after one Forest School taster session, I could see that Finn’s confidence grew throughout the activities. I wasn’t expecting much from him, but he was engaged in the activities and listened and understood most of what was happening. I have to say that I think that the parents benefited just as much as the children. It was great to spend time with Finn outdoors with no distractions, also just being in a natural environment is so calming. It has also given me some ideas for activities that we can do at home.

Have you ever tried Forest School?