Forest School
As part of your child’s learning in Nursery and Reception they will be part of a block of sessions in the wood taking part in Forest School.
They will be working in a group of up to 7 children and will spend the whole of one session in the woodland site, whatever the weather!
The natural environment provides a wealth of opportunities to expand young children’s learning through multi-sensory exploration, experimentation and adult supervised play.
Albion Forest School offers children a unique learning approach that allows ALL learners to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in our own onsite woodland area.
Sessions are managed by our qualified Forest School Leader and led by Early Years staff. Each session will follow a routine that the children will soon become familiar with, including a group discussion, activity and exploration in the woodland, warm drink and snack and a final get together for reflection time before heading back to class.
The children are encouraged to explore all aspects of the natural world. Their own interests and play ideas will be the basis of activities to extend their learning.
Materials will include collecting boxes, magnifying glasses, tarpaulins, books, pictures, paper, charcoal, sand, water, mud, sticks, logs, leaves, stones, string and imagination.
Activities will include Hide and seek, den building, picture making, bug hunting, collecting and sorting, singing, listening, observing growth and decay, noting changes in seasons, leaf printing, tree rubbing and many more.
What will my child learn at Forest School?
Personal, Social and Emotional Skills
The children will build self-esteem, independence, co-operation, team work and self-confidence. They will gain a respect for living things and learn about basic health and safety outdoors. Children will soon develop social skills through sharing their experiences with peers and adults.
Physical Development
Children at Forest School will learn about spatial awareness, balancing, negotiating obstacles. They will learn use of basic tools and have plenty of opportunities for games and healthy exercise outside.
Communication and Language
Children will have to listen to instructions, discuss findings, learn new vocabulary, share ideas, and participate in storytelling, songs and rhymes.
Literacy
Children at Forest School get to mark make and write with sticks in the mud, snow and rain. They will have to read instructions for treasure hunts and shelter building. They may keep a journal of minibeast, tree and flower discoveries.
Maths
There will be lots of opportunities for developing maths skills through: counting natural objects; sorting shapes, colours and sizes; measuring; problem solving and calculating; recognising and making patterns in the nature around them.
Understanding the World
At Forest School children will explore all the natural flora and fauna in the woodland. They will investigate weather, predicting & experimenting. They will learn about how things grow and use their senses to learn about materials, textures, changes etc.
Expressive Art and Design
Children will be involved in dancing, music making, picture making using natural materials, mud painting, role play and imaginative play.
Clothing
- Children will be out in all weathers except in high winds.
- We will provide waterproof trousers.
- In cold weather, children should come to school in warm layers: long sleeved tops, long trousers, jumper, warm socks, hat, scarf and gloves (waterproof is best).
- In warm weather, children still need long sleeved tops and long trousers, sun hat and sun screen.
- Strong, sturdy shoes for when it is dry. Wellington boots/snow boots for when it is cold and wet.
- The children will get messy so please make sure your child comes in clothes you don’t mind getting mucky.
- There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!
The best thing about Forest School is the Forest fairies! We made them a house and a bed from leaves so they don’t get cold at night
I love everything about Forest School! But I especially love hunting for minibeasts!
