Forest Schooled Podcast

In this podcast, I share a few things I've learned that have helped me to advocate for more Nature programs (like Forest School) wherever I live.

In this podcast, I share a few things I've learned that have helped me to advocate for more Nature programs (like Forest School) wherever I live.

This podcast share why I've started using "Nature-rooted Learning" instead of Forest School...

The outdoors presents various opportunities for risky play. Without prompting, children will often seek these opportunities out. This podcast explores the research by Ellen Sandseter on children's perspective of their own risky play and how they seek to balance the "scary" with the "funny."

I've always admired storytelling not only as entertainment, but as a tool for learning and inspiring creativity. This podcast is about how I tried it and what I learned...

What do you do when you're trying to foster child-led experiences, group cohesion, and critical thinking but run out of time?!

This podcast shares the story of a surprising method children created to resolve conflict in play!  

This podcast explores the almost invisible forces at play, what I'm calling a "mindset," that help make Forest School unique!  

This podcast explores how learning can take place with the whole body, not just in the mind or with a pencil in hand!  

This podcast explores how taking kids outside in the winter comes with a few challenges, yet the benefits make it all worth it!  

It's often said that Forest School isn't about achieving particular outcomes... but this isn't entirely true.  

It may not solely be about achieving particular academic outcomes, but we're still doing it with some sort of intention. Obviously it still has a purpose. In delivering it, we are seeking to achieve something! So what is that something? Or shall I say somethings?  

“The extent of risk depends in part on how competent a person is in dealing with the hazard; it is a function of how a person 'sees' or 'feels' a situation and combines both environmental and human factors... Thus, risk may be different for each individual even though the measured risks may be identical in size.” - Bob Sharp (2004), Risk in Outdoor Education.  

This podcast explores how using tools and making fires with children as young as 4 have changed my perception of 'danger' and 'risk'!  

I like to think of outdoor cooking as playing. It's a type of play that involves risk as well as the opportunity for a whole lot of learning! This podcast explore this and gives a few ideas for cooking projects. I also encourage people to share some of their great ideas and success stories with outdoor cooking too :)  

Sometimes we might say something like, "This is not a democracy," when children try to argue with us about a decision we've made. Is childhood really not a democracy? Should it be?  

“A noisy and squirmy group of around 60 children would transform into a still and silent hush of eager eyes pointed directly at the storyteller as he or she began to speak. It felt like magic - like somebody had cast a spell over everyone listening.”   

This is a talent I wish I had (maybe someday will develop?) and I share my mishaps with trying! Tell me about your adventures with storytelling and if you have any tips :)  

I thought I'd try to paint a picture (to speak figuratively, not literally!) of what it is that we do and why at Forest School. This is what I came up with based on real experiences I've had spending once a week for a year with a group at Forest School...  

Being able to sit still and listen are good qualities. They require the ability to focus, to engage self-control, and also provide the opportunity to learn from another person who's sharing their experience and knowledge. So, even though 'sitting still and listening' are skills that many children struggle with, it seems a good idea to help them develop those qualities throughout their education. Or is it?

Emotional intelligence is a powerful tool when it comes to navigating personal relationships. Our emotions have a significant impact on our behaviour, therefore making it extremely beneficial to understand them and learn how to respond and deal with them in ways that help us maintain positive relationships with others.  

This podcast explores how to encourage emotional intelligence as a part of the learning process.  

Want to read the blog post while you listen? 

Learning practical skills can help build confidence as a person starts to feel more self-reliant. That's why learning 'survival skills' like knots and lashings can give a great boost to self-esteem. This post talks about how we used a Survival Challenge as a way to get some teens motivated to try new things and how surprised I was by how they seemed to take more away from it than I first thought!  

Been thinking a bit deeper about the 'long-term' aspect of Forest School and what that really means...  

"There are many benefits of Forest School being a long term programme... but a question I've been exploring lately is, how important is it for the location and the individuals within a group of participants to remain the same over that long-term period?"  

Behaviour is communication...

However, it's not necessarily that easy to understand what the message is... Behaviour can be a very cryptic form of communication that is frustratingly challenging to translate. But, by choosing to reframe the negative behaviour as a form of communication we are able to ask, “What does this child need? What are they really asking for?”

This podcast reflects on how Forest School can take our 'education formula' and reverse it... Instead of making things happen to put the learning in, we draw the learning out of whatever it is that happened.

This podcast reflects on how I might project my own fears, values, or discomfort on children during their play and reconsider, is it actually appropriate to do so?

How do we support children when the problems are small, but they're expressing strong emotions? This podcast reflects on the role of empathy and listening even when it feels like they might be "over-reacting."

Because we can't always tap into a child's world during play, it can sometimes be difficult to identify or understand how they are playing. I have found Bob Hughes' theory of 'Play Types' very useful in gaining a better understanding of how and why kids play.