Our Brand New Session; Eco ‘Education’

Today, I’m super, super excited, more than I usually am to introduce an exclusively new weekly term time session Eco ‘Education’. This is its working title at the moment and may change. Enough on the boring bit though, what is it and how will it help you.

So this idea came more and more attractive the deeper and deeper we got into the pandemic of 2020.

Reassessing Family Life

During this time many families, reassessed what was important for their children and for their education. From these reflections a lot of families have chosen to either become home school families or flexibly school their children.

I therefore wanted to create a support network for them, through Forest Schools unique and incredible learning tool, which encourages children to develop the skills to teach themselves, to be a part of a community and to practice life skills.

How Will Eco ‘Education’ Work?

The idea then is to host a once weekly, full day, term time session throughout the year and the seasons, in homage to the true Forest School approach. No diet Forest School here yano!

This can also be complimented and topped up by the provision of our now two home ed/ alternative education sessions a week. I really am the gift that keeps on giving massive value to your childrens lives.

What it will look like is, 6 to 7 weeks on and 1 maybe 2 weeks off during the school holiday times. I’d encourage you to consider our block booking and membership offers here to increase the value, but save yourself some money at the same time.

Why Should I Choose Forest School For My Child?

Now I can hear you thinking; why should I choose Forest School? I am so glad you were thinking this because; Forest School allows your child to learn what they want to and in their own time.

They are met exactly where they are at developmentally. Meaning if in school they were seen as struggling or had a label or worse, in the forest, your child is placed on an even playing field and asked to focus on beating one person. Themselves. Of course even children with SEND can flourish in the forest environment as it places them in charge of their learning.

Somehow your child just knows what and when they need to learn things with little support. That I suppose is the innate human nature of our bodies. It also helps that they will be interacting with children of all different ages and can look up, even if a child is younger than them, to other children to gain inspiration of what, could, perhaps be next step in their learning journey.

Social Development

This contact with others also creates human connection and social relationships for your child. The number of friendships that have blossomed in the forest is unreal only during our summer camp this year two girls have literally I would anticipate bonded for life. As children work together, offer support, play games, care for one another, fall out, come to an agreement and laugh, this is what it means to develop social skills.

Communication

This my friend is life learning all when they are children. Oh! and your child will be encouraged to talk as often as they like, because how does keeping a child quiet whilst knowledge is thrown at them help a child to understand the trickiest of concepts?

Children with speech delay or selective mutism have been seen to flourish in the forest also, as the conditions are right for them. There is no over stimulation, no one million things flying at your child and if you didn’t know things can get tough in the forest, which will lead your child, by human nature alone, to reach out for support and find the words to communicate to make it easier for themselves.

Holistic Development

Forest School strives to develop the whole of your child. It’s written in the movement’s ethos. Developing the whole child or holistic development is where all areas like social, physical, intellectual, communication, emotional and spiritual are taken in and helped to progress during a play opportunity. With never just one being focused on, but all 6!

This is not just about your children. When I also mention about the guidance to new learning destinations from the Forest School leader and how it’s all done outside, in nature, our greatest teacher. Hold onto your seat!

Your child will be guided at Forest School by the childhood expert that is the Forest School leader, meaning you know their learning and development are in safe hands.

Play Is SO Important

Play is often seen as relief from serious learning but this is rubbish! Play IS serious learning and it takes an expert to understand it and how your child can flourish and develop holistically. The Leader will observe your child meaning they will watch them and find out exactly who they are, how they learn best, where they are at in the learning journey and find out their personal qualities that make them unique.

From this they can help your child get to their next learning journey step whatever that is, not by holding their hand but by helping them through questioning, play options, modelling which means showing how to do something and providing the right resources that a leader will brings to the forest to enhance play. Things such as ropes, buckets, tools and other things.

The Forest School Leader As Complimented By Nature.

Not to be outdone, the Forest Leader is complemented by the incredible learning tool that is nature. Nature has endless resources that children can access and use to enhance, develop, and inspire their play.

The changing conditions and seasons themselves have so many opportunities for your child to learn about self regulation; Simply the ability for your child to monitor and manage their energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in ways that help them in their environment. This could be as simple as knowing when to put a jumper on if they feel cold.

Nature also has healing properties and is crucial to both children and adults mental health whilst also adding balance to our hectic lives.

Remember this is not school! This is bigger than school and your child will actually want to come again and again. What do you say to our Wednesday sessions? Are you in?

You’re Just One Session Away.