Frequently Asked Questions
What is a forest school?
A forest school is an open-air learning environment that seeks to facilitate a deep connection between the natural world and each young student. It is built on the profound belief that having a deep connection with our natural environment is the surest foundation to building resilient bodies and vibrant minds.
Where does the Forest School concept come from?
The forest school model is fairly new to the US and is growing by leaps and bounds. Its roots derive from Scandinavia’s open-air culture, friluftsliv, or free air life.
What are the key ideas that make the forest school concept so popular?
A forest school is developed on the principle that education, especially for new learners, should be play-based in the effort to encourage a love of learning. Our philosophy includes the belief that children have innate and amazing powers of observation and insight given the freedom to explore and investigate unhindered.
A good forest school is a long-term program that brings children into nature regularly. The program curriculum should be progressive as children’s skills develop. A deep trust in their own understanding and bush skills serves to boost confidence and competence as children navigate the natural world.
Spending many hours outdoors in all weather is the most ideal “classroom environment” to teach children to care for and value themselves, their neighbors, and the world they rely upon for survival. One of the first things they come to understand is the symbiotic relationship humans have with nature and with each other.
What about safety?
In a time when so many family lifestyles are far removed from the rhythms of our natural world, it is easy to see why so many parents and students are anxious about playing in natural environments. At Tamburn Woods our first priority is the safety of our staff and students. We seek to address safety concerns in three ways:
Acknowledge that preventing children from taking appropriate risks actually stops them from developing the key senses (strength, balance, and stability) that help them move through and negotiate their environment. It is not in the child’s best interest to be “overprotective”. Allowing the children to experiment with risky play is one of the best ways in which children learn competence and risk assessment. We allow them the freedom to learn how to make informed choices and assess risks for themselves.
Forest school teachers and guides must be knowledgeable, educated, and prepared to allow risky play that is appropriate to each child’s abilities and development.
To help children learn how to thrive in a natural environment, forest school guides educate the children on any possible dangers in that environment. For example, in the woods that may mean, snakes, spiders, or noxious plants. It may also mean teaching the children what to do if they get separated from the group, how to find a cardinal direction, how to stay warm if it gets dark, how to find clean water to drink, what can and cannot be eaten, how to read animal signs, and how to build a shelter. All of these lessons and more serve as tools to keep children safe in the great outdoors.
What Curriculum do you use?
At Tamburn Woods we believe that children (and everyone, in fact) learn best through stories. From animal stories like Aesop’s Fables, to classic fairytales, and Native American tales, we plan to share the epic and interconnected chronicle of the world through play-acting and engaging stories which offer new thoughts and concepts that will ignite the children’s imaginations and spark deep questions.
While utilizing the guidance of child-led learning (emergent curriculum) there are a few fundamental skills we hold as important and unique to our forest school environment:
Learn to be still and observe your environment.
Learn to recount what you’ve observed.
Learn to isolate and use each of your five senses while out in nature.
Learn to question what you’ve observed and draw conclusions.
Learn to understand and value the ways of other animals.
Learn to relax and release the concerns of anything outside of your immediate environment. Learn to wander and be fully present.
Learn to navigate your environment (map reading, reading animal signs, reading the landscape for clues as to your position etc.).
Journaling your experience in nature. Learn to keep a log.
Survival skills (water, food, clothing, shelter)
Thanksgiving. Learn how everything is a gift.