Forest School is focused around nature-based, child-led activities, ideally in a wooded environment. While one of the key principles in Forest School is to let children interact with their environment in an unstructured way, it also involves helping them explore ideas and interests by offering activity opportunities such as den making, cooking over an open fire, learning to use tools, and doing crafts with natural materials.
I run forest school sessions as part of my day job, and these posts are all about the various activities I do with the children. I am a qualified teacher and have also done the Level 3 Forest School Leader course, and have lots of experience working with children and adults of all ages and ability.
Making conker god’s eye is a great way to make use of the autumn conker bounty, and a really fun and easy craft. All you need are some conkers, sticks, and wool, and something pointy for making holes. Making conker god’s eye is a great way to make use of…
These little wooden needles are great for things like darning, knitting, nålbinding, tapestry or anything you would use a blunt needle for. I use them for weaving projects in my forest school classes, and as they are so easy to make, I often get the kids to make their own….
This sweet pinecone robin makes a lovely, forest school inspired Christmas decoration, and is easy enough for even very small children to make. This Christmas nature activity is pefect for a forest school session, or for some home crafting after a winter walk.
It is so easy to make a bottle brush tree to use for an upcycled Christmas decoration, and the results are a million times more adorable than the shop-bought kind. The process is really quick and simple, and you can customise your trees by using different textures and colours of…
These moon rocket forest school activities are perfect for outdoor learning and play with a space theme. As I’m a bit (okay, a lot!) of a space nerd, I was really excited when one of my sessions coincided with the Artemis 1 moon mission launch. I wasn’t going to be…
Find out how to make these simple yet beautify little air-dry clay leaf bowls with this quick tutorial. This is such a simple activity that I even do it with preschool and primary age children at my forest school sessions. And yet, while it is so easy to do, the…
A campfire popcorn cage is great for showing kids exactly what is happening to popcorn as it cooks. And because they are cheap and easy to make, you can make enough for everyone to have one each. Cooking things on sticks has to be the most fun way of cooking…
Clay boggart sticks are a fun twist on the perennial Forest School favourite activity that turns the old ‘face on a tree’ task into a take-homeable craft. This is such a simple activity that it doesn’t really need a tutorial. But here are a few tips and inspiration to get…
Making stinging nettle crisps is an activity that never fails to please both adults and children alike. It’s quick and easy to do, and the results are deliciously crunchy and moreish. What’s more, you don’t need to limit your foraging to nettles, as there are plenty of other plants whose…
Made by hanging up several different ribbon curtains or ribbon backdrops (whatever you want to call them), this beautiful rainbow dell is a simple but really successful activity at my Forest School sessions in the summer. And is just as popular with the parents as the kids! In fact, while…