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.
DIY twig Ball Lantern Whether you love fairytale multicolour twinkles or a soft, golden firefly glow, a twig ball lantern can add a really enchanting touch to a party, wedding, or festival. No party to decorate for? Hang them in a corner of your garden to add a touch of…
Have your kids conkers gone wrinkly? When autumn comes around my kids just can’t help collecting bucket loads of shiny horse chestnuts. However conkers start to lose some of their charm once the shrivels (as we like to call it) sets in. There are only so many games of conkers…
This fun spiderweb activity combines two of our favourite things – threading and printing. Using homemade stampers, kids can make gorgeous sparkly spiderweb pictures. The stamps are simple and quick to make, and the best part is you can make them from bits and pieces that you will already have….
At this time of year, our local park is littered with conkers (otherwise known as horse chestnuts). At times they are literally (and rather painfully!) raining down on us. Who can resist prising open spiky cases for that thrill of discovering shiny brown nuts inside? My kids certainly can’t, and…
My kids love making dens when we’re out in the woods. But there are times when it’s not practical or possible to make one that’s kid-sized. Yet we don’t let that stop us – instead, we just think smaller… Read on to see how to make an adorable mini den!
One Hundred Toys recently asked if we would test out a pile of fabulous-looking, kid-sized real woodwork tools from HABA. The kids and I love woodwork. We’ve had woodwork fun out in the woods, at forest school, and at home with a bit of softwood. So we were more than happy…
Leaf painting is an absolute favourite, with my kids, and something that we do all the time. We do a lot of painting in our house, and love finding different things to paint. After all, flat paper can be SO last earlier-this-morning. We try to bring natural materials into our…