What is Forest School in Early Years?
You may have heard of the term ‘forest school’ if you have young children attending nursery or early years education. But what exactly are forest schools?
Forest school is a type of outdoor education with a hands-on approach to learning, offering a more holistic way of teaching in the natural environment around us.
We’re lucky to be surrounded by many outdoor spaces and natural environments at Devon Nurseries. This allows us to take advantage of how we teach our children and encourage them to get involved in the outdoors, all while learning in a way that differentiates from the classic classroom setting.
What Happens in Forest School?
During forest school, our children learn through self-led discovery. This can be through the exploration of beaches, woodlands, or open green spaces that we have here in Devon.
Our qualified carers guide exploration, but children have the freedom to use their own initiative to make new discoveries and take safe risks, leading to an increased understanding of the world around them.
Forest school is a long-term approach consisting of regular sessions rather than just a one-off session. Our previous blog, Forest School at Discovery (one of our nurseries in Devon), goes into more detail about what a forest school session looks like.
Forest School Activities
Some forest school activities include, but aren’t limited to:
- Nature Art
- Nature Scavenger Hunt
- Tree/Plant Identification
- Outdoor Storytelling
- Animal Tracking
- Bird Watching
- Den Building
- Fire Safety and Cooking
- Outdoor Music Sessions
- Seed Planting
- Gardening
Why is Forest School Important?
Studies show that spending time outdoors increases happiness and overall well-being and stimulates their development, leading to an excellent quality of life. Children are very curious about everything around them, so when they’re encouraged to spend time outdoors, they can explore their curiosity and creativity – crucial for their development.
Forest school also teaches children the importance of the natural environment and caring for and respecting nature’s delicate balance. Early years learn to appreciate our environment and start to understand how our actions can impact habitats. Teaching the next generation to care for and preserve our ecosystems is especially important with the current state of our climate!
Our previous guide discusses more about the importance of play in early years.
What are the Benefits of Forest School?
Much like outdoor play, forest school allows children to think for themselves and follow their intuition – allowing them to build on their sense of self and individuality. Often, children don’t get the chance to do this in a classroom, as tasks and activities are usually planned out for them from one activity to the next – without them making their own choices.
Here are some other benefits of forest school:
- Increased self-belief, confidence, and enthusiasm
- Better learning capacity
- Better communication and language skills
- Improved problem-solving skills
- Emotional well-being and development
- Social skills
- Physical well-being
- Appreciation and awareness of nature
Overall, forest school substantially positively impacts early years’ mental well-being, personal development, social skills, and teaches children about their role in the environment and how to care for it.
If you’d like to learn more about our forest schools at Devon Nurseries, why not contact us today?