It was a great week here at Forest School and we had a lot of fun as teachers exploring new places and old favourites with our students. On Monday, we held a trial day to introduce new children to FNS. It was a great day full of sharing our special places at Bygone Days, hiking, playing, making shelters, fires and building with hand tools. Thanks to all those who came out, we had a blast!
Once a semester we like take a field trip to explore our local trails. We live in a beautiful area and believe that place-based education extends to our community as a whole. This week, we went to 4 different natural places with a goal to explore, have fun and learn a few things along the way.
Tuesday – Clendennan Dam
Located in Clarksburg, this place is a gem! After checking out the dam (and racing sticks over it) we headed along the trails. This hike offers a beautiful cedar forest, perfect for tree climbing as our students soon found out. The Chickadees set up camp and played around while the Snowy Owls headed further down the trail – trampled across bridges, along the cliffs, through the forest and finally out to the Beaver River. Along the way we saw lots of animal prints, fish and after lunch we were even treated with the discovery of a Beaver Dam.
Wednesday – Duncan (Bruce Trail)
The Collingwood and Heathcote FNS’s joined forces for this day as we stomped our way through some of the muddiest trails we’ve ever seen… and you probably already know this from the state of your child’s clothing. But muddy kids = happy kids, right?!
We hiked for a bit, down hills, across streams and up ladders over fences then chose a nice spot to hunker down for lunch. While there, unstructured time unfolded in various ways – building forts (which became zombie refuges), fairy cities with playgrounds and restaurants, and good old fashioned group games.
Thursday – Eleventh Line Trail
With the weather on Thursday our plans changed and we spent a good half of the day exploring and hiking around our own property. In the afternoon, we stayed a bit closer to home and had an awesome time splashing through puddles, navigating log balancing beams and searching for the perfect hiking stick. Oh, and again, avoiding the zombies on the Deer Trail of course! Kudos to these kids for braving (and embracing) the wild rain and snow!
Friday – Kolapore
Friday was a special day and with the awesome weather we were able to explore a really special place – Al’s Cave. Located close to Metcalfe Rock along a side trail, Al’s cave is home to a Geocache. After a crash course in Geocaching, students were given the GPS and led the way. After some twists and turns, and climbs and descents, we found our way and entered the cave. After a bit more looking we were able to locate the Geocache, swap prizes, write our name’s down and learn about Al and why this place is so important to us. When we returned to the school, students were so excited we continued our Geocache adventure and uncovered 3 more!
It was a really fun week, and we’d encourage you to explore these places with your kids! Let us know if you need anymore details to get there! Before we wrap up, we wanted to send out a BIG WELCOME to our new students this week and last. It’s exciting seeing our community growing!
A big thank you to all of the students who helped create our wonderful FNS float for the parade – it looked fabulous and was a great group project!
Next Week: Wild About Maps!!
Cheers,
The Forest School Team
(Matt, Kim and Tamara – and so many more!)
“Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar” – Bradley Miller
A lot of our focus here at FNS is on environmental education and awareness where we strive to create not only a respect for nature, but a love and sense of belonging in nature for our students. Accordingly a lot of what we do takes place in wild, natural spaces and we certainly do have an impact on our surroundings.
So how do we mitigate this?
It’s a balance (and an imperfect one at that) where we try and determine an acceptable level of impact.
Our first step – education. We follow the the 7 Leave No Trace Principles*:
Plan Ahead and Prepare
We think of this as “Know Before You Go!” and encourage students to be prepared for anything! This can help us address any safety concerns, help us achieve the other LNT principles, and allows for a more enjoyable time. It empowers students to take control and builds self-confidence, leadership and teamwork skills.
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Though we don’t overnight camp (yet!), we often will set up camp sites for the day, tear them down and return things to the way they were. We have previously established areas that we use to minimized impact, and rotate through these campsites to give the areas a “rest”.
Dispose of Waste Properly
At minimum we pack out what we pack in! And better yet, we leave areas even cleaner than before we entered. Once, we even had a “cat hole” derby – a relay race style where everyone dug holes as a “toilet” 200ft from a water source or campsite. We have also engaged in Community Clean Up Programs beyond our site.
Leave What You Find
This is one of the most challenging principles to follow and understand for our students. After finding a really fascinating fossil or shell, we are often asked, “Can I keep it?” This experience usually begins an interesting conversation where we (together) weigh the options and make a decision about “keeping nature”. These challenging conversations* exist because children are naturally drawn to nature and have such a strong desire to keep it (and show someone at home!) and when we acknowledge this connection and explore it together, children are usually pretty good at letting nature be nature, or putting it in a special place and adding it to our class map, or taking a photo and looking at it later. This engagement further compliments their desire for storytelling and reminiscing.
But sometimes we do take things with us back to the classroom so we can study it and use it as a sample so we don’t have to take others, like bee hives and feathers. And sometimes, after our thorough dialogue, students will decide to take something special home. And that’s okay. Because for us it’s about a balance and knowing. And we believe it is important to reinforce student’s interest in nature and empower their connection with, and curiosity for, nature.
*Some helpful guidelines for us during these conversations look like: Imagine the person who found this before you took it home and you weren’t able to find it? Should we leave this for someone else to discover? And pretty soon, some of the students who have been exposed to Leave No Trace Principles are guiding others on the importance of why we should leave things where they are, allowing us to step back!
Minimize Campfire Impacts We have campfires almost every week in our designated fire pits. Once in a while, we’ll practice LNT fires and return our area back to how it was beforehand ensuring that we choose our site appropriately to minimize impact. We’ll even use pie tins to ensure no plants are harmed when we make small, practice fires.
Respect Wildlife
Last year we shut down one of our campsite’s (now known as Ducky’s Campsite) because a Mallard made it’s nest there. We avoid areas known for nesting at certain times of year (ie. bank swallows), practice catch and release while fishing, and generally observe animals from a distance. We do get close to insects, and do our best to not interfere. We’ve even seen students impose their own limits when catching frogs by washing their hands, having short time restrictions on how long they can stay in the bucket, or holding them close to the ground. In this way, it’s not a complete “hands-off” approach, but a respectful approach.
Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Other people use our area often – weddings, the museum, dog walkers and more. We follow these principles to ensure others have the opportunity to love this place like we do. And we always strive to be inclusive of people and courteous, the students love when given the opportunity to take people on tours of our special areas.
These are just some examples of how we try to encourage a low environmental impact. In practice, these usually come in teachable moments, where students weigh out options and feel empowered to make a choice.
ie “What else might have a stake in these grapes? How many could/should we eat?”
And sometimes it’s just about FUN. When it comes down to it, we know that people won’t protect what they don’t love or know. And how can we truly know something without really getting into it? And really getting into it is bound to have an effect.
So, this “acceptable level of impact“ thing – it’s all subjective. It’s a dynamic process that happens in the moment that’s inclusive of everyone and everything around – it’s a continuously open dialogue. It’s about role-modelling and nurturing our students’ (and our own) ecological identities. It’s about discovering our connection, values and sense of self in nature. It’s an appreciation and sense of belonging. And it looks different for everyone.
Given our quick switch to cold temperatures and snow last Friday, we thought it’d be a good time to revisit winter wear. First and foremost we want to recognize the awesome efforts of parents and guardians last week to ensure your children were dressed properly to enjoy the wonderful Winter-esque day! It’s because of your forethought and preparation that we were able to maximize our fun and learning.
At Forest School, we spend the majority of the day outside and there’s a saying in the outdoor world that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear. As our days become colder, we live by one simple rule – stay warm and dry. And while we do a lot to cut the chill – fires, hand and toe warmers, heated classroom, tea/hot drinks, keeping active – the best defense is our clothing.
Layers is the name of the game and we want to choose clothing that wicks moisture, dries fast, insulates our bodies and is waterproof and breathable. The 3 Basic Layers:
The base layer – the layer next to your skin. Avoid cotton – synthetic and merino wool fabrics work best. These fabrics wick moisture away from your skin to your outer layers so it can evaporate. They also dry quickly. When it’s really cold, it’s common to wear 2 base layers: a lightweight or middle weight layer, then a thicker heavyweight layer.
The middle layer – keeps you warm! Fleece or microfleece shirts/pants, and jacket (a goose down jacket or similar).
The outer layer – the “shell”. This is your water- and windproof layer and is breathable. Think Gore-Tex, or other polyurethane-coated fabrics with vents (core/underarm) that help release heat. Remember snow pants as well!
taken from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/cold-weather-layered-clothes-flat-vector-458523721
Now for the rest of our body:
Hats: “If your feet are cold, put on a hat”. Like our parents always told us, we lose a significant amount of body heat through the top of our head. It’s imperative that this is a warm toque, not one with holes like crochet.
Neck Warmers: Often overlooked, but integral to keeping cheeks and noses warm! Please don’t forget this one! (Or substitute a balaclava.)
Gloves and mittens: A must have and extras in case they get wet.
Goggles and glasses: It is windy at Bygone Day’s and these offer both protection from the from sun and wind. With kids we’ve found goggles to be a great choice.
Socks: Wear a thin layer next to your skin and a second layer over it, both made of merino wool or a synthetic fabric. Ensure that boots are not too tight – they won’t keep feet warm. Extras are essential.
Boots: Warm winter boots that are waterproof and insulating are essential. Back up inserts (or Bama Socks) are suggested as well!
Some of these can be costly – we like to visit our local thrift stores and you’d be surprised at the quality gear you can pick-up there!
Remember, we need to stay well hydrated, too, so don’t forget a water bottle. Hot lunches like soups, or hot drinks like tea or hot chocolate can make a big difference, too.
Our goal is to have fun and learn, and ultimately we can’t if we’re cold. Let us know if you need any tips or check out our gear list here.
Wow – what a great week we had with our Project Theme! Students took this opportunity to let their imaginations run wild and built so many different types of projects, including pencil and candle holders, carving projects, crossbows, creative signs for new home décor, an ice fishing stand, a giant cat bed, a home-made fidget spinner, a windmill, a wooden race car, and even new doll clothes from repurposed fabric. Students worked together to build community projects too, including a new swing, a gold panning mine from slides, buckets, nets and pipes, a raft and sail boat, some toboggans and a pulling sled from old skis (which will sure be handy with this fresh white stuff)! Some students even created signs to highlight some of our favourite places on site (like our not-so-secret forts, various campsites and the new “Wal-Matt” wild edible store!
We had a blast working safely and respectfully with tools, sharing equipment and helping one another out with the various projects being constructed. It was extra fun to have a chance to use some projects immediately, like the toboggans, boats and fishing gear. We visited many different spots on the property this week, including Fossil Mountain, where we tobogganed down the Concrete Factory (sand-bogganing on Thursday; snow by Friday!), Riverside, Lakeside and “The Original” Campsites where we had many fires to warm us up. We also explored the other side of the pond, where we found our first ever red-spotted newt on-site!
Some projects that were constructed went beyond physical creations and focused more on community and teambuilding – continuing on previous play, some students focused their energy on continuing their wild edible store and sharing their delicious creations (including a hot soup this time!), some students spent time building forts together and establishing new and improved shelters. It was an awesome week and full of adventure and play.
Without a doubt, you’ve noticed the dip in weather –and while we welcome the snow and all the joy it brings – please remember to bundle up! Pack extras (hats, mitts, socks), wear layers (fleece is great!) under your snowsuit, and don’t forget a thick neck warmer too! It’s also a great idea to have some hot food or drinks at lunch – soups and teas or cider are great this time of year. A HUGE props to the Friday group’s parents for layering up their kids – nobody was ever too cold and we were able to dive in and enjoy our first snowfall of the year!
We had a fun week exploring the caves up around Metcalfe rock last week. Challenge-by- choice was the name of the game, and students pushed their limits and expanded their comfort zones as they ducked, crawled, and climbed their way down into the Earth.
Most groups had the chance to visit the Ice Cave, a local favourite because of it’s tasty surprise at the bottom. Students had the choice to visit the “holding tank”, head to the bottom, and attempt the “birth canal” – and we all made it through.
On Friday, we went in a different direction and headed deep down into the Bat Cave. Although their were no bats, students pushed themselves to make it down the grueling 65 feet to the exit… and then back up again.
Our young Chickadees showed a lot of courage in tackling the different parts of the tunnel cave while some of our older students who have been with us for awhile got the opportunity to try the “Ultimate” cave – a cave not suited for the feint of heart.
Metcalfe is one of our favourite places to go and with good reason. Each day after lunch unstructured play unfolded using different natural “loose parts” of the forest. Forts were constructed, fires were built, stories read, games played, and the discovery of a new area dubbed “The Rock Castle” with tunnels and shelters galore. A big koodos to the Tuesday crew – we were caught a bit off guard by all that snow but stayed warm and safe, and all pitched in to help out… and we got to visit our sister school in Heathcote!
We are really proud of all our students for showing such bravery – in both pushing themselves and in knowing and listening to their own limits. Congrats to those who earned beads!
Next Week: Projects! This is a time where we use tools to create things . Anything can happen and we’ve got a lot of material, but if your child is interested in doing something specific please let us know!
We loved exploring the fall colours with our cameras this week! Students had the opportunity to learn a few photography tricks: Get Close, Point of View, Leading Lines, Rule of Thirds and Natural Framing (and looked at “Fill the Space”, “Limb Chopping”, and “Negative Space” for those interested in more techniques on Friday!) After our morning routines, we practiced some of these techniques through various missions and scavenger hunts. Then with cameras in hand, we ventured out back to the far end of our site – Maple Maple Forest and Fossil Mountain. Students loved moving leisurely through the land, slowing down to capture all of the things that we generally walk on by!
It was so interesting to watch the students see the world from another perspective and through a different lens – like an ant or a worm. Or stop completely in their tracks to examine lichen growing, flowers still in bloom, or small beads of water collected on the maples leaves! Children weren’t afraid to get down and dirty to get the perfect shot either! Tree limbs next to the bright blue sky, the underside of a log, reflections in the water – you name it! There were so many awesome photos. You can see for yourself by clicking here!
During some unstructured time, students had the opportunity to create their own natural picture frames, use tools for projects, build and dismantle their own creations with our loose parts (we love the cooperative learning that unfolds here!) or run (skip, cartwheel, roll, fly etc!) around with their friends.
Toward the end of most days, we spent some time in various sheltered “campsites”. Students enjoyed spending time making shelters and vine swings, skipping stones into the water, or simply just building and feeding a fire. It was a good way to warm up and a nice way to end our time together! Thanks to those who brought in a camera to use! And a special shout out to everyone for being so respectful when using the equipment and gear!
Check out our class photo’s: (except Thursday – we were having too much fun and forgot to take one!)
We also have a “professional” photo of each student with a cool nature background (like this one). Email us if you’d like a copy of your child’s! (Again, except for Friday this time as we were out exploring and we forgot, we’ll try this week!)
Next week: FIELD TRIP – Caving!
We will be going to Metcalfe Rock next week to explore some of our favourite caves! The caves are cold and can be quite wet, so please wear lots of layers (including hats, mitts and boots). Rain coat/pants are ideal! If you are on the Tuesday class, feel free to wear your Halloween Costume, or paint your face! But remember to layer it under your rain gear if possible so it doesn’t get too dirty!
This week at Forest School we channeled our inner Katniss Everdeen and learned all about Archery. It was a huge hit with our students. It certainly left its mark on us. We definitely hit the target with this activity…. enough silly puns – it was a great day and we hope to do it again in the future!
After learning about the components of a bow and arrow, we made for fossil mountain where targets were all set up, including Bucky Jr – a deer which now has the fire range named after him on our school map. After figuring out our eye dominance, learning how to stand and to properly hold, load and fire the arrows, we took aim and let them fly! The learning curve was fast, and after a few arrows, students were able to hit the targets quite often!
During their unstructured time, some students were inspired to create their own bows and arrows – and crossbows, hammers, and pencil holders – in a week of afternoons leaning heavily on tool-use. We learned how to properly use drills, hammers, saws and whittling knives. We were even able to hit some targets with the arrows and bows we made! And by the end of the week, we also trying out sling shots and throwing knives (specifically made for throwing and are very safe).
Meanwhile, others chose to make dream catchers or read books or play games during their unstructured time. A particularly cool project unraveled on Thursday, where students opened up a “grocery store” of wild edibles, soup they made and even sage mouthwash they learned how to make from a wild edible and sustainability book! They sold these items via a barter system or for currency (shells). It’s amazing to watch these moments unfold – the cooperation, collaboration, learning and imagination is inspiring and contagious! We’ll write and reflect more on the power of this experience in our “Campfire Notes” section soon.
Finally, we’d like to send out a HUGE thanks to Mark, who not only lent us all the recurve bows, arrows and targets, but also volunteered his time and shared his expertise with us. Without you, our day would not have been so incredibly wonderful. Thank you so much!
Next Week: change in scheduling! We will be doing Nature Photography and postponing Caving until the following week. If you have a digital camera that you feel comfortable letting your child use, please send it along with them.
This week at Forest School our main goal was to learn a little bit more about plants. After our morning core routines we jumped into the role of plants in a macro-model to learn about cycles and needs of a plant. We then became explorers tasked with the mission of the uncovering a new plant, naming it and then learning all about it. After making a journal (T-Th), they were off. Collectively, we learned about mushrooms, flowers, trees and shrubs, the history of these plants and any uses they may have.
Friday our focus shifted to trees, where we collected samples in a jar, identified and labelled them. We then “adopted” a tree in our sit-spots – a tree we’ll take care, watch as it changes over time and learn as much as we can about. We spent time as “bees” as well in a macro-model about pollen and pesticide.
As it does, our unstructured time took many different shapes. Imaginations came alive using our “loose parts”, where anything from a relay race to an intergalactic space war and store happened. Students also had the option to make natural hammers from spruce or willow trees. They sawed and carved them out as we begin to hone this skill. We even had bunnies on Thursday (thanks to our students who brought them in!).
We had many fires over the week, with an average of 2 a day to keep warm as the temps being to drop. Which meant we gave out a bunch of fire beads and had a few treats! Some groups harvested and had rose-hip tea, others made some popcorn over the fire.
Next Week:
We are stoked to be doing Archery next week!! It’s also “Show and Tell” if your child would like to bring anything in to share with the class.
As the temperature is cooling down please remember to pack extra layers for your children, including mitts and hats. You can leave a set at the school if you would like. Warm, waterproof footwear is also essential and a back up pair can’t hurt if you have them! Thanks.
Have you ever played golf? Or thrown a Frisbee? Well, we combined the two target games for a day of Disc Golf at Duntroon Highlands Nordic Centre. They have a newly developed disc golf course on their fabulous 100 acre site. For more information and your chance to play on your own, check out the Disc Course Association here.
At Highlands Nordic, our hike out to the course took us in all sorts of different directions each day– rolling down hills, climbing through tunnels, searching for what seemed like an unlimited amount of golf balls, sneaking up on cats and squirrels, crunching our way through fallen leaves in the forest, and even patiently catching frogs in puddles!
Did someone say salamanders?? On our unhurried hike, it didn’t take us long to (respectfully!) uncover hundreds of Eastern Red Backed salamanders. They ranged in sizes and speed – we even found some teeny-weenie baby ones! On two of our days, we were lucky enough to spot a yellow Spotted Salamander as well! Our younger students (and some older students too – water creatures are such a draw for our learners!) dove into a pond study as well, where we uncovered lots of crayfish, water striders and mayfly larvae.
When we arrived at the disc course we learned some basic skills, general guidelines and play etiquette, and then had a blast taking aim at our baskets. Students progressed quite quickly in these skills and were great supporters and mentors for one another! It was a lot of fun to try something new together.
As they do, most of our days varied quite a bit. The Highlands Nordic centre is a magical place, and there is just so much to do. Some groups went on determined golf ball hunts in the forest, while others played extra disc golf; others collected eggs from the hens and visited the turkeys and pig, while others got a first-hand lesson on turtles; and some students built shelters and played forest games like camouflage or sardines. On Friday, we even stopped on the way back along the Bruce Trail for a hike to check out Frank’s Lime Kiln off of County Rd 91 and shared a handful of storytelling sessions from our students.
After returning the school from our field trip, all sorts of fun happened during some unstructured time. On Tuesday we headed out to our sit spots for some building time. On Wednesday we had an epic marble/pipe construction with loose parts and a wild Ring Toss tournament in the rain… until the lightning came, directing us to a safer location where we began a long-term story and design activity. On Thursday we did teambuilding activities and games, and then headed off to an area on-site dubbed “The Fort,” named for its impeccable fortress! It is surrounded by burrs, poison ivy and stinging nettle… with only a couple safe paths in for the knowledgeable and brave! And Friday we enjoyed some slack-lining after our adventurous hike.
Congrats to the students whose estimations were the closest in our Golf Ball Jar and won a prize! This week we had many students work hard to earn their story-telling bead!
Next Week:
We learn all about Plants! We hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
With the temperatures finally starting to settle down (well, except for Tuesday) it’s really starting to finally feel like Fall. We celebrated this week with our annual Fall Harvest, with a big focus on local food.
After spending time in our sit spots, we set out to explore our site early in the morning to harvest some sweet snacks from all over the land. We are lucky enough to have pear and apple trees scattered throughout our property which made for a great smoothie to add to our lunch. The cool thing about our smoothies? Totally made with the power of pedaling! Students jumped on the smoothie bike and each took turns blending not only our local fruit, but all sorts of other wild edibles we could find – red clover, chicory, mint and more. Oh! Of course there was also our favourite addition across the board: the wild grapes that turned our smoothie a bit sour and really purple!
After some afternoon unstructured play which took all sorts of forms – from baseball to slacklining, dragon tails to loose parts, music to obstacle courses, (it truly is wonderful watching the ideas and imaginations unfold!) – we did a storybook walk to Stone Soup by J.J. Muth. It’s a wonderful story – read it here if you’d like! This story inspired us to create our soup. We found stones, added salt, chopped and added veggies and had a communal meal. Everyone played a role and a special thanks to all those brought in a garden veggie.
Depending on where interests went, we also had students dehydrating pears and apples, creating solar ovens to bake cinnamon apples and pears, and we even preserved some pears on Friday!
All in all, a yummy week.
An incredibly big thanks to Healthy Kids Community Challenge for lending us their Smoothie bike and Story Walk! They’ve got so many cool things happening and are making a huge difference in our community! Check them out here.
Next Week: Field Trip: Disc Golf for the older students, Pond Study for the younger ones.
