Oh the weather outside is delightful (not frightful) and the campfire is so delightful (too)… and since we’re an emergent, student-led program with no set place to go… let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. (Did you sing it?!)
Snow!!! We love snow at Forest School and what a wonderful way to kick of the soon-to-be Winter Season… and we took full advantage of it all week long. Snow is a natural Loose Part (and one of the best!) and it wasn’t long before students were hard at work building and creating. Over the course of the week we had berms, ramps and jumps created with the help of straw bales in an ever-changing course for toboggans; entire snow families were made, including the tallest in FSFNS history; a quinzee village sprung up and even an igloo!
With the fresh snow over the course of multiple days, we also focused on our core routine of tracking and questioning this week. We found so many cool tracks in snow – deer mice, foxes, dogs (especially Aden, Arys and Nuka), coyote, cat and rabbits. Every track told us a story as imaginations came alive and the animals were brought to life. We even caught a shrew when it’s subnivean tunnel was accidentally collapsed. Oh, and we tracked people, too, in epic games of “Track and Seek”.
Throw in some good old fashion sledding, winter games of camouflage, extreme sardines and crows nest (behind the scenes: we use these activities to activate our quiet mind, and jump into animal forms), hot fires in the tent and campfires outside, hiking, sliding down fossil mountain and so, so, so much more… and we’re in a true Winter Wonderland.
Side note: We worked on our float this week for the Santa Clause Parade – come see it today in Collingwood at 5 pm!
Metcalfe Rock is, and has been, an important place to Free Spirit for many years. For those of you who have never been, it’s totally worth the trip! Metcalfe is part of the Kolopore Uplands with trails that run in and among the Niagara Escarpment. In our humble opinion, it’s a magical place and it’s become a sort of ritual to return to the caves with our students each year.
Risky play is a huge part of what we do at FNS. It takes many different shapes, but always involves pushing limits and comfort zones in a thrilling and exciting way. It’s about testing oneself – and finding out what happens. During risky play, children not only experience an element of danger – actual or perceived – but they also risk receiving the potential benefits. With this in mind, it’s not a free-for-all in the caves, but a calculated adventure supported by the educators.
So why do we do it? Well, first of all it’s fun! Metcalfe is a surreal place full of magnificent crevice caves. It’s a step back in geological history where we literally go inside rock that is 450 million years, that was then carved and shaped by the last ice age. It’s also a place with rich cultural history and ancient trees and it’s a recreational haven you could explore for a lifetime. Not to mention you can also drink from natural springs! All of this and more, right in our own “backyard” (yay for place-based connections!).
Now why do we really do it? Aside from some obvious science, history and geography lessons we teach and the nature-connections we make, it’s also about personal growth for us. While caving, we push ourselves to expand our comfort zones. We find our limits and respect them, but sometimes push them, too. Not only are we developing physical literacy, we are building self-esteem, confidence and our socio-emotional self…all while caving!
As with everything we do, caving is challenge-by-choice for our students, and heavily front-loaded. Taking risks is integral to whole-child development, well-being and health. Exploring the caves is a great way to target this while teaching how to independently manage risks and be safe. We see trust developing, teamwork, encouragement and support. We see a shift a group dynamics, new friends, and leadership… we tend to see a different group leave then that which arrived. And this is why it is so important to us.
Aside from our core routines, our days varied a lot this week (as they typically do) so check out the highlights below!
Tuesday
On Tuesday we embraced a beautiful day and celebrated a special birthday. After our morning circle, check-ins and sit spots, we were off for a lunch out to the wonderful Mysterious Forest. We learned a new game about fur trading that let our students jump into the roles of Europeans and Indigenous Peoples around the time of contact. We did this to build off prior knowledge and while the game was incredibly fun, the more important part was the thoughtful and inspiring debrief with our students. (Behind the scenes this is part of our Core Teaching – Heritage Species: Wisdom of the Ancestors). And of course we had some time for climbing trees, and reading and making up poetry as well.
Wednesday
We started our Halloween with pumpkin carving and cooking the seeds over a fire… they turned out a little burnt, but tasty considering we had no oil! After our core routines and an impromptu Halloween Costume fashion show, we headed out on a wander. At a place called “Mushy Beach” (aptly named as we pulled sinking people out) we invented a new game: Crow’s Nest. It was all about sneaking, moving quietly and “channeling our inner weasel”, as a student put it. (Behind the the scenes, this targets our indicator of awareness of Quieting the Mind, and core routines related to Animal Form, Questioning and Tracking, and even Sit Spot.)
Later in the afternoon, we returned to the ruins of our dam from a month ago. This time it was reinforced with a spillway (pipe) to let out any overflow. It was awesome to watch ideas come to life and young minds work together to create something epic. And we got a first hand look at erosion and alluvial fans from the debris of the “river”. We also had some students make some cool clay creations.
Thursday
From tea on the fire (and a new tripod cooker built), to human knots, to snakes on the trail and our new fur trading game (see Tuesday for explanation) – the Thursday group was super busy!
One fun and creative moment that unfolded that we want to share with you occurred with our newly updated Mud Kitchen. It started in the morning with a couple students creating “recipes” for nature soups, drinks and salads and writing them down in their journals. Fast forward to Free Play in the afternoon and suddenly the whiteboard is out with “Nature Cafe” written across it. Before long, there are more cooks, servers and patrons of the restaurant and inevitably a currency system. And eventually pretty much the entire group is involved. It was magical! (Behind the scenes: this is a great example of symbolic and socio-dramatic play!)
Further, and what really made us as educators so proud, was that the “ingredients” for the recipes were specific plants that we have learned to identify over the last few years. And each recipe was pretty complex, requiring at least 8 different plants!
Friday
We started with tea over the fire again (catnip and cedar) and got ready for a wet and cool day! If the weather was an issue, the kids didn’t let on as they embraced the day. We headed out on an adventure that led us to Mysterious Forest. We played a huge game of Sardines where one person hides and the others hide alongside that person when they find them. Playing in such a big space that is so well treed gives us the sense of being lost or at least being away from others and alone. (Behind the scenes: this one of our pillars of risky play)
We made our way back, pretty wet and ready for a warm-up and lunch. After lunch we read a Nootka legend from the Pacific Northwest called Octopus and Raven. The students then created or interpreted their own legends in dramatic form. They were inspiring tales! (Behind the scenes: Storytelling is one of our fundamental Core Routines)
If you’ve read all this (thanks!), you can see we had a pretty fun week. Every group we have is so different and we are so thankful to have the space and freedom to follow the interests of our kids – it really makes for unique days. A big thanks to our student’s parents and guardians for knowing the value in this!
We are CAVING next week for our Painted Turtles, Snowy Owls and Blue Herons! Please dress to get wet and muddy.
We wanted to start the week off with a post dedicated to the youngest members of our community – the Chickadees! These little ones are always keen for adventures and we love how easily they bring their imaginations to life.
We started the day with our loose parts and discovering some new additions to the site – an upgraded “mud kitchen” and our massive winter prospector tent. Instantly the kitchen was put to good use with all sorts of nature soups being concocted from local plants we know. The teachers got to sample mint and mud soup, sage and rock soup, and many more soup du jours. Before long, the prospector tent was also transformed into a time machine where we visited Jurassic worlds, cave people and a future filled with crazy robots!
After some stories and our check-ins, it was off to exploring. We followed the lead of fellow students and ended up wandering off-the-map to an uncharted land North of us, that is now known as the “Upside Down”. Along the way, we uncovered and named new trails, splashed through mud puddles, followed coyote tracks, discovered mountains, and hid from the Gruffalos!
After lunch, our students tinkered with creating magical potions just in time for Halloween. We had Unicorn Potions, Dragon Potions, Storm Potions, Crocodile Potions and many more all made from nature with the perfect pinch of “this” and a dab of “that”. The students shared their knowledge with us and showed us all the recipes!
We finished our day with our closing circle and some Fair Trade Chocolate for Halloween!
Just a quick post this week but wanted to share some of the highlights from our adventures.
The majority of our older groups this week spent a significant time in Maple Forest, even having a few “lunch outs” on our drier days. In Maple Forest, we have a special spot we call “Grape Valley”. This has become a hub for our imaginative play, construction and exploration. Students built shelters, swung on vines, created complex “Hotel Management” systems using some of the shelters and sticks as currency, built fires, whittled wood and much more. We also made Bannock over the fire and learned about it’s history and cultural importance. There are so many wonderful stories that unfold when the students are given the time, space and maybe some prompting ideas to run with.
We developed a new game as a school this week that we like to call “Scout” or the “No name name game”. It’s a mix between capture the flag and camouflaging, and with the groups’ feedback we think we have come up with a great version. Ask your kids about it and they’ll probably have a lot of tactics and stories to share. As for us, there is always a method to our madness and this is so much more than a game. In this game, we jump into many of our core routines throughout – Animal Forms, Sit Spot, Expanding our Senses and Quieting the mind. And it’s fun – the joys of play-based learning.
Our younger folks had a fun time exploring this week and learning about new wild plants, playing in the sand and building epic structures, painting flags, creating obstacle courses with our loose parts and much more!
A big thanks to our Wednesday Group who were eager to help set up our Winter Prospector Tent!
We trust everyone had a great long weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving. This week, we were back at our home base at Bygone Days after our paddling trips last week. We do so much over the course of a week at FNS, it’s hard to sum up – but here are couple things!
Macro Models
We like using macro-models to help reinforce learning. A macro model sets up parameters for learning in which students create their own experiences. They are community-building activities that have specific learning goals and are interactive representations of simple or complex systems. The participant becomes part of these systems to see, hear, and feel how the whole system operates and understand the parts involved, thus creating endless learning connections and experiences.
After seeing the salmon jumping last week, we became salmon this week in a model called “Hooks and Ladders”. Students start by “swimming” downstream while encountering all sorts of obstacles that salmon would face on their journey (predators, fishers, etc), then swim back upstream facing more obstacles (ladders etc) after some time spent in the bay. It’s a creative opportunity to get a better understanding of the life cycle of the salmon in our own ecosystem!
Tool Use
Some students this week had the chance to use saws and carving knives. After a comprehensive lesson and students feeling confident to manage tools safely, students are allowed to use the tools independently. We learn to respect and use these tools with care and create some wonderful things! This week we saw some natural hammers carved, wooden knives, wands, animals and much more.
After some crazy hot temperatures at the beginning of the week, it finally felt more like Fall towards the end. Which means it’s a good time to remind everyone that your children need proper layers to stay warm and participate fully, including rain gear. Check out our blog on layers and dressing appropriately.
We are also excited to announce we are opening up a Wasaga Beach Forest and Nature School beginning this Winter!
Our older groups this week geared up for their first field trip of the year – a paddle down the Beaver River. Collectively, the groups paddled anywhere from the Epping put in to the Slabtown Dam. The Fall colours were stunning and seemed to intensify as the week went on. All groups learned basic canoe skills, with our older students having the chance to learn to stern – and they nailed it!
Along the way, we took breaks for moments of silence in hopes of developing the Quiet Mind (one of our indicators of awareness) in our children. Of course we learned quickly that there is a lot of noise in silence. We were rewarded with the soft ripples of the current, wind blowing in the leaves, birds chirping, bugs singing and so much more. We were even visited by a Great Blue Heron, who seemed to travel with us every day – our guardian on the water.
Of course the highlight for many were the salmon running up river. If you have the chance, take your kids and go see them jump at the Slabtown Dam – it’s incredible right now.
Our Chickadee programs spent their days exploring Bygone days. Monday’s group dove into mapping as they created new homes and mapped bridges in hopes the Trolls will move in. Friday’s group was out paddling, building dams and got a sweet intro to fire making!
THanksgiving
It’s the perfect time of year to reflect on Thanksgiving as one of our core routines. At FNS we practice an attitude of gratitude and start everyday with what we are thankful for and we’ve found most students are eager to do so. It’s amazing what the kids come up with and share!
Throughout the day, we also find opportunities to give nods of thanks as we go about exploring. Each day ends with our airing of appreciations where students can thank one another, nature or anything else in our closing circle. It’s all about finding in ourselves a grateful heart.
And with that we’d like to extend a HUGE thanks to Jim, our Beaver River expert and friend for coming along with us this week to help out! And of course all the folks at Free Spirit in Heathcote for the help over the week.
This week saw a drop in temperatures and the sights, smells, sounds and sense of Fall in the air. And with these changes there were a few other changes we discovered along the way. Not only were the plants seeming to wither, but there was a noticeable loss appeared in the animal kingdom too! Death was a subject that came up a few times this week – with a turtle funeral, a mysterious shrew discovery, a few fish and a frog. Sometimes, this can be tricky to navigate as these hands-on discoveries can be tough for some, while others approach with intense curiosity. As teachers, we see these as teachable moments in life-cycles, respect of nature and much more.
A quick Snapshot of the week
One particularly interesting story unfolded for our older groups on Thursday and Friday while out wandering… and no doubt if your child was part of those groups you’ve heard of the dead goose we stumbled upon. At first, this was a sad moment for some and a sense of empathy was evident – we had watched these birds all year swimming and playing in the pond. This discovery soon led to curiosity with this up close encounter… and a story began to unfold – what had happened here? It became a mystery to be uncovered! And suddenly we were overtaken by an obsession to figure it out.
We looked for clues – coyote, goose, duck, racoon and deer prints were all around. We followed them and tried to figure out where they went. We found feathers and scat to be identified everywhere! We got out our Field Guides and measured lengths and widths of everything, and looked up any potential ideas we had. Students set out their theories and added to them until we had several different, plausible and cohesive stories. And whether they were right or not, it doesn’t matter – it’s all about the process. Before leaving, they picked wild flowers, laid them down and said a few kind words about the bird.
Questioning and Tracking is one of our Core Routines (as well as Wandering and Using Field Guides in this case). Students are encouraged to ask questions about everything and we, in response, ask questions to them. They become detectives unraveling nature’s mysteries. This collaboration was fascinating for our students as it captured their imaginations.
Oh! We should also mention all of the fires that our students made with magnesium and steel; the pumpkins that were painted and decorated; the hikes we ventured on; the pears that were gathered and cooked on the fire; the “fairy seeking missions”; the epic animal style games of capture the flag; and so many more adventures that happened this week!
Cheers,
The Forest School Team
PS Thanks to all those who came out to our Open House Thursday night! We had a great time building community!
We rang in the last week of summer with some very hot, then cool, then crazy windy and rainy weather!
This week at Forest School we saw many adventures unfold and really dove into the joy of following emergent interests. Full on “stores” opened up in the forest (see in depth details below); fires were sparked with only a magnifying glass, cedar and the sun; going canoeing and receiving mail from the Fairies; shelters were hastily constructed with impending grey clouds looming; visits to fossil mountain and long hikes; and so much more.
This week we also introduced two more of our core routines: Sit Spot and Journaling.
For those of us new to Sit Spots, here’s a quick overview. Our students’ sit spots are chosen by them and become a natural space that we visit all the time. They get to know this spot as they would a best friend – noticing any and all changes throughout the year. It’s a place to sit still, alone and quietly where we develop the quiet mind and a deeper connection with nature (and arguably one of our most important routines).
Journaling acts as a way for us to keep records of our adventures. It helps train our minds to pay attention to the details and we try and keep a journal regularly. In the past we’ve given students journals, but we chose to make our own this year and made some pretty awesome ones this week! We’re hoping this gives children a little more ownership over their note taking, mapping, drawings, stories, poetry and everything that will fill those pages with. In essence, journaling helps support many of our core routines (Expanding our Senses, Sit Spot, Questioning and Tracking, Mapping, and Story of the Day).
One last story for this week.
A magical moment unfolded with our Tuesday Snowy Owl group at an area known as the Fort. As you know play is a huge aspect of our programming (check out this blog Play-based Education: The joy of shared Adventure for more details on play), and on this day unfolded a great example of “Socio-dramatic Play”. This type of play sees children acting out and recreating situations they have seen. It’s the chance to jump into the role of real (or potentially real) experiences.
It started with this: one child picked up some leaves to “buy” a shell from another. Before we knew it, “property” was being purchased, precious things were being mined and sold, a police force was created (along with a jail) and the little society was born. Children even had wooden “debit cards” and we literally had a thousand yellow leaves floating around – enough that we needed a vault and an armored vehicle to move “money”. The swings and slide were being rented, trees were bought and sold, and in all the chaos it all just seemed to make so much sense. And that’s the beauty in it.
(Sidebar to unpack later: it’s interesting to see the views of children owning, purchasing and profiting from nature… and thus makes us wonder how they see the world and our role? Maybe it’s nothing, maybe it’s more – but could be a powerful reflection of society from their view.)
From our educators point of view on play, it was inspiring to see the complex levels of the society unfold. And because we love co-conspiring in play with the students, our educator held the role of banker (and then became the chief of hiring security and police, and payday – like we said it was pretty complex.) It’s remarkable when given time and space what can develop as each child brought in their own opinions, ideas and roles – and all ideas were welcome by everyone.
First off from all of us at FSFNS, a HUGE welcome (or welcome back) to all of our new students, parents, guardians and friends of Forest and Nature School! We are extremely excited for this upcoming year and all of the adventures that are waiting to be had. If you are new to our program and reading this for the first time, welcome to our weekly(ish) blog that recaps some of the highlights, learning and stories from our past week. We publish all of our blogs to our Facebook page, along with pictures and upcoming events, so be sure to follow us by clicking here.
As this was our first week back at FNS, we focused heavily on community building and getting to know one another. We wandered and explored all over our 86 acres of property; searching out new and exciting discoveries. Each day a different story unfolding as we followed emerging student interests. If, and when, we found something significant, students could add it to our giant Forest School Map. These discoveries could be anything from a good climbing tree, to trails, to a special frog place – anything students felt connected to.
Mapping is one of our Core Routines at FNS. In a nutshell, we like to always be oriented to the compass directions and understand our landscape from a bird’s eye view. We draw maps not only to locate features, but also to tell stories of the areas we explore. Students name the places we go – fossil mountain, maple forest, golf ball trail – that reinforce connection with the areas and give us a common language to use. It’s not about creating the perfect map, but rather engaging in the process. It’s something we look at every week – check out the map in our classroom the next time you are in!
Wandering is another one of our core routines. Sometimes, we like to set off and explore without an agenda or destination, or even purpose. The point is to be present in the moment – not worry about time and simply follow the curiosity.
And curiosity took us many places this week! We hiked along trails, set-up forts in the forest, chased after bugs and identified them in field guides, went canoeing, fishing, created dams, made fires and so much more.
It was a good kick-off to the year! Thanks for joining us on our first week of FSFNS!
Cheers,
Your FNS Team
(Aislinn, Matt, Michelle and Krista)
