Free Spirit Forest and Nature School

Nurturing Connection with Self, Others and Nature

Recycle, Reuse, Rethink (Reclaiming Wooden Pallets)

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Hey Folks! What a creative week of reclaiming and recycling wood with beautiful sunshine for the duration! Our objective this week was to work on projects – which encompasses a whole lot as you’ll see below. It’s our hope that our students become competent and comfortable using drills, saws, hammers and various other tools! Let’s break it down by day.

Wednesday

Our Wednesday group dove into building immediately in the morning. They gravitated towards the materials and ideas started flowing – so much so that we needed a resupply of pallets mid-day. The possibilities were endless, and by noon we had a table built for us to each lunch on. Check the pics below as they do a much better job than I can explaining it, but some of the other projects included:

a “Donut Canon” storefront created for sit spots
a gravity powered tap and sink
a stage (and a show at the end of the day)
beautifully painted tiles on a pallet and storage container for sit spots
a raft (version 2.0)
homemade jewellery
a “cross-pult” – a hybrid combination of a catapult and crossbow
a crossbow and more!

Thursday

Our Thursday group arrived with a huge level of enthusiasm, ready to get building. After some play and a hike to check-out some creations of other groups, we divided up our resources and got to work. Check out the process and final products in our pics below, and here are some highlights:

a performance stage
2 boats and paddles, that were later raced in the giant puddle
a swinging chair made of one pallet
a hockey target
a mini horseshoe set
ladders for our tree fort and much more!

Friday

Our Friday group last week chose to start building a tree fort which inspired many of the creations earlier this week.. The area known as “The Fort” seems to be living up to it’s name and our students marveled at how much effort the other groups had added to their initial creation – swings, climbing pieces, stages, shelters and more.

Students worked hard together to come up with more creations and even added others’ creations making a huge (and amazing!) store that sold all things sumac, in “Sumac Cove”. We love all the collaboration at Forest School (even across days) and here are some more creations that were made (again check the pics for more details!):

a pallet car (with two seats) parked in a sit spot garage
a balance beam
a nature record play combine with store
a roof for shelter

A key component of FNS is seeing kids as competent learners and letting the learning unfold. As an educator, we are there to support this learning and co-conspire along the way.

The Big Takeaway? It’s amazing to see what children can come up with when they are given the space, tools and resources needed to open up their imaginations. A lot of creativity and collaboration unfolded. Students took a lot of pride in their work (and rightfully so!)

Next Week:
It’s hard to believe but it’s our last week of the Winter Session! Next week we celebrate all we’ve done and welcome the Spring.

Cheers,

The Forest School Team

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Pirates, Dragonglass and Archeologists

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Hey Folks!

Now, at Forest School, we learn to love all sorts of weather – rain, snow and even hail – but when we get a beautiful sunny day like we had with our Chickadees today, we just had to take advantage. It didn’t take long during our initial free play for gloves to come off and coats to get thrown to the ground. Students had a fun time hiding treasure and finding the elusive and rare “dragon-glass” (a thin layer of puddle ice).

Afterwards during our check-in today where students share how they are feeling, why, and any goals they have, our plan was laid out right in front of us. One student made it her goal to find some dinosaur bones. And suddenly, that became everyone’s goal. So we strapped on “construction” helmets, got out the magnifying glasses, brushes and shovels and were on our way. And while we didn’t find any bones, we uncovered all sorts of cool things including some fossils! Other students enjoyed building a new natural shelter, which included their very own sandbox inside. We love the creativity!

Afterwards, we traded in our construction helmets for bandanas and built a pirate ship, complete with flag! Students painted the ship, which turned into a friendly pirate ship spreading love around the world. We moved this ship to an area we call the “Fortress” where our kids got to climb all over the tree fort creations from our older groups last week.

Ah what fun we have!

Cheers,

Matt and Aislinn

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Pioneers, Fire Keepers and Engineers

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This week at Forest School was special in that our classes had planned in advance their “perfect” Forest School Day and we set out to achieve these goals. Thus we had some very different looking days this week, and here’s a quick recap.

Wednesday

Our overarching theme of the day was camping out and so after some impromptu rafting on the huge puddles and a game of ga-ga ball, students strapped on their backpacks with lunches and we hiked out to the elusive mysterious forest to begin development. We built a fire place, learned how to saw wood safely and purified water. We teamed up and made natural and tarp shelters, boutiques, meditation rooms and even traps with pulley systems – the students were only limited by their imaginations. In the end, a whole little community developed in our once little-known forest.

Other than our infrastructure development, students got lost in a world of play – cops and robbers with a twist (doughnut launchers!) and creating natural treasures such as ballerinas made of pine needles and leaves. We also were introduced to a new game called Fox and Mouse, a soon-to-be classic (think capture the flag meets freeze tag).

Time slipped by and before we knew it, it was time to have a marshmallow and hike out!

Thursday

Thursday was all about Fire! We learned about the basic needs of a fire: heat, oxygen, and fuel and effective ways to create them. A big thanks to our student teachers who led this lesson!

Next we were off to “Lakeside View” where, after a quick lesson in material gathering and fire nest-making, students were tasked with the mission of creating a fire without using a match. After much preparation and anticipation (and a lot of learning from our mistakes and successes) everyone was able to light a fire using only flint (magnesium) and steel! And everyone earned their Fire Keeper Beads.

In the afternoon, we launched a rocket and headed out to sit spots for some upgrades and more fire building. Out next goal is to make a fire with a bow-drill!

Friday

Friday was a day of construction where we headed out early in the rain to “Lakeside View” and “The Fortress” to get creative in and around our sit spots. Students used reclaimed wood to make additions to the their sit spots after having a lesson on sawing techniques, hammering and drilling. We even built a tree bridge as the beginning of a bigger tree house project we hope to add to in the future,

and by adding climbing holds, we’ve realized it’s the beginning of the ultimate outdoor playground!

After lunch and some fun and games, we opted to return to our sit spots for some more upgrades and imaginative play as the sun came out. A day well spent!

Thanks to all the students for their wonderful ideas which made this week a very special one!

Next Week: One of our favourites – PROJECTS!

Cheers,

The Forest School Team

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Imaginations running wild and splashing through the day.

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With the wild and mild temperature, our Forest School turned into what seemed like one big giant puddle! Students took full advantage of this and had a blast splashing in it, breaking ice, and getting stuck in mud (you may have noticed their clothes…).

After reading “The Giving Tree” and finding our woolly bear caterpillar emerged for the warm day, we ventured out on a huge hike to Maple Forest for a sweet surprise. After tasting some fresh maple sap, we were especially thankful to join Al at the sugar shack and get to experience (and help!) with the evaporation process of the sap! This was a first for a lot of our students today and we dove in with so much excitement! We learned how to identify good maple trees to tap by looking at their leaves and additionally, we learned the subtle, but important, difference between rabbit and deer scat!

A lot happened while at Maple Forest and we noticed our usually trickling creek became a flowing river. So naturally it was time to race sticks and make a beaver dam. We even pretended it was all sap and we had encountered the mother load!

In the afternoon, we spent some time building shelters, making fires in “The Fort” and letting our imaginations run free!

Thanks for sending your child prepared for the wet and slushy day today! Because of their preparedness, we were able to run, explore, learn and play all day today!

And a big Welcome to Aislinn, our new Forest School Teacher!

Cheers,

The Forest School Team

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Skating, Maple Tree Tapping and so much more!

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We had another wonderful week at Forest School and quite the range in activities too!

Great Snowy Owl demonstration!

On Wednesday, students worked hard to clear off the ice rink and we enjoyed skating away the morning! We even had a lesson from a Snowy Owl, including some basic skating drills and tips on a variety of ways to stop. It was an awesome start to our day and had smiles all around! The afternoon had us in our sit spots and by Lakeside Campsite for the majority of the time. Students enjoyed working together to create and build new structures (including bridges, coat racks, ninja stands and more). It’s amazing to see what unfolds when we just make time to play and explore! It was neat to see the little communities become established and imaginations take over.

Just getting some quality time in with nature!

Though the blue bird week wreaked havoc on the rink, the warm temperatures made for a sweet treat from Mother Nature… that’s right the maple trees are FLOWING! On Thursday we spent some quality morning time learning about how to tap maples (and drilling!) and of course enjoyed some of the immediate perks that comes with helping out around the sugar shack. Students loved the opportunity to taste some sap coming directly from the trees! What a cool and tasty experience! By Friday, the temps had dropped and the sap was frozen, but nevertheless we had a tasty, icy treat!

We also spent Thursday and Friday playing mini sticks on the rink, enjoying our sits spots, building snow castles and snowmen, and playing some of our favourite group games (camouflage, ga-ga ball and fox vs rabbit!).

We built in sometime this week to brainstorm some really great options for our Student-Led day next week and are eager to see how it unfolds! Students worked well together, collaborating and idea-sharing to make some big and exciting plans.

Kim sends a big heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone for the love and support as she goes on maternity leave next week. She promises to visit when the little one arrives, especially if it’s as sunny as it was this week! And with that exciting announcement, we welcome our new teachers Krista, Aislinn, and Natasha! To learn more about them, check out their bios!

Thanks for checking in!
The Forest School Team

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I speak for the trees!

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What a beautiful day we had with our Chickadees on Tuesday at FNS!

After our ceremonial cleansing smudge and morning circle, we started our day with wonderful and imaginative play in the snow that led to us chasing one another, following tracks of all of our animal friends, and building forts, tunnels and fires. During our snack break, we read one of Dr. Seuss’ classic environmental stories, The Lorax. To our surprise, students were determined to trap their very own Bar-Ba-Loot, the bear-like creatures that live in the forest filled with Truffula Trees. Everyone was so curious about the Bar-Ba-Loot because although we have never seen one before, we take good care of our trees at FSFNS so we knew they must be in the area! So students went to work drawing their designs and figuring out all of the necessary equipment before creating their very own Bar-Ba-Loot trap using pulley systems, ropes and a bucket! We checked it often and were ecstatic to discover that one must have come to visit, but was able to escape during lunch break! How exciting! We followed its tracks around for a while – but weren’t able to see it! If your child is keen to build a Bar-Ba-Loot trap at home, this might be why! Let us know if you have any sightings…

Thankfully, these kids care a WHOLE awful lot!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
― Dr. Seuss

After lunch, we were joined by our new Tuesday (and Thursday) teacher, Aislinn, and her two wonderful puppies! We spent the afternoon snowshoeing to Lakeside Campsite, where we played on the thick ice, built another fire and enjoyed some ice cream! That’s right – Ice Cream! We used some especially fresh and clean snow, coconut milk, vanilla and a touch of maple syrup. It turned out better than we thought and was a nice treat around our closing fire too!

What an exceptional day we had playing and learning together!

Thanks,
Matt and Kim

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Ice Fishing!

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Hi Folks!

What a fun week we had learning about ice safety and ice fishing! We had the opportunity to explore the big pond at Bygone Days and were thankful that the ice was thick enough to allow us to try our hand at ice fishing! In fact, it was SO thick that we could technically drive on it, if we wanted to!

Though we didn’t have much luck catching anything until the very last day, students seemed to really enjoy the experience and were all keen to use the auger and look down the holes! We had all sorts of equipment – tip ups, mini rods, handmade stick rods and more! A huge thank you to our friend Mark who brought in a pop-up camo hut for us to use on Friday! This dark hut allowed us to watch the fish swim by (at least most of them!) the glowing hole and it made for some real entertainment! Their focus was incredible and the loud cheers in unison felt like they were watching the Olympic Gold Medal Game! It was very exciting!

With the wonderful amount of snow we have at our FNS home-base, students worked hard to create, build and destroy all sorts of projects around camp. Great teamwork and collaboration always unfold from these student-led experiences.

Thanks parents for providing all sorts of proper gear this week – with ice fishing comes a sneaky sort of wet and our students were able to enjoy this experience because of all of the gear you helped pack! So thank you!

And a big shout-out to all of our bead recipients this week! Students are eagerly working hard for various beads and it’s creating such a fabulous and tight-knit FNS community!

See you next week!

Matt and Kim
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Swinging Bridges, Black Diamonds and Mysterious Forests

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Hey Folks!

Well Winter is back! And hopefully here to stay. This week at Forest School we were on a field trip for Wed and Thurs and spent the day exploring at Bygone Day’s on Friday.

Wednesday and Thursday

Off to Scenic Caves this week for some fun cross-country skiing and exploring the area. We started off both days with learning basic skills: how to move, slow down, climb hills, and most importantly how to get up after falling (Turtle-French Fries-Knees to Skis-And UP!). After some practice laps, students we were off exploring. Our Wednesday group made it all the way to the lookout point (though it was foggy!) and the Thursdays group braved the fierce snow and tackled the meandering hills – including part of a black diamond for experts only! It was a lot of work climbing some steep hills, but ask your child if it was worth it in the end!

We’re really proud of all the hard work our students put in. For some it was their first time ever on skis and everyone committed themselves to learn. After a lot of successes, tumbles and speeding through the trees, it was time for a well earned lunch.

Have you ever been to Scenic Caves? Then you know it boasts one of the best parks in the area – just ask your kids! Students loved using all of the fun equipment, especially with all of the snow! Afterwards, student made their way down the snow covered trail and onto the largest suspension bridge in Ontario – what a wonderful way to see our beautiful home! Students enjoyed the panoramic view of roughly 10000 sq. km. overlooking Georgian Bay and they were keen to point out their homes and make connection to places from such a high vantage point.

On Thursday, some students braved a challenge route and took the snow-filled Creekside Trail underneath the ravine and up the other side! We enjoyed a lot of play, collaboration and teambuilding on the slope of the escarpment too. We loved sliding down into the snowy valley and worked well together (and creatively!) trying to climb our way out. After all of their hard work, you probably noticed some pretty tired kids this week!

A big thanks to the folks Scenic Caves – they provided us with equipment, their beautiful property and infrastructure, and a wood fired cabin all to our ourselves.

FRIDAY

On Friday we saw even MORE snow and had an adventure filled day at Bygone Days. Students ventured out to Mysterious Forest to explore the wonderful natural shelters of our coniferous trees – which provided a great space to play some of our favourite games like sardines and camouflage! Students continue to be engaged in our subnivean tunnel activities, fascinated by discovering more ice below the deep snow and loved to build and spend time around the fire! We visited our sit spots (and created some new ones) and recognized some of the amazing changes that have happened over the winter. It was an awesome day and especially sunny by the afternoon!

NEXT WEEK:

Weather permitting: ICE FISHING! If you have your own gear, or nifty trinkets that might be helpful or fun during ice fishing, don’t hesitate to bring them in!

Cheers,

Matt and Kim

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Wed/Thurs

Friday

Mountain Climbers and Hibernators

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Hey Folks,

Our Chickadees braved the cool temperatures and spent the day exploring and playing in the snow. Our day started as most days do with unstructured time and free play. Students were eager to explore our new tunnels, uncover what seemed like endless ice and play games, including our new favourite “Track and Seek” where we follow people’s tracks in the snow to find them.

After snack and a quick warm up with a roaring fire in our prospector tent, we headed west to Fossil Mountain. We followed rabbit tracks and mice tunnels to get there and after arriving at our destination, Fossil Mountain proved quite slippery! With a bunch of teamwork, a lot of stumbles and the help of the rope, we were able to get everyone to the top. And it was well worth it for the slide down!

Afterwards we went to check on our snow caves and become “hibernating animals” (we just love the imaginations!). We brought along our tube also, and took turns sliding down the hills!

After lunch, some stories and some creative work with our journals, we played a few more games together, jumped into different imaginary roles and had some good old fashioned cloud watching. Then we called it a day!

Cheers,

Matt and Kim

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Sit Spots, Snowshoes, and Skis

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Hey Folks!

This week we welcomed back the cooler temps (well at least until it warmed up again on Friday) and we took advantage of the little bit of “Winter” we had to explore.

Wednesday and Thursday

We focused this week on getting to know our property a little better and spent time exploring and returning to places we haven’t been to in awhile. While hiking out and about, we discovered a bunch of cool things:

-That despite the warmer temps, our snow caves continue to persist!
-The Riverbed Campsite is aptly named, and covered in icy water.
-That Fossil Mountain really was made for Tubing!
-That we have the best, gigantic “loose parts” (black pipes) that lead to all sorts of fun, including subnivean tag and 24 m long subterranean tunnel exploration.
-Broomball is intense!

We also took time to refocus on of our core routines: Sit Spots. If you are new to sit spots, we ask our students to choose to visit one special place in nature repeatedly (almost each week) and to get to know it as well as they can. Students are asked to spend varying amounts of time sitting quietly in their spots. In this special spot, we learn to sit still, be by ourselves, and enjoy the feeling of familiarity and knowledge of place that develops over time. Ultimately, a student’s sit spot will become like a safe home from which their curiosity can spark an interest in nature’s mysteries. This time focuses on student-centered learning, place-based learning, personal growth, scientific-inquiry, solitary time and reflection. We also spend time building, creating and playing together in our sit spots. This week saw the creation of communities of neighbours in our “Sumac Forest” and “Fortress” areas. It’s inspiring watching the fun unfold and imaginations run wild.

Friday

We had a special field trip on Friday to Highlands Nordic Outdoor Centre for a day of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. After a thorough skills-based lesson, we were off to explore – and what a beautiful day we had for it. We spent the morning skiing and quickly learned that climbing up hills are hard, but totally worthwhile for the long, fast descents!

After lunch, we headed on a snowshoe hike down into the forest, with awesome views of Wasaga Beach and more. We played a few games and explored animal trails along the way. A big thanks to everyone at Highlands Nordic who helped us out!

Next Week:
Wednesday and Thursday groups will be on a Field Trip to Scenic Cave for cross country skiing. Please bring your own equipment if you have it. Friday we will remain at the school

We gave out a lot of beads this week! Congrats to the recipients!

Cheers,

Matt and Kim

More Pics:

Wednesday/Thursday

Friday

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