Free Spirit Forest and Nature School

Nurturing Connection with Self, Others and Nature

In case of Fire…

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Hey Folks!

What an interesting and incredible sight to arrive to on Tuesday at Forest School. Seems the storm left a bit of damage on our area with willows, aspens and more knocked over across the property. Luckily, they fell in good places and no one was hurt, or major damage done.

The students had a blast with the debris though! We jumped in to help clean up the mess and made a massive pile of downed branches and leaves, which later turn into a fort, and then, later still, turned into a full on shelter–make the best of a bad situation! (A really good moment for us as teachers was when the students were handing us branches and telling us the type of tree it was without any prompting–some things did stick from our tree lesson last week!)

We eventually began our day as planned with fire! Our first task was a lesson on the needs of fire (oxygen, heat and fuel) and different kinds of fuel (tinder, kindling and bigger wood). After learning the basics it was time to put it into practice at our fire pit. Of course when we arrived, a tree had fallen over it!

After the clean-up, we talked about different styles of fires, fire safety and LNT principles. We then went over the steps to build a tee-pee fire. With the help of everyone we got it going fairly quickly and had some storytellers tell some stories to earn their beads. This culminated in a “test” at the end of the day where Snowy Owls were paired up with Painted Turtles and given the task to prepare and create a fire. Students could also visit the “store” and if they answered a fire related question, were given special materials such as birch bark, wood shavings and more. Everyone was able to do it (even with some hard winds on Tuesday!) and earned their Fire Beads. Congrats! They did so well in fact we had time leftover for a huge game of Capture the “Fire” (Flag).

We also found time this week to head out to Curries Farm Market and pick out a pumpkin for each group. We carved out the pumpkins together and saved some seeds to fry up and put in our seed library for the spring.

Congrats to all our bead earners (22 Fire Beads, 4 Storytelling), and a very special congrats to our first Leadership Bead earned!

Next Week:
FIELD TRIP! Dress warm and in layers because we are going into the caves and learning all about Natural Landscapes at Metclafe Rock. Gloves would be a good idea, too!

We are also planning to have a bit of a Halloween Day the week of Halloween (Nov 1 and 2). We invite the students to don their costumes one more time if they’d like!

Cheers,

Matt and Kim

Getting dirty with bugs!

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Hello Folks!

Today we welcomed a new student named Izzy to our Forest School by introducing the smudging ceremony experience with her while explaining the meaning of it.

A Creepy Crawly bug day was the name of the game this week! Throughout the day the kids observed and held: spiders, centipedes, worms, banana slugs, frogs, fish, hornets, pink mushrooms, and much more!

Our students were excited this morning and hiked to the back of our property to find the floor of our shelter was missing! WHAT? Yes our floor went missing! After searching the property and coming up with possible solutions we were unable to find our floor which was also a great thing because our kids had the opportunity to create a new structure. This one is stronger, accessible for all students and even has it’s own fireplace! We even tested out the new fire pit by roasting marshmallows in it. They sure were tasty and we only lost 3 to the fire.

Next on the agenda was to create a worm compost. Our students brought in newspaper, egg cartons, saw dust, and food scraps. Then we went on a worm hunt, which started out with a discussion as to where these worms like to hang out. That would be dark damp areas, loose dirt, compost bins, and near to the surface!

Tip: If your soil is dry grab a hose and run some water over the ground, wait about a half hour, and the worms should rise up.

Our goal with our worm compost is to check in each week and see how they are doing. Are they mixing up the layers or compost and newspapers? Have they eaten anything? Do they need more compost? Is the soil wet or dry? After we are done with our findings we plan on putting these hard workers back into the ground by adding them into our existing compost.

We discussed our favorite bugs today and because our school is home to hundreds of bugs, we thought it would be awesome to create a bug hotel! The students collected: pinecones, dry grass, deadwood, fallen tree bark, empty tissue paper rolls, dirt, and newspaper to build the hotel. There was thought and discussion that went into the planning of which insects would like certain habitats. The kids will visit this area on a weekly basis and conduct their observations within their journals.

All of our kids worked really hard this week on their Respect, Bravery, and Honesty stickers. Next week we look forward to giving away a couple more beads!

Next Week: Is all about Tree Identification and First Nation totem pole exploration!

Thank-you for stopping by, we will se you next week!

Krista

7 Grandfather Teachings

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Hello again!

Thanks for checking in this week! With Summer put to bed and Fall around the corner our students focused on our First Nations 7 Grandfather Teachings, the Medicine Wheel and spent time in nature discovering their artistic side.

As always the students started the day off with free play/discovery and a First Nation Smudging Ceremony. One student wanted to pass around the smoking sage to all his fellow students which he did while all the other students respected the ceremony and were quiet and respectful.

Our students thought it would be a great idea to contribute to the 7 Grandfather Teachings and write nice things about each other. This positive information will be inserted into their journals as a reminder of how awesome they are! We also enjoyed a great hike around the property finding wild grapes (the kids did not like the sour ones), hornets nests, hand sized frogs and discovered a fish in the river which they caught and released.

We focused on our land and what it provides for us. The students created a map about what they think our grounds look like and came up with many designs and creations. They even created their own names for their spots such as “The Village,” Frog Town and Playground. We hiked to the back of our property and they spent some time creating dreamcatchers. The kids weren’t even scared of the Spider Woman legend! We then spent time telling stories around the campfire about bears.

Throughout the day we focused on the 7 Grandfather Teachings – which also represent our sticker system – ask them about it! Our students strive for these morals and values for every class and try to bring them into their everyday life.

Love – Eagle
Honesty – Jenu
Respect – Buffalo
Truth – Turtle
Courage – Bear
Wisdom – Beaver
Humility – Wolf

Our last goal was to visit the Farmers Pantry to visit local animals – goats, chickens, donkeys, ducks, lambs, and very large bunnies. They all picked grass and hay and got right in there to help feed the animals. We also went to pick fresh locally grown Macintosh apples. The kids ate more apples than they could pick while some students pretended they were lost and had to climb to the top of the trees to find their way out!

We did! Phew.

A shout out to one of our students that brought in a very special fossil he found while on a hike. After a couple fun guesses of what type of foot print it was – velociraptor or baby T-rex, we came to the conclusion it was some form of bird. We are still trying to figure it out! We also gave away a NEW bead this week – The storytelling bead. Thanks Jack for bringing in your foot fossil!

Next Week:

FIELD TRIP: We are focusing on water week! Please bring extra clothes and a towel just incase, because we will be canoeing down the Beaver River in the afternoon! Pick up time will be as usual.

What we will be providing: Boats, life jackets, and paddles. If your student had their own PFD please feel free to bring it along.

See you next week!

Krista

If we leave no trace, no one will know we were here!

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Hello all!

Thank you for checking in this week, for another amazing forest school day! We first started by welcoming 2 NEW students with open arms and curiosity about our grounds and play areas.

We started our day, just like every day with a smudging ceremony followed by free play and check ins about our week. We then jumped into a fun game called “The Lorax” created by local students from Collingwood’s Forest School. After we were done with our game, we got comfortable in our greenhouse and read the amazing story “The Giving Tree”. Our students then had a discussion about how the story made them feel and what they thought the meaning of the book was.

After our snack we dove right into our Leave No Trace principles. Our students learned all about the 7 Principles and have become very interactive about discussions and activities that tied it all together. They learned what it takes to plan a trip and how much you need to take with you. Also, how to respect our wildlife with given examples of how they would achieve certain goals. As well as campfire rules and how to be respectful to other people who are trying to enjoy nature as well.

Plan ahead
Stick to the Trails
Dispose your waste (Trash and Poop)
Leave what you find
Minimize campfire impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be considerate of others

After lunch our students continued on our 7 principles, and then proceeded to catch frogs (now learning about LNT the frogs were set free back into their homes), slugs, and built forts. There was an abundance of communication, teamwork, leaders, questions, concentration, self-confidence, and motivation. We also learned 3 legends.

Coyote takes water from the Frogs
How the deer got his horns
Coyote and Skunk

Our awesome day came to end with students receiving our FIRST of many beads. This was a huge deal for our students that worked so hard for them! We gave away the “N” bead for Leave NO Trace, along with stickers for our students that ranged from Respect, Bravery, Wisdom, Love and Humility.

Thank you for checking in this week. Next week we are going to dive into the 7 Grandfather Teachings, Native art, and we get to pick our power animals!

Thanks for stopping in!

Krista

Paddlin’

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Hey Folks,

We had the great opportunity to explore off property this week with a trip down the Beaver river. Though we had two drastically different weather days, the result was the same: lots of laughs and some new hard skills. We were treated to an abundance of wildlife – birds galore, fish, so many frogs we lost count, and of course bugs – as the students navigated their way down the river and even against strong winds.

On Wednesday, we joined up with the Red Tail Hawks from our sister Forest School group for our paddle and then we were off to their property to explore and get a sense of all the wonderful things they are up to – and what an incredible place they have. After our initial tour, Shannon led a lesson on survival debris shelters and the students jumped at the opportunity to set up ridge lines, frame the roof, and “shingle ” it with natural materials. Some turned into forts, while others were perfect for survival (complete with a NE facing door).

Thursday was similar, but we stayed in Heathcote and explored the Free Spirit gardens, accomplished some team building exercises, and then returned to Bygone Days to build shelters of our own. It’s always amazing to see what the kids can come up with when left to their own devices.

A great big thanks to all the adult volunteers who came out for the paddle with us – we couldn’t have done it without you. And special recognition to the students that sat stern of their very own boats!

We’ll see you next week! Enjoy the warm, sunny weather.

Matt and Kim

Here Fishy, Fishy

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Hey Folks!

March Break didn’t stop us from going to school. This week, we welcomed brand new students to our school and now offer a Wednesday program in addition to Thursday! As an emergent-learning and student-centered program, both days unfolded in similar yet unique ways.

The Red Tailed Hawks and Snowy Owls were quite adventurous this week. After our regular check-ins and smudging ceremony, we spent some time learning about fish through interactive games, like a new favourite Fishy, Fishy. Some explorers were also able to spend some quality time in our sit spots and journal about things they saw and changes they noticed since the last time they were there.

Soon after, we were off to the Georgian Triangle Angler’s Association fish hatchery. Here we learned about the life cycles of fish by observing first-hand the GTAA’s efforts at enhancing populations of trout in the Georgian Triangle. The students were able to see, feed and hold (in nets) both brown and rainbow trout. The fish ranged in age from a couple months to almost two years and ready for release. Afterwards, we explored the creek and pond nearby to locate “escapees”.

Equally important as the hatchery itself was the connection the students could make to our own property. The GTAA will be releasing some fish in the student-named “Sugar Shack River” leading into “Willow Lake” at bygone days later on this year. This was exciting news for our students, with dreams of “catching huge fish!” in the lake.

WEDNESDAY

Our afternoons varied between the two days. Wednesday saw the students head over to “Fossil Mountain” and explore new frontiers of the property (which led to the discovery of the “Endless Desert” and “Sugar Shack River”). We had a lesson in erosion and river formation in the sand dunes, as well as damming. It got quite muddy!

Then it was off to build huts and a fire. Despite the rain (or maybe because of it), the students quickly set up natural shelters and a tarp to remain dry. We got a fire going, with everyone taking shot at making sparks with flint and steel.

THURSDAY

Thursday afternoon saw trust- and communication-building through a blindfolded hike. Then it was off to build a huge natural shelter to fit the whole team-so big in fact we weren’t able to finish it. The students quickly self-divided into roles (stick collectors, shelter builders, cleaners, grass-getters, etc) and in no time we had worked together to make a masterpiece.

Afterwards we celebrated with a fire and marshmallows. The students all had a chance to try using flint and steel and catch a spark on charcloth. They did very well, and this is a skill we will continue to work on.

All in all, a great week. We hope you are enjoying your March Break as much as we are!

Until next time,

Kim and Matt

If you’d like more information about the GTAA please click here to visit their website