Free Spirit Forest and Nature School

Nurturing Connection with Self, Others and Nature

We strive to survive

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Hi Friends!

We had another fun-filled Wednesday at Forest School! Our students spent a large portion of their day braving the cold, and gaining the skills to survive the outdoors. With the colder weather arriving, we focused on shelter building and becoming more confident with our fire skills. There was so much creative thinking, problem solving and collaboration today. We are so proud of all of our students for all their hard work!

Check out how incredible our students are!

Thanks Aaron for bringing in your personal sled today! So much fun was had running around the garden taking turns enjoying the ride and pulling each other around, it was definitely a hit!

Before our smudging ceremony our students had fun constructing their very own teeter totter. It took Jack, Aaron and Taven to lift me off the ground. What super strong young men we have at Forest School.

While we were out hiking and collecting our tinder and kindling, Alice came across some wonderful wild mint. All our kids got to try a piece, some of us even tested our breath to see if it smelled better.

“A Frame”, “Tee-pee”, “Tarps” and “Lean To” were some of the shelters we talked about today. Izzy and Emily worked together and built a “Tee-pee” shelter, while the other kids built “A frame” and “Lean To” shelters. Great teamwork today guys and gals!

We thought this week instead building fires with dry tinder (mostly due to the wet tinder in our area), we would change it up and create our first TNT fire starters. The students were given a toilet paper roll and the choice of birch bark, cotton balls, dried maple sap, newspaper or dryer lint. Packed all together this makes a great fire starter, and something that can be packed in a survival kit!

There was so much success with our fire skills this week, we are proud to say that all 7 of our students were able to start their own fires, and keep them going strong enough to roast marshmallows. High Fives all around!

A lot of beads and stickers were awarded today, wisdom and respect stickers were given out, while EVERYONE earned their shelter and fire beads. Congratulations to all our students.

Next Week:

Projects and Tools! Planning, construction and teamwork are just some of the skills to look forward to next week. Stay tuned.

Reminder:

You child can bring in one tool that could assist them within their projects.

Thanks for checking in this week!

Krista

Bonus Pictures of our awesome day.

Oh the places you will go

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Hi Friends!

“Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose” – Dr. Suess

Our focus this week was mapping! Giving our students the ability to read and understand a map gives them opportunities for growth, confidence, amazing memories and fun! We kept our adventures close to the Thornbury area visiting the Craigleith Heritage Depot and an awesome hiking trail in Clarksburg.

Check out our day!

This morning we started the day off with show and tell. We had a range of special items from homemade natural art, home made medallion drawings, finger puppets, rocks and a Pokémon ball. There was no Pokémon in this ball.

Before we headed out on our adventure, we took time to discuss how to read a map. We looked at titles, legends, symbols, roads, trails, names and so much more.

Our first stop was the Craigleith Heritage Depot. Some of our students went right to the library to read “Charlottes Web” and “A funny thing happened on the way to school”. Some ventured to the museum and learned about Trilobites, the First Nations Petun tribe and the Train station. While others took some time to search for images of Wolves. If you have never been to this location before please take advantage of the incredible learning opportunities here. You won’t regret it! A big shout out to the Craigleith Depot for being such a great host!

On our second stop we found this amazing shelter! We took some time to play a game called “hunter and wolf”but by the end of the game it turned into “Cops and Robbers”. While we were exploring this new hiking trail we came across a rock mountain. We took time to search for fossils and found more great hiking sticks!

In the afternoon we started with a challenging scavenger hunt. Our students were given a map with check points to visit. At every check point there was a question about Forest school that they had to answer. Along with every question they gathered materials for their own personal fire. It was great to see teamwork arise and our older students even helped out our younger ones with sounding out words and making sure they all got the right answers! Great work guys and gals!

We finished our day with a riddle which led our students to a treasure! Make sure you asked your child how much treasure they found and what they got to keep!

Our riddle was:

“Into a fort you go where the treasure is aflow. Better hurry up and run because the treasure is a ton.”

We gave away 2 craft beads today and everyone is getting very close to getting a prize for their respect stickers. Great job everyone!

Next Week: Survival Week! We will focus on shelter, drinking, food, fire…it’s going be a busy day next week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Krista

Bonus Pictures

Take care of the earth, and she will take care of you

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Hi Friends!

Can you believe it? 6 weeks left until we are done our first semester, how time flies! We couldn’t have asked for better weather today, and with the excitement of snow we decided to focus on Environmental Science.

Today brought a mix of physical exercise, visualization games, student creations and discussions. Throughout our day we discussed two types for pollution (natural and human), two types of energy (renewable and non-renewable), as well with how we as individuals can save the planet. We also started the David Suzuki Superhero challenge with one of the activities called the right to a healthy environment. If you would like more information about this challenge, check out their website at www.getbackoutside.ca

Check out how our day went below.

After our smudge ceremony we started the day with an “X and O” relay race. The teams were “The Dragons” on the left, and “The Hunters” on the right. After 5 races it was still a tie game…until later in the day when the dragons took the lead.

This morning Taven brought to school a box full of special things. This included a Peacock feather, an arrow head, a crystal, a shark tooth, a shotgun shell and a magnifying glass. The students loved it so much that next week we are going to have more show and tell!

After discussions about renewable energy sources, we took time to create our own windmills. They even worked in the wind!

The David Suzuki Superhero challenge was a great way to visualize and discuss the right to a healthy environment. Our students had to think of 5 things that can help protect our environment. We came up with great suggestions from don’t waste water, don’t litter, don’t cut down trees, ride a bike and eat all your food.

Free play is great for our students to burn off that energy, work on their social skills and have fun! We somehow ended up in rain barrels and took turns rolling each other around the garden. No one got sick.

Our afternoon was filled with fire skills, and creating our very first bio-dome! The kids had the choice of planting Kale or the flower Morning Glory. The great thing about this bio-dome? It waters itself and looks pretty cool!

Things you will need to build your own bio-dome:

2 recycled plastic bottles
1 string
Tape
Dirt
Water
Seeds

We took advantage of the sun and debriefed about our day, congrats to all our sticker earners (6 Wisdom, 6 Respect)!

Reminder: Due to the colder weather, please remember to bring extra clothes to layer up!

Next Week: Is all about Mapping and Travel. I wonder where that will take us…

Thanks for stopping by, talk to you next week!

Krista

Check out our bonus pictures!

Every child is an artist

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Hi Friends!

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on” – Albert Einstein

This week at Forest school, it was a student-led emergent day full of creativity. It was amazing to watch how the day unfolded through team-building activities that strived towards working together, communication and memory.

Our students worked both individually and together to construct a masterpiece of art from natural products as well as with man-made materials. Did I mention there was a lot of mud involved?

This was a great day for our kids to be as creative as they could!

Check it out!

The fog was amazing this morning and while we were sitting quietly across from the Beaver River, we spotted a Blue Heron hunting for his breakfast.

We hunted down our natural paint brushes, paint (wild grapes, blueberries, and crab apples) and objects to stick onto our artwork (leaves, cedar scales and grass).

One of our team-building activities was the create our favourite animals out of pipe cleaners. Some of our creations were a Wolf, Thunderbird, Salamander and Octopus.

Another activity that was completed was “The Maze”. Communication and memory was the name of the game!

Our students creating their art with natural paint brushes, mud, rocks, wood cookies and cold ash from the fire pit.

“The Village”. This was created by all students and everyone had their job. Some students worked on concrete (water and mud), digging holes, building homes and roping off future development.

Some of the artwork our students created today!

Today was an amazing muddy day full of adventure and creativity.

Great job Taven and Jack for starting their first fire without any help! What amazing stories we had around the fire as well, so make sure you ask your child what story they told. This meant we gave away our first Storytelling beads! Great job everyone!

Next Week – We are going to be looking into Environmental Science.

Thanks for stopping by,

Krista.

Check out our bonus pictures of our mud monsters!

You Rock!

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Hey Friends,

Forest School is all about self-discovery, jumping out of our comfort zones and challenge by choice. Today we brought all these elements together and discovered our personal strengths.

We joined our Collingwood Forest School and explored the beautiful area of Metcalfe Rock located in the Kolapore Uplands. This is an area that is tucked away along the Niagara Escarpment. Caving was our activity of the day and our students did not waste anytime. They jumped right into their harnesses and helmets and strapped on their headlamps. After our safety talk we were ready to go!

Check out our photos below!

It was an exciting time when we found a spine of an animal tucked away in some brush. We believe it was a small coyote or maybe a wolf…this debate is still on going.

We started the day off by creating our own hiking trail on our Heathcote property. We love to hike and this time we didn’t run into any burr bushes! Phew..

After we met up with the Collingwood Forest School we hiked further up the Niagara Escarpment and made it to our camp site. There we took a well deserved snack time.

Last week we learned all about fire and today we put it to the test. While some kids collected tinder and sticks, others focused on starting a fire to keep us warm. The teamwork was amazing…. great job guys!

Communication and spotting our buddies help keep us safe in unknown surroundings.

We took some time to talk about this Ancient Eastern White Cedar which is an amazing tree estimated to be 1000 years old! Lots of fun discussion was had on why the roots were braided. When was the last time you hugged something that old?

Our Izzy being brave and climbing out of the Ice Cave.

Before we were done with our day the kids worked together and created a 5 foot leaf pile! Everyone worked so hard on this and it ended with a well deserved….. you got it LEAF FIGHT!

Today we saw old friends, made new ones and created lasting memories. Thank you for all who came out and made it an amazing caving day!

We are so proud of all our students on their teamwork and respect for one another. They all received bravery, peer support and leadership stickers.

Next week – We will be working on our inner Van Gogh with the natural elements. Art Attack Week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Krista

Build me a fire and I will make you a s’more!

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What another beautiful day we had this week at Forest School! This week our focus was all about fire. And what a fire packed day we had!

Some of our activities included visiting the Town of Blue Mountains Fire Station and discussing fire basics. Then with high anticipation our students had the chance to BUILD and LIGHT their own fires. Yes! You read that right. It was a great day for productive play, imagination and skill building.

Check out our photos below and you’ll see everything we did in just one day!

After observing our worms for two weeks we decided to release them into our compost area and our bug hotels.

In the morning we thought we would mix it up and say what we are thankful for during our smudging ceremony.

Freeplay is an activity that happens throughout our days and today we found a bunch of hunters trying to catch a dangerous Jaguar. Oh yeah, not everyone wanted to capture this animal. There were some who wanted to protect her. But not to worry…no animals were harmed.

Sit spots are moments where we reflect on our day. All aspects are covered from what we have learned, how things made us feel or just writing down our favourite part of the day. It is when the students take time for themselves while giving thanks to nature.

Thank you to the Fire Chief Prevention Officer Duncan Rydall for showing us around Station #1 today. We got to see and learn all about the trucks (the kids even got to sit in them). There were lots of questions answered and we shared our fire safety rules. What a great experience!

What are we holding in our hands you ask? Our kids started their fire knowledge by understanding what a fire needs to survive (heat, fuel and oxygen) along with different types of fuel (tinder, kindling and logs). It was then time to create our fire bundles that will help start our fires!

It was a great experience for our kids to light their fires with matches, lighters, flint and steel. Comfort zones were challenged today and now when it comes to fire we have braver students!

This task was challenging for some of our students. Creating a fire and lighting them was harder for some students but taught us great lessons. We learned what not to do, what natural material to use, where to build a fire, what we would do differently and what things we would keep the same. This is a skill we are going to build upon on a weekly basis.

Congratulations to our students who received the fire bead (3 in total), and 7 well deserved wisdom stickers!

NEXT WEEK: FIELD TRIP– We will exploring the natural rock formations of Metcalf Rock!

Things your child will need – extra clothes, winter hat and warm gloves.

Things we will provide – helmet, headlamp and harness.

Thanks for stopping by,

Krista

Bonus picture! Check out this worm.

From little seeds grow mighty trees

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Hello again!

This week our focus was on trees. Some of the different types that we discovered were Red Oak, Paper Birch, Sugar Maple and White Ash. This naturally led to a discussion as to what trees offer us and to our environment. The kids discovered that providing oxygen, syrup, paper, firewood and helping wildlife were just some of the amazing things they do.

We then used the buddy system and took turns blindfolding each other while leading one another to a special tree. The blindfolded kids had to learn all they could about the tree by hugging, smelling, and feeling it. After the investigation they were led back to the starting point and given the chance to hunt down that tree! All of our trees were found with a little help from the “Hot and Cold” game.

Then, with the help of our tree ID books the kids worked towards their teaching beads. Lots of fun facts were learned and everyone got to share information about their favorite trees. They even attempted to say the tree names in Latin.

The kids spent the afternoon creating their own personal totem poles. The meaning behind the Totem Pole varies but can be anything from celebrating cultural beliefs, or well-known legends and even artistic designs and notable events. Totems can include plants, animals, humans and even supernatural beings. We chose animals that represent our core values and put some paintings together to create our own story to share. Make sure you ask what animal your child picked!

We also gave out some important stickers today such as Love, Honesty, Humility and Bravery.

Did we mention we had time to make homemade applesauce? Well, we did! Students showed leadership and peer support throughout the process while reaping the tasty rewards after their hard work.

If you would like to make your own applesauce all you need is:

1 cup of water
4-8 apples (we used Macintosh)
¼ cup of Sugar
1 tsp of lemon juice
½ tsp of cinnamon

NEXT WEEK: We are going to work towards our Fire bead!

Thanks for stopping by; we will see you next week.

Krista

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

Having a Blast on the Beaver River!

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Hello again!

Today was a day was full of discovery, learning new skills, team building exercises and an abundance of wildlife to see. This included; birds, turtles, fish, crayfish, beavers, frogs, cows and Canadian Geese.

We were pleased to welcome our Collingwood Forest School for the paddling day as they were going to join us. Our adventure started just outside Epping where we headed out to a location called Flower Bridge. This is where we launched 4 canoes with an exciting 3.5km (or 1 hour paddle) that winded around a beautiful part of the Beaver River.

Before we got our “canoe on” the students took time to learn paddling strokes and river safety. It is great to see the ambition of one of our students Aaron who took the role of teacher, and showed their fellow students how to paddle while demonstrating how to hold their paddle. We know it is going to be a great day when a conversation like this happens:

Student #1 – “I can’t do this, it’s too hard!” (Frustrated about how to paddle)

Student #2 – “ Yes you can! All you have to do it believe you can and you can do it. Believe in yourself!”

Our Heathcote location is home to hundreds of Frogs and Toads, so it was fitting that our students took time to learn about their Number 1 resident. Our first activity was to discuss the life cycle of our favorite little guys! Our students were great at becoming frogs and some even became “super frogs” – You should ask your child what a super frog is! We even had a debate about Frogs verses Toads; the main question was could toads really give you warts? Answer is No, but they do give off a poison residue within their glands located right behind their eyes. Afterwards the students could not resist a good old frog catch and release.

Before our guests left to go back to Collingwood, we ventured back into the vegetable gardens to harvest; Celery, Lettuce and Zucchini. Did you know that they are 95% water? We also had a discussion about what other foods is 93% water; some examples are Eggplants, Cabbage, and Peppers. We let these vegetables sit in the color dyed water for a period of time and discuss their finding. The students came to the conclusion that the Zucchini soaked up the water the fastest, while the lettuce came in a close second. If you would like to do this at home all you need is:

1 clear cup
Food colouring
Any vegetable that requires mostly water

Today was an awesome day for beads! We gave away some very deserving NEW beads 1-Leadership bead, 1-Peer support bead, and 1-Teaching bead! Along with some well-deserved stickers to add to our students collection – Love, and Respect.

Next Week: We are going to be looking at Bugs! Some might say EW, but I think our students are going to love getting their hands dirty again!

We will see you next week, thank-you for stopping by : )

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

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