I am delighted to say that, just in the nick of time, we have received word from the Care Inspectorate that our registration has been approved. Our new term starts next Wednesday (August 21st) and we are so pleased to be able to welcome our children to Cambusbarron Village Nursery.
Day 3 of FL training began with learning to tie another knot – this time a clove hitch, a light hearted start to the day.
Forest School “teaching” aims to be student centred and we entered into a discussion of the different types of learners and how we, as FL student, are experiencing and engaging with the process of learning. Deeper discussion on learning theories and theorists and I was pleased to hear some new names as well as the well known traditional ones such as Piaget, Skinner and Froebel.
Our identification task today was wild flowers, a real favourite of mine and one which has a significant emotional connection to my dad. I loved searching around the woodland environment looking for spots of colour and was amazed to find so many when at first glance it had seemed that there were only some bluebells around. We spotted and identified garlic mustard, wood sorrel (we’ve been spotting that in our own woods for a few weeks now), wood anemones, dog violets, speedwell and red campions.
We used our knot skills to put up a shelter, my group took some time getting our shelter right. Our first attempt just didnt do what we all wanted it to. We learned some important skills in communication and teamwork getting to our final version – a simple but effective shelter for us to sit and relax.
As we headed back to lunch we took a quick time out visit to see the amethyst cave, a stunning below ground level box walled in amethysts. Quite stunning.
Our afternoon session was focussed on making in the woods with tools and clay. My group were the environmental police for the day, a pressured task so make sure all participants were working to make their items with careful thought on our impact on the woodland environment. This certainly made me reflect on how we treat our woodland. It’s a delicate balance trying to promote interest whilst also wanting to protect the environment. I’m not sure if we are getting that balance quite right just yet.
The first 3 days of training have been very enjoyable and certainly thought provoking. Reflecting on practice is always such a worthwhile experience and having time to do that almost a luxury. I’ve certainly come away with not only lots of homework but lots to think about.
Another beautiful day at Jupiter Artland began with repeating our getting to know you task, this time more light heartedly and, with relationships already more developed, in a more relaxed atmosphere.
We repeated our knot tying and I was pleased to be able to recall the processes from yesterday! The course leaders continually highlighting the teaching methods and skills used to link into how we will, in turn, use these with our learners. I particularly like the way the tasks are set up to support the learning process. I am conscious that, as a learner, I am anxious to get things right and not to fail. It is worthwhile recalling that these feeling of stress and anxiety may be present in those who are learning from me and that one of my tasks is to acknowledge these feelings and support my learners in their learning journey to make it a positive one.
Our first session in the forest was spent in a special spot of our choosing and with time there just to “be”. I chose to sit in an area of sunlight peeking through the trees and to listen to the bird song above. I was intrigued to hear so many different songs yet only to be able to spot one bird.
We made picture frames using knots learned earlier then used them to frame an area of ground and try to see how many mini beasts we could find in it. The number of tiny creatures living beneath the decomposing leaves was amazing, This led to an activity of assessing connectedness, how all aspects of nature impact on each other and how, as humans, we should interact with nature to minimise our impact.
A significant task was to conduct an initial risk assessment of the site. We looked at the individual layers of the woodland area, the ground level, the intermediate level, the shrub level and the canopy level. It is worth remembering that our learners in particular are so much smaller than us and that getting down to their level is important so that we can see risks from their perspective. Risk is subjective and we all have different interpretations of what is acceptable or not but we all agreed that risk is part of the learning experience and should not be removed.
We were asked to choose our 3 main reasons for why we believe in learning in nature. I chose *fun, *developing life-skills and *developing connections and respect for the natural environment. It was so hard to choose just 3!
We finished the day with some creative endeavours, I made a little munchkin man with a string vest and a caterpillar using my knot skills from earlier. It was great to see all of the other creations and admire their inventiveness.
The day finished with more reflections on the learning process and also on the necessity to evidence learning in paperwork. That is the daunting part and we all agreed that, while necessary, it is not the essence of why we are taking part in the experience – that being to develop our skills to improve experiences for our learners.
Today I began another learning journey, this time towards my Forest Leader Level 8 (Leader) qualification. Training couldn’t have begun on a more beautiful day to be outside in the stunning venue of Jupiter Artland. I’d never been there before and I have to say the day started stressfully as, despite being able to see the centre, I couldn’t find the way in! I arrived some 30 mins late – and slightly relieved to hear that others had had similar experience. The first day of any training is always challenging, in new surroundings and with new people. I became Jane the jumping jaguar joining a lynx, marmoset, monster, snake and other “animals” as we played the trying to remember everyone’s name game!
Being part of a new group is something that challenges me personally. I’m not a natural socialiser and meeting new people and going through the initial getting to know you conversations is something I find difficult and emotionally draining. At the same time however there is an excitement in wondering which, if any, of these new people I will gel with and make new friends with. Who are the people I will come to rely on throughout this new journey? For the purposes of getting to know one another I became Jane the jumping Jaguar and, believe me, Jane is not a natural jumping jaguar, that is way out of my comfort zone, but I hope that, introductions and Day 1 out of the way, we will soon get to know each other and connections and relationships will develop.
Reflecting back on day 1 at the end of the session my immediate thought was on the beauty of the day and surroundings. I am thankful to have had that experience and introduction to the course. As far as the course and learning it was good to put myself back in the position of being a learner, that is always grounding and humbling. One of the main reasons I love working outdoors with “my” children is that there is an equity of experiences. Often I am learning just as much as the children and I believe that makes the relationship between adult and child much stronger and reinforces the life long aspect of learning for children. There are always a lot of “I don’t know but lets see if we can find out” type of answers to questions and, while that at first may not sound very satisfying, on more reflection hopefully provides children with experiences which develop problem solving, patience, empathy, research skills and resilience.
One of the tasks we were given for Day 1 was to look at the 6 principles of the Forest School ethos and choose which resonated most for me personally. I chose the long term aspect of experiences, the continued and regular access to a natural space as my number 1 priority. For me it is the continuation of experience in all weathers and all seasons that brings the outdoor environment to life for children. It allows them to develop an understanding and appreciation of how things work together. I am immediately thinking of how our children are developing an understanding of the relationship between rainfall and the amount of water in the woods and how that impacts on the mud, the burn and also on the paths throughout the woodland. They have direct and relevant experiences of how the water erodes the paths and seen how paths can be build over pipes and drainage tubes to alleviate the erosion. Another direct and relevant experience is the necessity to be dressed appropriately for the conditions. No waterproofs mean you are more likely to get wet. Short sleeves and trousers reveal more skin which is more likely to get scratched or stung. Not enough layers mean it can be very cold in the winter. These experiences all contribute to children’s developing independence and resilience. Getting wet is not a disaster in the summer months but can be incredibly uncomfortable and even distressing in the colder winter months.
As far as activities on Day 1 we spent a short amount of time learning to tie 2 different knots, a simple knot and a figure of 8 knot. The figure of 8 knot was a new one to me and took some practice. We “played” a camera game
Our children were delighted to have another visit from Islay the flat coated retriever and her baby Bunny today. Everyone was amazed at how much Bunny has grown in just over 2 weeks. Her eyes are open and they are blue and now she can almost walk but she is still quite wobbly. She even has a little tooth. We took turns to hold her and stroke her very gently and learned that we had to be calm and quiet around her so as not to frighten her.
We received our company registration certificate from Companies House this morning.
