Forest schoolAt King square Community Nursery

HEY-Case study

Forest school at King Square Nursery Since September 2015 all of the children have benefitted from local trips to forest/ green areas. It started from a trip to St Johns woods. This was more of an induction to the forest and just to give the children a chance to explore the natural environment. The children loved having the chance to climb the trees and watch the leaves run down the stream.

This then got us thinking and researching about the benefits that forest school has on children, especially those with additional needs.

We then signed up for seasonal sessions at Barnsbury woods. These sessions were planned and supported by a forest ranger.

The sessions supported children in:

Naming the seasons Talking about the changes in the different seasons Naming and using all five senses Building on their confidence to explore the natural environment

We also noticed a huge amount of interest from our parents who came along and attended the sessions with their children.

Barnsbury woods has been one of our favourite visits as the location is near to the nursery. The use of public buses means that we can get there quickly, therefore the children still have enough energy to explore the woods. We also have been extending these forest experiences weekly at local parks such as King square. All activities are planned for and are based on the children’s interests and the seasonal changes.

The great success of Barnsbury woods led us to plan a trip for the whole nursery including the children from the 2 year provision (St Luke’s). Most of these parents had never visited

M’s Mum

“Both me and M really enjoyed the forest school. It taught me other things to do together when at

the park no matter what the weather!”

T’s Dad

“It was great for the children. It’s good that

we get to go each season and see how the forest

changes!”

Epping Forest before and some didn’t even know what it was. The response from some of our parents made it clear that they were not visiting the natural environment regularly. One of the parents asked, “Do we need to pay to go into Epping Forest,” and another asked, “Is it open all year round and what the opening times are”

We filled up 2 coaches of both children and adults to visit Epping Forest, we had planned the day around previous activities and observations of children’s interests and skills. We organized four different group activities for the day which included den making, treasure hunt, the use of cameras and a planned tour by the forest ranger.

The trip to Epping Forest was an adventure and learning curve for us all. As many of the parents had not been to a forest before, they came along with buggies and lots of bags! It really was like a day at the Grand National. Parents, prams and children sliding down hurdles of mud. The laughter broke the ice between the parents and they began to bond and work as a team. It was nice for all of our parents to get together, especially were our St Luke’s provision is not on the same site as King square.

We have noticed many benefits already from the forest trips that the children have attended. There has been an increase in the amount of physical exercise that the children have been doing both in the nursery and whilst out with their parents. It is also good for the children to be out in the fresh air and exploring the natural environment. The children have also become more in touch with nature and their surroundings. Families are making use of wild spaces and have been visiting these over the weekends and holidays. We have also asked parents to bring in the photos of their adventures to add to the children’s profile books.

The forest school experience has shown to be hugely beneficial for children with a range of emotional and developmental needs. This has become clear through the children’s behaviors and observations. There has been a calming effect on the children when exploring the natural environment. Rather than using classroom resources and equipment, children can use natural materials found in the woodland and enjoy activities such as collecting sticks and leaves, tying knots, making dens, handling tools, using twigs to write in the mud, climbing trees, jumping across stones and building fires. The children also had the amazing opportunities of looking at real skulls of dears and observing the droppings of the different animals.

Forest school has helped children to develop:

Their self-awareness

motivation

empathy

social skills

communication skills

independence

self-esteem and confidence

physical skills including the development of both gross and fine motor skills

Knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

Forest school therefore supports the EYFS curriculum and can be linked to other themes being covered in the nursery or at home. Parents and carers are always informed of what takes place at the forest, and are invited to join sessions to reinforce the positive experience for children. We have had a good response from many parents including dads!

When children really engage with Forest School they will take their experiences home to share with friends and family. We have already began to see this happen as families have been to visit their local woodlands more frequently.

We have extended this experiences within the nursery by creating a mud kitchen in the garden area. We feel that this is particularly important in the society we live in now. A lot of children now use IPads and computers and spend less time outside exploring. The current experience of the mud kitchen is showing increased self-confidence in the children and has shown a calming effect on some of our more active children. We have also noticed a change in the behaviour of these children.

We realize that free play in the natural environment is increasingly less available to young children, therefore these experiences are vital.

Some of the pros that the mud kitchen has added to our outdoor environment include:

Creative expression and invention (mud can become anything!)

Problem solving opportunities (e.g. how to make soup thin or thick, how to make mud meatballs stick together)

Cooperative play possibilities (e.g. let’s cook dinner, let’s have a restaurant, let’s feed the baby—you be the baby)

Stress reduction (being outdoors in nature helps children relax)

Building stronger immune systems (research indicates that some exposure to dirt helps build resistance to bad bacteria)

Growing affection for the stuff on our earth—soil, stones, sand, and growing plants (leading to care for our planet)

Activity: Building a birds nest

Aims and Links to HEY:

Showing care and concern for living things and the environmentWorking with others in a teamTalk and discuss the textures of the different objects that they have foundPlanning and making decisions on how to approach the task To show care and concern for living things (not to pick flowers or plants that are living) Thinking critically- to work out different ways to do thingsTo talk about living things and where they liveTo sort objects into categories

Resources:2 boxes to collect objects and sort them into the categories – soft and hard.Natural resources collected in the woods-Leaves, twigs, stones and plants.

What happened?

This activity followed on from the children’s interest as we had previously took them to king square park to collect natural objects. The children enjoyed collecting a selection of objects and discussing were the animals sleep. This was then discussed with the forest ranger at Barnsbury woods. The Forest ranger used this for our visit and incorporated it into her plans.The activity went well and the children were able to sort the objects into categories E.g. soft and hard. The children were very careful not to pick any objects that were still living. We also managed to get many of our parents involved especially some of our dads.Throughout the session adults discussed the properties of the objects with the children and added new vocabulary to their play. The forest ranger discussed how the birds make their nests and the resources that that they use.

After collecting the objects the children were put into groups to build their very own nests along with the parents. The children were very proud of what they had achieved and showed COEL when using different methods to make the nest stick together.

The children took their nests back to the nursery to put in the garden for the birds.

Activity: Den Making

Aims and Links to HEY:Working within a team Planning and designing their den Show an interest in different natural resourcesLooking at different ways to construct natural materialsKeep on trying- showing a can do attitude and continue to try if problems ariseMaintaining focus and showing satisfaction in meeting their goals.Testing their ideas and changing their strategy if needed.

Resources: Gardening gloves for both the children and adultsA selection of large twigs and small. Leaves to cover the den.

What happened?

The children enjoyed building dens in the playground and on trips to the park using ground sheets, pegs and a selection of materials. This time the children built a den from scratch using nothing but natural resources that they had collected in Epping forest.

The children worked in teams along with their parents to design and build their own dens. Every group had a great response to the task. The children chanting, “teamwork, teamwork!” as they carried logs over to their den. The children stayed focused for a long period of time and was proud of what they had achieved.

It was also lovely to see the parents working together as a team. It was a chance for everyone to get together and really bond!

Activity: Treasure hunt using camerasAims and Links to HEY:Talk about the changes in the winterHave confidence to explore their surroundingsFollowing instructionsWorking alongside othersTurn takingKnow how to operate simple ICT equipmentDescribe and discuss their findings

Resources:Treasure hunt picture list, children’s cameras and a selection of natural resources

What happened?

Last term the children and parents attended a seasonal class at Barnsbury woods were the forest ranger had asked them to find a variety of natural resources. The children thoroughly enjoyed this activity and showed high levels of engagement and involvement therefore we continued this activity in our local green space on a weekly basis. The items on the treasure list are adapted as the weather and seasons change.

To continue this further we decided to add technology to expand the children’s learning. We found that by using cameras in Epping forest, the children were more engaged and focused on what they were finding. The parents were given prompt sheets that had a list of questions/key words for them to use on the hunt. The children were encouraged to use all of their senses to describe the objects that they had found.

The children are now confident in using the cameras and have been using them in the garden and whilst on local trips. The toddler room staff also attended training on ‘me and my world’. One of the ideas from the day (The world through a pinhole), has been used to encourage the children to concentrate on the object in sight.

Childs voice

“I enjoyed doing the nest with lots

of sticks.” “I liked finding the sign that said look!”

“I found some snail shells.”

“I was getting up trees and putting in the

tray”

“I enjoyed making the nest.” “I found a hard

stick.”

“I got my wellies on but I didn’t find

mud.” “I found a bird.”