To think there should be more, many more, forest schools?

[Gincognito]

And to wonder why anyone wouldn't want to send their pre-school dc to one?

It just seems like such a fabulous idea - all that time out in nature, learning how to manage risk (eg setting boundaries, learning why you have to walk around the fire, not touch the fungi etc), developing motor skills, engaging in imaginative play...

Sorry, don't mind me. I'm just reading Last Child in the Woods .

Sounds fairly hideous to me, tbh. I wouldn't want my children shivering under a tarp when they could be warm inside. In fact I was shocked how many childcarses in Sydney made the children eat lunch outside. Alright on a nice day but not when the wind is blowing the rain all over them.

Gosh, I thought I was going to get in big trouble, but there is quite a backlash. I might also add, that those skills probably aren't particularly relevant to what dcs are going to need in their future life.

OK, how do they go to the loo? Sit to read a story? Wash their hands? Where do they eat if it's pelting with rain?

sorry - just really nosey about these

yeah I've never known anyone who didn't swear they were fab. Like any school, depends how it's done i suppose. We live out in the sticks and it all seems a bit de trop to me

I'm not sure I would want my child at a full time forest school, although I do agree the concept is wonderful. I certainly wouldn't have chosen the montessori for either of my children, it just wouldn't have suited them and it's really not as fantastic as it's made out to be. This is one area where more expensive really doesn't mean better.

I think there should be more access for conventional pre schools to have a week or two each term in a forest school setting. Unfortunatey near us there is only one site, which gets booked up many months in advance so pre schools are lucky to get a day a year. My pre school has done it a few times, once a year for the past few years, and they are always brilliant days. But I think in the same way that a child who never has access to a forest will miss out, so will a child who will never have access to a conventional setting.

IME children love being outdoors. As long as eventually they come in, dry off or cool down and relax a bit

My children don't. They loathe being outside when it is cold or rainy. Love it when it is nice.

Hmm, the one I have been ogling only runs sessions Feb-Oct, and they are half days. The idea has come from Scandinavia though, not the tropics. I suspect most children don't mind being out in all weathers.

Loos? I don't know. Is it that much hardship to use a potty in the woods? As long as they're not expected to use leaves to wipe.

Also, I believe early development of motor skills, the ability to assess and manage risk, to take responsibility for your own safety etc are important life skills. And there's a growing body of evidence as to the positive impact on BMI and mood.

Ninah - I don't think you're wrong when you say they're a bit de trop... If your kids have free, leisurely access to nature then this type of school would be redundant. But how many kids have that nowadays?

There are ways to meet every one of the early learning goals listed in the EYFS in a Forest school setting, but all the things you have mentined can be learned in a conventional setting too.

Any pre school that has access to forests and outdoor spaces should use them, but not all pre schools do. And those are likely to be the pre schools whose parents would have to do an unreasonable amount of travel to get to a forest.

Balance, and exposure to more than one type of environment is what children need, even when one type of environment is brilliant for children, it is not enough for growing minds and bodies on it's own.

There are forest school sessions held in wooded school grounds. The sessions are close enough to the schools so that the children can be escorted to the school toilets should the need arise. They can be accessed all year round, and only get missed when the weather is 'dangerous' (e.g. risk of falling braches in windy weather). Children are allowed to sit outside and will survive for a session without a story. The contents of the forest school sessions will be varied to suit the ages of the children attending.

I love the forest school sessions.

"Children are allowed to sit outside and will survive for a session without a story"

But surely in a forest school that's every session?

Children can have story time in a forest. They sit on rugs or on little logs.

Stealth - that's why I said 'forest school sessions', rather than 'forest school'. Some schools will have one session a week of forest school. This was what I was referring to.

I know but my questions were in relation to forest schools, as described in the OP.

Do they sit on rugs in the forst even if the forest floor is sodden?

Sorry to be picky, but I need to understand the details :o

Oh I see - sorry, I thought that was the point. I'm sure I have read another thread which implied the children spent all their time outside. Must have misundersttod

"forest schools involve the children travelling from their usual setting to have sessions in the woods"

in that case it does sound like a fantastic idea

The school my son is about to start has a forest school. They have a log circle and camp fire in the woods. The school my son is about to start has a forest school. They have a log circle and camp fire in the woods.

DD had the opportunity to go to one full time when we lived in Switzerland. We looked into it but decided it wasn't for her.
I understand there are a lot of tick issues there too.

My son attends a forest kindergarten.

The children are outdoors in most weathers but are dressed in Arctic snowsuits when it is cold or rain suits on wet days.
The children use tools to saw or cut wood then they make fires and cook on them. They are closely supervised and are encouraged to risk assess themselves.

The kindergarten has a kitchen/ dining area outside plus a wooden tent like structure with an open part in the roof for smoke. Wooden benches are set round the edge.

Those children who have attended the kindergarten then left to attend the local primary school have been described as being confident plus their writing is much more controlled (one theory is that the use of climbing etc has been beneficial to the motor movements).
They have also been described as holding better attention and a strong sense of responsibility.

I wish more urban children were able to attend but I also think that it would be beneficial for much older children and those with sen.

The schools I have seen in England, at least, seem to involve sessions rather than be immersive. I imagine that the EYFS has requirements that would make it impossible to be full time.

The one I read about in Scotland though (failed to find link again...perhaps it was in the Times?) was full time - weatherproof clothing and a tarp to keep the rain out were the order of the day. They used the local village hall if the weather was truly awful, but this was very infrequent, even in Scotland! So the kids must have been out in all sorts. And as Birds says, there are quite a few in Germany and Scandinavia.