This article from March 23, 2022 outlines not just why and how kids are better in nature but how you can do it and it doesn’t have to cost a million squid (hint: urban spaces are nature too.)
Find out how you can get Elements Forest and Garden School to give your child a great time while learning without learning… if you know what i mean…
Contact us on 07540075991 or email us at hello@elementsschool.net
Nature Deficit Disorder was coined as a term just over 10 years ago. It was the first time someone had done a study on just how not being out in nature was detrimental to our children.
It it now universally acknowledged and recognised that spending a lot of time outdoors – there is no upper limit really – has a positive effect on mental, physical and spiritual health.
Here is a recent news item on this. The clip is not playable but the article does describe the issue well.
Here are a few thoughts after ten years of Forest School… yes I started teaching Forest School in 2012…
Well, my thoughts… what always inspired me was the wish to have children understand and be connected with nature. Yes, true it was about how nature was great for children. How nature was important to us. How they are the future and therefore they are entrusted to nature. And from the very start to was always linked to the unseen beings, the invisible law of physics or pharies, you choose, that surrounded us. Always.
The most important thing though – along with working with all of nature – was bringing this joy, this constancy of love. If the activities were overprescribed and joyless, then it would defeat the purpose.
So Forest School would always be a place of learning, yes, but also magic and play…
Fast forward ten years… that’s ten years of being a Waldorf teacher, ten years of Forest School, two years of Covid, two years of starting our own social enterprise… and here we are…
Here are the top 5 things I have learnt as an outdoor teaching practitioner:
It has been a wonderful 10 years and with any luck there will be another 10 to go! Thank you everyone who has helped along the way.
We have had a return to Forest School After School at the Holywood Steiner School where we focused on foraging and rope… we made a rope ladder, had fun in hammocks, foraged the abundant greens and cooked pasta and rice over the fire… and of course had several games of hunt!
Well, yes it is true, we have been absent online – there is no excuse, but we have been very very busy…
First there was the Easter Scheme which saw three days of wonderfully warm weather and sadly due to my phone being on its last legs, I was unable to take photos of the wonderful time we had. From playing in the river once more to lounging on hammocks and even getting ‘lost’ during our walk there was just so much to do!
After that we worked with the Fostering Network over four Saturdays – Helen’s Bay was home to Wild About Learning – an outdoor classroom where we harvested mud, drew and IDed trees and foraged the tender spring greens.
As you can see we were only allowed to take the set up photos but here are some quotes from the children…
1 What mark would you give the ‘Wild About Learning’ programme out of 10?
Yes (7)
– tell me one thing you really enjoyed and why.
River walk – I like playing in water (3)
Making new friends – I like meeting new people (1)
Starting a campfire – I always wanted to learn to do this (1)
Building a hammock – I liked to swing in it by myself (1)
Cooking marsh mallows – like love eating them (1
Cooking on a campfire (2)
Starting a campfire (4)
Learning about leaves (1)
That you can eat some leaves (3)
Learning about bugs (1)
How to cook on a campfire (1)
How to build a den (1)
How to make things from river mud (1)
Yes (7)
We worked together and listened to others.
– Did you like being part of a team? Yes or No?
Yes (7)
– Did you make new friends? Yes or No?
Yes (7)
Yes (7)
Yes (7)
Yes (7)
Well really you couldn’t ask for more could you?
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén