Forest School Inset at Free Rangers

Never one to rest on our laurels and always looking to improve, the Free Rangers Staff team met up on Saturday 20th July for an Inset morning. We were promised cake and marshmallows cooked over the fires that we were to light so there was an incentive for the early morning start! The morning started with us all playing an “ice breaker game” in which staff were positioned in a circle and given something in their hands. Without looking and using only their sense of touch they had to find their partner in the circle who had the same item as themselves. Once their partner was located they were asked to talk about what they are most proud in their lives; it could be a personal achievement or a family member or a combination of a number of things. Staff were then invited to share this with the whole group. This was an emotional half hour when we all listened intently as people generously shared private feelings and personal triumphs.

We then progressed onto collecting sticks of similar size and learnt how to tie them together and make a star. Whilst doing this and lending a hand to one another, we chatted about what Free Rangers means to us on a personal level and shared ideas about our vision for Free Rangers in the future.

Ideas expressed in no particular order included:

• Open an Infant School, Primary School, Secondary School, University (all with a forest school ethos)
• Open another Free Rangers Nursery around the Bath area
• Have a sensory room on site
• Have a flower meadow on site
• Expand the pond area
• Forge links with other nurseries both on a local, national and international level
• Develop a building just for the under two’s
• Further improve the provision for the under two’s outside
• Increased opportunities for Continued Professional Development

Everyone has ideas about how they see the nursery developing whether it is on the current site or elsewhere. We actively encourage all parents past and present to share their ideas in the comments box following this blog post. What would you like to see at Free Rangers, how can we seek to improve out practice further? Is making the car park floor puddle free a priority over investing in more outdoor resources for the children? What do you think?

Following a short break we split into groups and went to different areas in the paddock area. We came up with a list of the perceived risks in our allocated area. This provoked numerous discussions on what is a risk? How can we minimize risks? One overall conclusion we all agreed on is that there are so many “benefits to risk” and by taking them all away would hugely reduce the learning experiences and opportunities we provide for the children. A bit of good old common sense is of course required!

We headed down to the woods and foraged for firewood to make our own fires. We reminded ourselves of the fire triangle and the importance of fire safety and under the watchful eye of Ed Harding we all accomplished lighting our own fire. It was clear to see from the faces of the group that I was in that we all felt a sense of accomplishment seeing our fires burning brightly ready for some serious marshmallow cooking. It reminded us of how the children feel when they achieve something. You that that warm glow feeling, that “ Sense of Chuffedness!”

A couple of days later and having had an opportunity to reflect on the morning some things are very apparent and already known but there is no harm in putting it in writing from time to time:

• We are all very passionate about children.
• We care deeply about finding the best ways to meet the needs of each and every child that passes through the Free Rangers doors.
• The Free Rangers staff is a special group of individuals.
• We are all looking to learn and improve all the time.

Saturday was at the very least an opportunity for us to talk to one another without the distractions of a working day. It was an opportunity to catch up on one another lives and to say those important words,

“Thank You Free Rangers Staff we are very lucky to have you."

Onwards an upwards we all go, seeking to enhance the opportunities of those little Free Rangers.

Jayne

Alfresco Cooking - Feeding their Curiosity

I don't know about you but my fondest memories of Nursery were eating. Especially the fruit and a carton of ice cold milk at snack time. Nothing changes, I still look forward to snack and lunchtime at Free Rangers! (A Forest School Leader marches on his stomach as Napoleon once said). So this week, we tried something new on Forest School and extended last week's den planning around the book Mama Panya's Pancakes. The end of the week saw the children mixing the batter inside, and a second group making the fire ready to cook on. It went really well and so I felt that it should repeated and extended to allow the children to do all of it outside as well the cooking so they are involved in all parts of the process. There was some excellent learning going on throughout. The main objective for this week was to draw upon the knowledge of the previous fire sessions to help reinforce their learning and bring it into a new context. This involved the children actually building the fire and one lucky child lighting it. Throughout I would purposefully do things in the wrong order, and most of the children switched on to the idea. One bright spark (pun intended), when I tried to light the fire by rubbing two logs together shouted, "You're not doing it right, rub the logs harder otherwise they wont heat up!" He's not far wrong, although I did want him to say, "try using a fire steel!" Many of the children could mimic the action of the fire steel, and name the different parts of the fire although there was still a little confusion on why the tinder had to go underneath the kindling, as they argued that it would be easier to light if it sat on top. Not a bad argument. Once the fire was lit, we made the batter, introducing new pieces of equipment, like the ladle, whisk and spatula. Once mixed the children poured the batter into the frying pan and watched as it sizzled in the butter, and we discussed how the heat made the batter change from a liquid to a solid(ish) state before flipping them. Then the best part. Eating them! I haven't seen food disappear so quickly before! Whilst I cooked a quick second batch, the children settled down around the fire to listen to another rendition the Story of Mama Panya and her pancakes, whilst soaking up a little more of the glorious sunshine.

Detailed in the back of the Mama Panya's book is the recipe for pancakes which we used as the basis for the our own. However, Mama Panya added some pretty hardcore spices which I felt wouldn't go down too well. Our ingredients list transformed from white, flat, plain pancakes to some fluffy thick healthy options with a little help from Val and her magic ingredients! Here's the final ingredient list of what went into ours, so you can try at home! It's egg and nut free (check your flour), and you could quite easily substitute the dairy based milk for coconut/almond milk or even water if necessary:

• 1 cup of self raising wholemeal flour (we used Doves as it's organic, nut free and unbleached),
• 1 cup of organic goats/cows milk,
• a large pinch of salt,
• 2 tablespoons of Rapadura (A healthier sugar option) or you could use honey,
• A few knobs of organic butter to cook it in.

(You'll also need a fire, a trivet and a good quality seasoned frying pan if you fancy trying this outside just like Mama Panya does!)

I was really pleased with how the week went. The children have really enjoyed the processes of the cooking, and have excelled themselves in their understanding and recall of the fire sessions. Next time I think we'll try adding a little cinnamon to provide a little gentle spice. I'm hoping your children have talked about it at home, and if they haven't then do ask them! We'd also love to hear if you've tried making some, or any little personal touches you make to the recipe!

Happy cooking! (and eating...bring some in for Red Fox!)

R.Fox

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Fire Lighting Continued - Peer Learning

As a Forest School Leader, there is no greater moment when a child has that Eureka! moment. That little click, when they realise what they're doing is getting results, or the fog of confusion lifts gives way to the clarity of understanding, offering that warm fuzzy feeling of self-worth. We continued with lighting fires this week, as we explored the construction and lighting in greater detail and reinforced the learning we had done on the previous weeks keywords and understanding. One particular boy, who struggles with his concentration and is a particularly kinaesthetic learner had struggled last week to get the fire steel to spark. With that he quite quickly lost interest and would then navigate towards doing his own thing, whether this was going off to explore or play, anything other than coming back to try and overcome his lack of confidence with the steels and construction of the fire.

For a child of 3 or 4, fire steels like these Swedish scout editions of the Army issue model, are not easy to use (although I have found them to be the best of the ones available, and i've been through many different types!), but once you get the knack, you can light a fire on a first strike. The majority of children can get a small spark to fire but need a little assistance to produce enough of a shower to light the tinder (cotton wool) and later the kindling (thin twigs that rest on top). This week, this particular boy cracked it. His technique was very good and from that moment on, opened the door to the rest of the knowledge on offer. He soaked it up like a sponge, so much so that for the last session he wanted to show the children how to do it and even went to the extent of correcting his fellow Forest Schoolers technique such as where the thumbs should be and the angle of the steel on the ferrous rod. There was even a point where I saw him trying to sneak some kindling and tinder into his pocket so he could try at home. I had to reinforce the safety talk at this point...

Peer learning can be an accessible and reciprocal way for learning to happen more naturally between children. For example, on one hand you have the child doing the 'teaching', or as Vygtoksy saw as the 'MKO' (More Knowledgeable Other), who gains a tremendous boost in their own self esteem and worth being able to support their peers development. On the other you have the tutee, who as Vygotsky's studies suggest can access and question more comfortably with a peer over say an adult leader and can extend and strengthen learning on a much deeper level, as well as reinforce social relationships as well.

As Punch and Judy once said: "That's the way to do it..."

Enjoy the sun.

Red Fox

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Saving Species...It's Kid's Stuff

Kid A nets a Great Diving Beetle larva while down at the pond, “Vince, omnivore, carnivore or herbivore?” It’s not only about tadpoles at Free Rangers. Our rickety trolley doubles up as the mobile outdoor lab. We load up with nets, magnifiers, pooters, pots, trays, brushes and field guides, and set forth on a bimble of discovery. First stop reptile refuge, which is a piece of heat absorbing roof felt. We approach in stealth mode, senses on full alert, I open the refuge...slow worm, toads, ground beetles, grass snake, wolf spiders, dart this way and that. Under a piece of old roof felt can lie a veritable nature reserve. On the way to the pond we swish nets through the long grass and check under stones logs for life.

In the far paddock lies the pond. After we’ve had a quick refresh on pond rules, it’s nets out and cat litter tray (minus cat) filled with water and on our bellies for a rummage in the pond. It’s not long before a Hawker Dragonfly larva is netted. Eventually this creature will become a magnificent, colourful flying machine, but for now it draws water in through its bum then fires it out to jet propel itself through the water. How cool is that. Try it in the bath. The pond has an overwhelming abundance of wildlife . Animals that run and fly off are super but a net full of life at the pond becomes a three year old’s gold to share with friends.

Contextual learning is the key here. Questions pour out when the subject is in the here and now, as in the palm of my hand actually. What is the difference between a frog and a toad, or between a snake and a slow worm? Is it a warm or a cold bloodied creature and what are they all doing here? What do they eat? These questions can ignite a lifelong passion for the wonders of natural world. Realising that we share this planet not only with incredible creatures from far flung places, but also with a back garden full of amazing wildlife on our door step is important.

Why is all this important? From a learning perspective firing up curiosity, questioning why X does this, behaves in that way and has adapted like that and Z like this is field science, fun science. Shapes, colours, forms are everywhere you look in nature. Numbers even get a look in when finding ladybirds and counting the spots on their wing cases.

Why is this important? You’d have to be living under a rock or in a log pile not to have heard about the decline in wildlife. Whose going to keep our countryside green and buzzing? Our children. They will face greater ecological challenges as adults than us. Nurturing a sense of awe, wonder and fascination of nature leads to a desire to protect what is precious to us. That’s the nuts and bolts of conservation.

What can you do? Go dig a pond in a sunny spot in your garden, watch it become colonised, and leave the gold fish at the pet shop if you like newts, frogs, dragonflies, diving beetles, water boatmen and more. Lay a piece of roof felt where the sun shines. Build a habitat pile and have areas of ‘scruffydom’ in your garden. That’s a start.

If you’d like to more about gardening for wildlife, come find me at Free Rangers. I’ll do my best to advise and encourage.

Oh, the answer to Kid A’s question: Carnivore. They catch prey in their large jaws then inject enzymes into the body. These enzymes dissolve the victim’s internal organs which are then sucked into the diving beetle larva’s mouth.

Happy non-gardening

Vince.

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The Spark of Inspiration

Fire lighting has been the focus of Forest School this week at Free Rangers. After the mixed bag of activities I tried last week it was evident the children had a real interest in it, and my observations proved to be correct! Fire lighting is a really intriguing subject to explore with children. I was lucky enough to have an open fire at home growing up and often lit the bonfire as well so it’s great to be able to share these experiences but also further their learning as well. Whilst some children are fascinated by this primordial practice and have already garnered a basic knowledge, others come to this completely fresh. Either way, they are always fascinated by it. I start the session by talking around the subject to see what the children already know. It’s very paramount for me to dispel any myths the children have about fire; it’s important for them to be responsible and safe near fires, but I don’t wish them to feel they can’t come and sit around it. A healthy respect is a good thing.

Next the basics. Why we need fires? What we use them for? How do we make them? We talk about uses for them: for warmth, for cooking, for light, for signals etc, and then look at what a fire needs. Children can tell when they spot a fire, they recognise what it is, but often struggle to understand what is happening. I liken fires to ourselves as it makes it a little easier for the children to comprehend the mechanics. Usually I will build a small fire in the fire pit whilst this is happening, so that our visual and auditory learners are catered for, and the kinesthetic learners help with the building. Fires need 3 things. (Do you know? Answers on a postcard please) They need fuel and air just like we do. The children have snack before they start their session so that’s their ‘fuel’ and they are using air just like fire does too. However as humans we usually don’t need a method of ignition (perhaps an espresso in the morning for some) so that’s usually where the analogy stops. We look at different ways of lighting fires, what fuels are best, and always stress about safety with matches/lighters, especially if they find some at home. We usually work with fire steels which are simply a rod of ferrocerium with a steel striker attached. When struck, they produce very short-lived, very hot sparks we use to light our tinder bundles, which in our case is cotton wool balls. I show them how to fluff up the cotton first as it’s easier to light and show them how to use the steels. Then it’s their go.

These are not easy things to get to grips with, but some children really grasped the technique and showed some real perseverance to light their tinder. Other needed a little help and for me to hold their hands whilst striking. Some were distracted by the inbuilt whistle in the strikers. Whichever way they managed, their faces still lit up with glee when it finally glows and burns. The language the children used to describe what they were seeing was also marvelous. I ask them to tell me what they sense, which allows me to bring in keywords like ember, smoke, charcoal etc. Once they have had a few attempts we introduce kindling and the next challenge for them is to see if they can pass the heat energy from the tinder to the kindling so as to begin their understanding of how heat travels and essentially the way fires generally work. This by no means a one week activity so we will repeating it in the next few weeks so as to continue their learning.

Hope you have all enjoyed your weekends. Thanks for reading!

R. Fox

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A New Hope

A long time ago in a nursery, not too far away...It’s okay, that’s where the Star Wars analogy goes with this post I promise! This week heralded a new era at Free Rangers with the development of the allotments into our new assault course. A lot of planning and good fortune has gone into this so far and I for one am glad that we’ve begun to get the logs rolling. It has and continues to be an interesting process, one in which the children and staff have played a significant roll. Our original timber trail, which we considered at the time to be quite challenging for the majority of the children, has been conquered so many times the older children especially don't see the challenge in it anymore. Despite this, they continue to play on it; it's good to see them adopt different ways of playing and moving across it to keep it interesting. Now they have overcome any possible fear traversing the different parts by themselves, they feel a power over it. There is a great sense of completion, satisfaction and confidence noticeable in the children when they get to the end, sometimes relief they made it without the “troll” rearing his ugly head from under the bridge as they 'trip-trap' over.

As I mentioned earlier, the planning stage required lots of ongoing research, and discussions with the staff and children for ideas. The children were actually very helpful in deciding on what things they like. Evaluations and observations from watching them play in the garden, paddock and woodland also helped in this and I hope this will go someway to giving them a sense of ownership over the project. We have also had to keep in mind some of the needs of our children who have issues with their sight and perception; this will play a major role in how we build the adjoining sections to each “station” of the course. Most ideas required either a lot of money, or a lot of time so we've done well to keep to design and keep costs down. We also required a lot of wood! Which by a stroke of luck, happened to turn up from the Duchy of Cornwall to be stored on site. You may have seen the huge pile of Oak tree trunks in the car park! We asked VERY nicely and were allowed to help ourselves or at least that's what I heard...

So this week was stage 1: The Heavy Work. So heavy we hired a “man who can” to come in with his tractor to help in our endeavours. In an hour we had already cleared the space ready to work on and by the end of the day had placed several log piles, 3 uprights (known as the eponymous 'Sisters') and paved the way for the next stage. The children very much enjoyed seeing the tractor in action as you can well imagine.

On Friday, we let the children visit the site, purely out curiosity to see how they played in the space as it was, and to gather their first impressions and responses. This highlighted several things:

• The first thing the children did? Run around! Because of the space we had created, they instinctively ran through it. Before the alterations in the existing paddock, much of it was overgrown as were the paths and although mown every week, most would amble or jog through. Some more courageous would plough across and through the grasses and tussocks but there was no space for them to just run where they wanted as opposed being confined to the paths. It's great to have the jungle of overgrowth for them to explore in but we lacked the space to really move.

• Children are like Robins. Any upturned or turned over soil and they're like bees to the honey pot. Give a child some soil and they'll be content for a while. Add a spade into the mix and they're sorted for hours!

• Children love to climb higher! I was very pleased to see the children utilise the wood piles. Being the size they are, they love to gain a little height and see the world from lofty footings. This is exactly why we put the piles of wood into place. One of the sisters (let's call her Venus) is a rather wonderful innately climbable piece of natural art. Some tried with assistance to climb her but we came to conclusion that climbing grips are in order!

• The creative aspect: dinosaurs are a pretty big deal in the nursery at the moment, as are knights, so this we hope will feed into the design aspect of the rest of the assault course. Dinosaur Knights! No, perhaps not...

My 'New Hope' for this development is that our children push themselves to conquer this larger challenge, (which in turn prompts us to build another fully operational battle station for the Empire! Sorry, I know I promised). I've noted before the benefits of such play in previous posts, as it boosts stamina, confidence and self worth, not to mention all the creative story making and role play that it could generate. I'd love to tell you what the next stage of the development is going to look like but that's between me and the kids. You'll just have to wait!

Here's wishing a super Father's day today to all our hard working Dad's at Free Rangers, and look forward to seeing you all next week.

R. Fox

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An Assorted Bag

This week as the name suggests has been something of mixed bag of Forest School activities. The children have been offered a variety to get stuck into, the most popular being the erection of our new temporary shelter in the garden, and the basic fire lighting we trialled this week. During the shelter building at the start of the week the children helped in a manner of different ways. Once the hazel poles had been square lashed together, the children enjoyed hoisting the a-frames up into place whilst others had a go making some pegs. A folding saw and axe were used to create them, and the children helped with each peg in turn, and we ended up with a few extras for good measure. (You can never have enough pegs!) This is a great activity for the children to get involved in, and the level of responsibility from even the most boisterous and kinaesthetically driven of children is often quite surprising. Once pegs were made, children then hammered them in with a homemade mallet as well! Instant(ish) shade in the garden for stories and a rest from the rigours of being a child!

Fire lighting is an activity I haven’t done with the children for some time, although they have had the continued experience of being around fires on our Forest School sessions, such as during half term when the children on Friday visited us at Otter Brook Wood to enjoy the dappled sunshine and a few complimentary marshmallows over the fire. For me fire evokes an incredibly strong innate elemental feeling when you light your first fire, however big or small. It provides a huge sense of achievement, as well as empowerment over one of the most destructive elements at our disposal. To begin we discuss any previous knowledge the children have about fire. Many pick up concepts from home, television or books, some of it correct, some of it they interpret as something else, or lack the vernacular to describe it. Most will tell you it’s hot, that they shouldn’t touch it or that’s it’s a complicated exothermic process of combustion involving chemical and heat energy transfers, where a fuel is quickly oxidised resulting in heat, light and smoke byproducts. Ok the last one is a lie, but most children share the same idea. Then we discuss what a fire needs, likening it to us humans in that we need fuel/food and oxygen to work - although most of us don’t need a fire steel! I introduce the aforementioned method of ignition and instantly catch their attention with the resulting shower of 3000 degree (Fahrenheit) sparks they emit when struck. They ready their tinder, which in our case is cotton wool balls which they fluff to an inch of it’s life, before having a few practice strikes always pointing the steel towards the ground. I don’t expect the children to be able to achieve a successful spark as it takes some practice and I will usually assist them, but the instant smile when they first create a spark never gets old. These are then directed onto the cotton wool and hey presto! Fire.

As the weather was so glorious this week, the children have also had plenty of play-hours out in the rapidly growing grass of the paddock to give our nursery garden a break, as well as pitting their balance and courage on the timber assault course. As an adult, I sometimes take for granted how small our children are until they walk into some 4 foot high grass and disappear. This was lovely to witness. Children wandering off into the grass, the only sign of them being their giggles as they create their winding paths and games through the ‘forest’ and pounce on each other from their hiding spots. This was duly noted as an enjoyable activity and one I expect will crop up in a future Forest School plan.

All in all, not a bad week to be Forest School leader, one that has provided lots of ideas for planning, as well as a suitably glowing t-shirt tan. Long may the sun shine.

Enjoy the weekend, and see you all next time.

R. Fox

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Half Term Forest School Club 2013

Another Half Term over and what a week of extremes. We started with unrelenting rain on the Tuesday and ended the week with glorious sunshine. But despite the wet start, the children came and conquered, leaving with muddy knees (or on Tuesday muddy everything!), crafted objects and treasures in pockets, and a wholesome sense of achievement from the day.

The usual staples of our Forest School sessions were available as well as a few new extra activities for the children to get stuck into. Fire lighting, whittling, den and shelter building and river exploration were all on the menu along with some May whistles carved from some young sycamore branches. We also put our hands to boat/raft making, learning how to safely use an axe (splitting and carving) and different types of saw, freetime in the woods to explore, as well as two rather splendid mud slopes.

It never ceases to amaze how children can effortlessly create and play in our natural spaces. We always plan plenty for the children to do, most of which they will complete but many will create exploratory stories and games outside of our planning; these are usually “child only” and we adults are rarely privy to them, so it’s a privilege to be part of it. Sometimes they need to be policed as we have a mix of ages and abilities attend. Our general rule of thumb is if everyone is enjoying the game then it can continue. As soon as someone stops enjoying it, we either think of way to better it for inclusion or it stops. Simple and effective. Much of what we do as Forest School leaders is of a facilitating role. Yes, we ‘teach’ in a sense when it comes to how and why we for example use a knife, but much of what we do is aid in the children’s own exploration and learning, helping expand and further their time with us in the woods, and hopefully when they get home as well.

On Friday as well we were visited by some of the Pre-School children from the Nursery who came down at exactly the same time as we were about to have marshmallows. Far too convenient for my liking. 

As a review process we ask the children what they thought of the day, what activities they enjoyed the most. One child reversed the question and asked me. My answer? Watching the children walk down to Otter Brook woods in their individual groups, but travelling back as one cohesive entity, new friendships formed through their time in the woods. Overall I was really impressed with the children. We have had several new explorers start and their existing knowledge and thirst to know more was really fantastic. We hope to see them again. Our veterans have also been excellent and it was nice to see some old faces from long ago! We’ve already had some great feedback from parents on how we’ve done but we’d love to hear more! Do get in touch.

Lovely stuff. Until next time...

R. Fox

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Row Your Boat

Forest School this week revolved around the creation of the long awaited boats, and so bore witness to many successful maiden voyages! The children were put to task to create some brook/pond-faring vessels worthy of any captain; Pirate and Fishermen alike. Tools have been the main focus of the sessions, as well as the children building on the understanding of last week's floating and sinking. We began with a recap from the previous Forest School session, and discussed what material and shape the Forest Schoolers thought would be best. Then we briefed the children on what they were going to be doing! I had trouble keeping bottoms on seats at this point. Firstly they had to saw two rounds of homegrown coppiced Hazel from the Free Rangers site for the main body of the boats and the counterweight on the bottom. Next followed the drilling of holes for the kebab stick mast. We found that the kebab stick was half a millimeter too large so we had to pack the holes with twine, but this added to their development of fine motor skills! Once the masts had been pushed through the holes, they found themselves a suitable leaf sail, trimmed the masts (we also found the masts to be too long kept as they were) with the pruning shears, and finally set sail for either the brook or the pond, whichever time allowed. Before sailing, I asked the children to name their boats. After all a boat without a name is bad luck! Most children decided they would name it after themselves (And why not the queen does it all the time!) A few thought outside the box had christened their rafts with some rather lovely and humorous names. A few to note: Sweet Lemon, Dock Leaf, Sail, Hot Dog, Speed Flag, Rainbow Unicorn and my favourite: RedFox. There was no prompting on the latter I might add.

Whenever tools are used on Forest School I ensure the children can name and safely use the tool(s) in question; this week our old trusty full size Bow Saw, a hand drill as well as electric drill, a vice and a pair of pruning shears. I ask if the children can tell me where the dangerous parts are and how we handle and move them safely looking at where our hands and bodies should be - both for the user and onlooker. It's important to promote a respect for the tools whilst they are being used. Yes it's a tool meant to be used and handled, but I want the children to actively think about how and when it is best to use them as this will keep the children safe and teach them about maintaining tools as well. Similarly, it’s also important to gauge an emotional response towards tools. Before starting I ask the if the children are happy to use tools; I don’t want to force a child to participate and create a negative association with it. By promoting a positive working relationship, we can encourage children to further develop and progress themselves not just for their motor skills and dexterity, but also expressively and creatively as well. By reinforcing these procedures and questions each week or whenever tools are used, it starts to become second nature and part of the children’s management of risk. Slowly this behaviour is modelled around the nursery, whether this during Forest School, something the children are saying to each other, or modelled through their play.

At the end of the week, I felt the activity had been very successful, due to the children’s confident and cooperative use of tools, especially in respect to our new arrivals. Similarly their recall from last week was strong, as well as their ability to problem solve after their boats capsized as the brook certainly is a cruel mistress! When boating comes round again, I think giving the children a choice of materials in which to make their boats as opposed to a set design and material would be better so they can experiment with different mediums. It would also be a more natural follow up from last week too. I was reluctant about trying that this week due to the time restraints of the session but in hindsight I feel I was taking too much of the creativity of the session away, and focussed more on the tool use. Something to develop further.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this post, and the photos below. Also should any of our lovely parents want to come along to a Forest School session during the day to find out more about what your children get up to, you are more than welcome

Have a splendid Bank Holiday weekend!

R. Fox

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Sink or Swim

What a wonderful week! We finally got round to my planned Forest School session that was somewhat hastily aborted last week. The children were all very excited to venture to this new unexplored place, it was hard to keep them from doing a runner on the way to Brook! This week’s Forest School has revolved around the children experimenting with materials, testing to see which ones would be the best for making boats which is next week’s activity.  The sessions ran as per normal - a walk down to a spot near the Brook, tucking into our delicious snacks and drinks (thanks to Val), discussing our Forest School rules then another short walk down to our little watery idyll. Although we had some mixed weather this week, when the sun shone, the dappled light reflecting on the ripples and the gentle sound of the water trickling over the stones made for a very tranquil scene...well until we arrived and started throwing stuff and generally having a whale of a time! (no pun intended - whales are salt water denizens only! Come on, keep up.)

Also this week there has been an increased focus on the Early Learning Goal of ‘Health and Self-Care’ especially getting the children to ready themselves. I can put my hands up and say on occasion I am guilty of completely changing the children in their waterproofs and wellies for speed so we can get them outside and maximise their time. However there has been more of an effort in pushing the children to put on their own waterproofs coats and wellies. Some do it anyway, but others need a little prompting and direction which is fine. It all takes practice.

Once down at the brook, the children armed themselves with a variety of different materials and one by one we examined them, thinking about what they were made of, what they looked like, and how the felt before they chucked them in the Brook. Some of the materials included plastic balls which the children enjoyed racing, plastic bottles that we filled with water and also floated empty, metal bowls and shells to mimic a boat’s structure, which we also filled with water to test it’s buoyancy, as well as wood of different sizes to challenge their conceptions of weight in water. Once I was happy the children’s understanding, I then let them experiment with their own materials lying on the bank or shore.

I was really pleased with the understanding across the week and levels of spontaneous discussion that surrounded the subject when testing their own materials, mostly leaves, stones and clumps of mud. The wider learning the occurred was also fantastic. When the children had had their fill of throwing things and soaking the adults and themselves in the expected splashes, some decided a little exploration was in order. Some went fishing, others searched for treasure in the water (mostly pottery, but one girl found a beautiful chipped marble), whilst another group did some serious discussion around a rather large single dog footprint on the shore. The discussion around this conversation is worthy of a blog post by itself, but two of the best descriptions I heard of its origin included: Water Bears (very common around the Midsomer Norton area so a possibility), and another boy decided it must belong to a tree, who had decided to move house. Fair enough.

Another wonderful week dusted off. Here’s to the weekend!

R. Fox

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Smiles Don't Lie

So last week went rather differently than first planned! I had originally wanted the children to go down to the Brook to begin a series of sessions exploring water, starting with the buoyancy of materials (the following week the children were going to be crafting some boats to sail especially as a favourite activity en route to the woods is Poohsticks!) However, time restraints meant going off site wasn’t an option, as well as Monday’s children missing out due to the Bank Holiday. So this week, we continued with the slackline and an activity we tried briefly last week. As you may know if you have read either of the previous Forest School blog posts, the children have been carving new versions of themselves upon the Slackline, and this week was no exception. What started out as a simple exercise in ad hoc planning turned into something much more. Like last week, children really impressed me with their capability to push their comfort zones, as well as shattering some assumptions I had made.

We strung a lone 15m slackline (minus the ratchet), over a well positioned branch and securely attached one end to a heavy seat around our Fire Pit. Children took it in turns to walk up the softplay steps and clamber into the looped seat. Once the child was completely comfortable, and only then, did we start. Some opted to swing (and it was a good distance to swing too!), whilst others wanted to experience some height and were hoisted up until they shouted stop! They were always in control. Some stayed on for a long time, others felt it wasn’t for them and asked to get down. I continually checked to see how they were doing, reading their facial expressions, checked their seating position and where their hands were as well as asking whether they wanted to stop, go faster or higher, or if they were happy to just gently swing in the breeze.

Looking at this activity in development terms there was a lot happening. It was incredibly thrilling for the majority who had a go, and was simultaneously a great chance to develop their language. They decided how ‘high’ they wanted to go and how ‘fast’ with many wanting to go ‘higher and faster’ than the child before, as well as exploring the space around them as they travelled "forwards and backwards" mirroring our language work with tools. Others wanted to start a ‘little bit slow’, building up their confidence to go faster. They explored their height in relation to points of reference around them: the tall trees, houses, birds, as well their humble Forest School leader below, frantically trying to keep up with their demands (such a terrible job!). So they developed comparative language as they swung: “I’m flying like a bird!”, “I want to go taller than the trees", “Look how far i’m going!” or (my favourite) "I'm swinging like Spiderman!"

A child's smile doesn’t lie...

I was pleased so many tried or overcame fears, but there were obviously some who didn’t want to have a go. And that was absolutely fine. We gave them multiple chances to have a go and used encouraging language and voices, but never forced them on. This would have the completely wrong effect, not only reinforcing why they didn’t want to go on in the first place but also their trust and faith in the adults around them; something which is key to Forest School in my opinion. Developing strong and trusting relationships with children throughout the Early Years is crucial, as is developing each child holistically: in my experience the probability of a child trying a new activity or pushing themselves to overcome a problem (or seeing that problem as a challenge instead) is much greater if they feel supported by the adults and indeed children around them. This in turn will give them the ability to try new activities by themselves, with reinforced confidence in their own capabilities. It was lovely seeing some positive personal and social development as the children encouraged others and let their friend take a turn first.

So there you have it. The smiles really don’t lie. Next time you see a swing, get on it and see how high you can go...

Enjoy the photos below and have an exceptionally superb rest of the weekend and week ahead.

R. Fox

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Slacklining Continued...

This week has been an extension of last weeks Slacklining down in the woods as we really wanted to capitalise on the wonderfully warm weather. It has been a blissfully bright and warm week which makes Forest School 10x easier to run. Spirits are higher and most children are instinctively more inclined to get outside. The fact we don’t spend an hour or 3 finding extra layers, gloves, hats, waterproofs and three pairs of socks is frankly amazing and means the children get more of a forest school session. However, spending the same amount of time chasing children around the garden trying to get sun cream and hats on them, is an equally frustrating, but nevertheless important part of sunny outdoor provision.

So this week we have extended this activity to make it slightly more challenging. Last week the children had to tackle mostly a straight slackline, so this week we decided to wrap them around the trees to make the route more of a challenge. It proved far too easy for some and real problem for the less confident, but all the children that attempted it got passed with some form of assistance or all by themselves.

This week has also reminded me of just what a wonderful resource the woods is. Although it isn’t huge, it proves an endless source of fascination for the children when they have had their fill of the Forest School activities. Whether the children are exploring the water in the brook, finding their way through the maze of thick dog rose bushes, or climbing up the steep muddy paths to find the trolls house, they thoroughly enjoy having free time in the woods alongside the activities I plan for them. And it’s even better when it’s in the warm dappled light of the sun as well. Glorious.

Have a superb bank holiday weekend and see you all next week!

R. Fox

High Hopes...

Just like the Ant and the rubber tree plant in Frank Sinatra’s ‘High Hopes’, the children at Free Rangers have been seriously challenging themselves this week on our slackline in Otter Brook Wood. Most of our children have got to grips with our Timber Trail in the paddock, conquering it’s bumps, jumps and bridges which is rather impressive considering that various parts are nearly a child’s height off the ground with no handrail for support. So this week for Forest School we decided to revisit Otter Brook Wood to continue the children’s familiarisation with this environment, as well as to provide a slightly different challenge to the Timber Trail. The slackline is simply a long piece of nylon webbing with a ratchet so it can be tensioned between two solid points to create a sort of very narrow trampoline. We had two set up, one for feet, another for hands. Check out this YouTube video to see one in action (ours were totally higher than this...) We start the session, by introducing what the slackline is, what they think it’s for, and how we navigate it. Then we discussed about taking turns and the Golden Rule being: “If feet are on, hands are off” to prevent those waiting from shaking the slackline when others are balancing on it. Lastly we stress they can travel as far as they feel comfortable, and the adults can help them down when they would like to make a sharp exit.

Not only is their balance and coordination tested on a slackline, but also their strength, stamina and possibly most importantly, their desire to succeed. This was highlighted on nearly every day, where a few of the children really pushed themselves to fulfil the challenge of clambering onto the slackline by themselves, and then navigating its length without any adult assistance. Although this activity has been used before, this week has really highlighted to me the children’s tenacity to push themselves onwards to achieve despite the situation in which they find themselves: in this instance being over a metre off the ground and wobbling around uncontrollably! This did get me thinking as to why some children push themselves: was it for self motivation to boost their own self worth? or were they simply trying to impress and earn the praise of the adults around them? Perhaps both? I certainly saw plenty of proud faces from some of the children after reaching the end of it. After the children had a few attempts, we decided to ‘gently persuade’ a few of the not too confident children to get to the end (although to note they actively wanted to get back on themselves as opposed to us forcing them back on). Some really didn’t want go further (and consequently higher) so they were helped down, but others despite being obviously nervous, pushed on and I’m glad to say conquered it. This might seem mean (it’s definitely mean), but when the children finished, it was very easy to see the children’s glee and confidence in themselves. One particular little boy especially was very proud of himself and after nursery was heard recounting what he had achieved to his parents.

This is why I love my job...

So the next time you're faced with a challenge or a problem that perhaps you’re not too keen on, think about these 3, 4 and 5 year olds pushing themselves to overcome theirs, and remember these words from Frank Sinatra: (Click the lyrics to watch the video!)

 “So any time your gettin’ low

‘Stead of lettin’ go

Just remember that ant!

Oops there goes another rubber tree plant...”

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Have a super weekend everyone, and don't forget to play outside!

R.Fox

If you go down to the woods today...

At last some sun! For the first time this year we have been able to get down to the woods to run our woodland sessions this week, and allow the children the chance to explore and play in the dappled sunshine. Forest School has been an extension of last week's where we have been working hard to reinforce the basic rules and procedures around our sessions not only to refresh the children who are already well established, but also for the new children to Free Rangers who are still learning and developing an understanding. Thankfully we have been blessed with spells of sunshine amongst some short sharp rain bursts and some rather unforgiving cloud cover, but on the whole the weather has meant our waterproofs also took a break from their usual abuse, allowing us to get down to Otter Brook Woods nice and quickly. The woods is either a short walk down the cycle track, or across one of our Nursery Paddocks. The walk in itself is an opportunity for learning as there and many sensory distractions for the children to investigate, like horses, interesting plants, dog walkers (although their dogs are for more interesting), and the swishing Brook and its little weir.

Once there, it was a similar setup of having our snack time, going through our Forest School rules (See here for a recap of last weeks) and then playing 1, 2, 3, Where Are You?! The children were once again very imaginative in the spaces where they hid, and interestingly there was less ‘herd-mentality’ opting for single trees, or completely disappearing behind thickets and bushes with only a little pair of eyes peeking around the side. When running something like this, it’s important to establish the boundaries of the playing area, so the children know where the acceptable distance is for them to reach. We have easy marking points in OBW as it has many natural boundaries, but in a larger woodland, perhaps have the children set their own with marking sticks which is an excellent way of developing responsibility.

Once they have had their fill, usually after 3 or 4 games, we allow them some free time in the woods for them to further explore, or this week, many wanted to go ‘fishing’, finding some long sticks and seeing what they could fish out of the brook. What a lovely week.

Enjoy your weekends, and get out in that sunshine whilst it’s here!

R. Fox

Going back to basics

The Nursery has seen lots of new faces throughout all the rooms these past few weeks and it’s so rewarding to see that so many parents are still keen to send their little adventurers to us. In lieu of this, I felt Forest School should focus around the basic rules and ideas so the veterans of Free Rangers can refresh their memories, and in turn help the new children who won’t fully understand the processes, routines and locality just yet. So with this in mind, I have made a concerted effort to really focus on our 3 Forest School rules and break them down with the children, discussing why we need them whilst we finished our delicious snack and drink:

1. We shouldn’t walk across our Fire Pit, but should step over and walk around our seats. This is also extended to moving towards the fire pit to use the fire, by having the children crouch onto their knees and carefully shuffle forward. Although we don’t have fires every session, we still put this precaution into place and children are very good at pointing out when I break this rule!

2. We shouldn’t put things in our mouths. The children enjoy discussing this rule as I usually offer up lots of silly options, such as sticks and mud, and mimic putting them into my mouth. You will never be able to stop grubbiness from child’s face on Forest School, and inevitably they might slip in a muddy puddle and end up with a mouthful of mud, but this rule is especially important when we have plants such as Foxglove (Digitalis Purpurea) or Lords and Ladies (Arum Maculatum), the latter being particularly prevalent on site, and why they should refrain from touching this toxic plants. They learn how to positively identify and avoid them as well as plants that look similar but are safe and useful to us. (i.e. Lords and Ladies against a Dock Leaf)

3. We shouldn’t walk off without an adult. Our Forest School site is fairly large, and as well as going off site accessing the rest of the Nursery’s land, this rule is very important in making sure there is procedure in place for keeping regular head counts and making sure the children know what to do if they find themselves suddenly on their own. We tie this rule into playing a widely used Forest School game called “1,2,3, Where are you?”, a variant of Hide and Seek, in which the children have to respond to the leader’s call with “1,2,3, I’m over here!”. If a child goes missing then the search is turned into a familiar game for the children.

With the rules successfully cogitated, we played the aforementioned game. This is a excellent starter for new children as it allows them to explore and familiarise themselves with an unfamiliar outside environment and is a brilliant for children’s social skills (herd mentality in hiding places seems to occur 9 times out of 10 however and makes for quick games!). This will boost their confidence in their own abilities outdoors and will in turn allow them to better access and enjoy their Nursery environment.

Once they had their fill of this the children were offered some free time to explore and to master their balance on the assault course and their strength on the mud hill. It was great to see some of the new children really getting stuck in and enjoying themselves during this time, and this week has also highlight the ingenuity of children in their hiding locations. One issue it did raise was the lack of true concealed hiding spots in the Forest School area; this is something I have added to my development plan, and am looking into planting some living Willow ‘pods’.

I hope you all enjoy your weekends, whatever you get up to. Here’s to some brighter, lighter weather.

See you all soon,

R. Fox.

Happy Easter!

Spring is the time for new growth, sweeping away the cold of winter and bringing the life affirming sunshine and warmth (if you can remember what that is) back into our lives. As seasons go it’s a busy time of year for all walks of life, and Free Rangers is certainly not an exception to the rule! The nursery grounds are going through something of an overhaul at the moment, albeit slowly but surely. Valerie’s allotment beds in the garden provided the nursery kitchen both plenty of fresh organic and dynamically grown fruit and vegetable for the children’s bellies, but proved far too much work for one lone ranger to take on herself. So the Forest School team have taken over the space and Val will be installing some new, smaller, manageable beds for the children to have access to in a new part of the farm. In the meantime, this has allowed us to really wipe the slate clean and develop the area to order to provide some purpose built outdoor learning environments for the children on their Forest School sessions.

Both myself and Vince have been scratching our heads and planning for a good few months, picking the brains of the Nursery staff, and more importantly the children as well, as to their input into the design of the space. The children had some interesting ideas including train tracks and a dinosaur’s house (conceptual drawings on the back of postcard please). We now have some exciting new projects to get our teeth stuck into, so it will be a busy few months after the Easter break. Trees have already been transplanted from our plantation into allotments to provide a much needed break in the landscape of the grounds and on Thursday we had a delivery of jumbo Larch logs ready for the new secret installation (sorry, strictly ‘Need to Know’ I’m afraid) that will be built in the paddock.

All this excitement has got me ready to eat my own weight in chocolate, so from all the team at Free Rangers, may we wish you all a very happy, refreshing and hopefully sunny Easter, and we look forward to seeing you all at the Nursery soon.

R.Fox

ps: Make sure you wipe the chocolate off your faces before you come back and do try to fit in some outdoor adventures this Easter break. I want to hear all about them when we return!

Tree Planting

The grounds of Free Rangers are currently undergoing an aesthetic overhaul (albeit slowly and incrementally). Where once the allotment beds stood, the Forest School team and children have now taken this over and shall be bringing new experiences and challenges for your children on their Forest School sessions. So this week the children were tasked with adding a little height to their Forest School grounds, by transplanting some young trees from our plantation into our Nursery paddock. The idea is to provide a varying environment for the children to play in, whilst the aim for the week being to reinforce their basic tool use and teamwork abilities. Monday morning however saw the children doing something different, due to us being slightly short staffed and unable to go offsite to the plantation. The children were given the job of building up our wood wall in the Apple Tree Den. This was a great team building exercise which needed everyone to work together, stacking chopped wood onto the trolley and pulling/pushing it to the den to be stacked up. There was great teamwork displayed especially when pulling the trolley and organising each other, with each child playing their own part very democratically! We also, very importantly, tended to the bird feeders, providing them with an important food source during our continued wintery days!

For the rest of the week, the children did really well in transporting the trees and in many ways, there was similar team-working and co-operation needed both in helping digging up the trees and transporting them back down the hill to the paddock. An equally important job during the week was digging the holes in the paddock for the trees to be planted in. This activity was disguised as a “worm hunt”, with the children trying to find a selection of sizes and colours, whilst they excavate a vast amount of soil in the process! With the holes dug the trees went in (along with the worms) into their new homes.

We managed to finish a corner of the paddock, planting a variety of species including Lime, Hazel and Rowan. In time, this will be a really special, enclosed little space that the children can come and stow themselves away and relax surrounded by nature. It would be a great little nook for story telling!

I thought the children did excellently this week, despite the cold wet weather returning. Well done kids! See you all next week for Easter frivolity!

R.Fox

Let them eat...mud. (Not literally)

These past two weeks, the children at Free Rangers flexed their creative muscles in our outdoor kitchen. The children's role play area in Preschool has always been a popular choice with the children, as they create breakfasts, luncheons and high teas, so doing this outside seemed like a good choice. I was similarly conscious that I often lack the language and communication side of the EYFS as a main aim to my sessions (it's inherently there on most sessions as they learn the names of plants or tools, listening and speaking skills etc), so felt that this was something to focus on throughout. The aim of the session was for them to develop their use of descriptive language as well as their imaginations. We focussed on the language of cookery, using words like stir, mix, whisk, pour, bake, fry, and boil as well as words to describe what they had made such as hot, cold, sweet, savoury, wet, and dry. We started the sessions during our snack time outside in the newly designed Apple Tree Den, discussing what we were eating, how we could describe it, our favourite foods, meals and tastes. Pasta and sausages were popular choices. As was cake.

The children had access to a range of ingredients to tempt their culinary curiosities. They were also tasked with foraging for more ingredients around the Forest School area on site. This was for 2 reasons: Firstly - they are moving around and exploring the outdoors during what were another two cold weeks, which in turn will aid the length of time they can be outside, and focus their concentration. Secondly, it allows the children to learn more about the plants they can find, and importantly what plants to avoid. The common plant Arum Maculatum, or more commonly referred to at Free Rangers as “Lords and Ladies”, is particularly prevalent. Although this plant isn’t deadly (unless you decide to make a large salad out of it), it has a very acrid, bitter taste and can cause tingling and swelling in the mouth and throat as well as stomach upset, so is very rarely ingested. When the young leaves break through the soil, they also resemble Wild Garlic (Ransoms) both of which show at similar times.

Then the open cooking started. At the start of the week, most children made a beeline for a single ingredient adding the whole lot to their chosen pan, topping with extra foraged ingredients afterwards and stirring like they’d never stirred before! As the week progressed, we opted for more focus on adding small amounts of various ingredients. Water was also a popular choice, some children opting to make drinks over food. There was great co-operation on some of the sessions, with children teaming up (Head Chef and Sous Chef in some situations) to make their meals. A trivet was placed in the fire pit so that children could cook their meals over the fire, and we also had an oven (a bucket wedged under the Bell Tent) so that the children could “bake”. There were some great creations made, and the children’s descriptions were super. Meals varied from “Yukky Monster Pie” to “Black Forest School Chocolate Cake” depending on what their meals looked like and the ingredients they had used. They used excellent descriptive words for their meals both as they cooked, and at the end when we presented their meals at our Forest School Feast!

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Next week we’re going off site for some digging and tree exploration.

Until next time!  :)

R.Fox

The Dead Hedge: Built by Kids, Built For Kids.

Unfortunately, another bitty week of Forest School again this week as staff illness meant I was again pulled back into the Nursery to help cover. We did however manage to do some more axe and saw work in the garden splitting some of the remaining Aspen that came down from the Otter Brook Wood, much to the children’s delight, as well as taking small groups out onto the Timber Trail for some more death defying feats of bravery! So this week's planning came to fruition from a few angles: last week’s Forest School involved a hearty exploration walk up to the top of our plantation. On the way to the summit we noticed some damage to the trees from horses that had been kept there whilst fencing was erected elsewhere on the farm. We took some pruning shears with us to trim the shredded ends of the twigs to make them less susceptible to bacterial infection. The children obviously wanted to help with this. Similarly, on some of our onsite Forest School sessions in the new and improved Apple Tree Den, the North Westerlies that have been blowing through highlighted a key aspect of the design which we all felt needed to rectified. The tarp roof provides excellent protection from the rain, but unfortunately tunnels the wind. So we decided we should build a ‘wall’ to act as block and make a cosier place for the children to share their snack and develop their games.

Therefore this week, I thought it would be good to kill 2 birds with 1 stone (sorry Vince I don’t mean that literally...) The children would use the loppers and pruning shears to develop their practical tools skills, whilst clearing the brash piles in our Nursery Forest School site, and building the wall using a traditional method of fencing called Woven Dead Hedging. It is was originally used as a method of stock control, but has since been noted for it conservation benefits, particularly for nesting birds. But it also acts as an excellent wind block as well!

The children chopped the pieces of brash into manageable sized lengths and then wove them in between stakes hammered into the ground. The children showed excellent tenacity to stay out in the cold, but the sessions were again notably shorter than in previous weeks, so progress on the wall was slow but steady. Although not completely finished, I am impressed with the results and hopefully it will allow the children to be just that little bit warmer on these cold March days ahead.

If you have any questions about this week’s Forest School, or indeed any of the Forest School blog posts, do leave a comment below, and we will endeavour to respond as soon as possible!

Enjoy your weekends and see you all next week.

R.Fox

Outdoor Nation - National Trust Blog Post

The National Trust have been very vocal recently in trying to understand and reverse the growing trend of children that are growing up away and disconnected from Nature. In 2010 they ran a national debate called Outdoor Nation, asking the UK if getting children outside was important? Of course, everyone agreed it was. Since this, they have commissioned a report by writer and broadcaster Stephen Moss (you can read this report here: Natural Childhood Report) to drive this consensus forward to actionable results. They have also backed filmmaker David Bond in his film “Project Wild Thing” as he tries to convince the current generation of children that Nature is something to get involved in.

Another part of this Outdoor Nation project is a blog, which the National Trust has gathered lots of like minded educators, professionals and outdoor enthusiasts to keep this message alive and share their views on what can be done. I was privileged to be asked to contribute to this, and to detail why it is important to tap into Nature at an early age and to inspire lifelong learning and a connection with the Great Outdoors during the Early Years as well as after.

There are many other contributors as well that are well worth a read. Click on the link below and have a read! Do share your comments and thoughts, both here and on the blog. It’s a worthy debate to get involved in!

Outdoor Nation Blog

Thanks,

R. Fox