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I spent a few hours today reading and reviewing an interesting piece of research on the restorative impact of Forest Schools. You can read more on the About tab. Whilst I wasn’t convinced that the sample was sufficiently large or well-defined to be convincing, it led me to think about how I could show impact for participants. An emotions questionnaire is now on my To Do list.

Sat in bed this morning “tappy lapping”, on the website, my pedagogical approach. As I typed, a vision for how I want to use monitoring to evidence progress formed in my head and it gave me a real boost. Which absolutely underlines the power of planning as a tool for successful implementation.

I have been working hard this morning on my website portfolio and it is beginning to come together. I have written 3 policies, behaviour, sustainability, and equality and accessibility. All of them have made me think about what I am doing and why. I have set myself the objective of getting every policy on to a page. As a result, every word counts and I have had to think about what the core of each policy is so that each policy is readable but still meaningful.

I got up early this morning to do a recce of the Chopwell Wood outdoor classroom. Pulled on some warm clothes and set my satnav which made a 20 minute journey take 45 minutes! I parked in the main car park and followed the “Tree Trail” towards the classroom. Began to think about how the Tree Trail could be used as a resource. At the end of the trail, I located the road leading to the classroom. I was surprised to find it is an actual building. A lovely volunteer from Friends of Chopwell Woods let me in and showed me round. I then did a tour of the nearby nature trail. There is a small circle with log bench seats. I need to check that fires can be lit here. On the trail itself there are some wonderful ceramic sculptures. More importantly the wood is full of fallen wood, mosses, pine cones and other great resources for play. The site is gently sloping and a bit crowded underfoot. I reflected on how my evaluation of the wood had already changed thanks to the Forest Skills course. Then I thought about it and realised that the first question I need to ask myself is “Is this a great place to play?” The rest is about the way I manage the risks and set the boundaries for that play to take place. I think about my own childhood and the parenting style I adopted with my own kids. There is much that I can draw on to find an authentic ethos to Tyggwhistle.

Spent most of today looking again at the history of Forest Schools and finding out about the local network of Forest School practitioners. I found myself getting really excited by the wealth of talented people doing amazing work to promote a healthier childhood for our kids. It really spurred me on to think about my own offer and how I am going to make it a reality.

Took the big step of setting up my website today. I am thankful that I have used Bluehost before and that this time it is a little more familiar and straight forward.

I miss the first part of day 3 because of work commitments. The group have done a review of the homework task which is looking at a woodland setting. I join the group as they begin a stalking game, where we have to try and get a pine cone from the nest without being caught.

We play a great warming up game of sticky fingers, toes etc. before starting a task looking at learning styles. We illustrate these with some woodland creatures. Ours is a nature loving ant.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the complexity of the assessment tasks. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and organise my thoughts so I am not yet feeling in control.

After yesterday, I have decided to wear even more clothing! We start with a brief recap inside then head out for the outdoor area. We split in to two teams and play the tarpaulin game; simple but hilarious. Then we do the “Good morning I am…and swap” game. Then we do it again staying in the same order. Then again but with two strings going at the same time. Just great fun silliness that gets us warm and feeling ready for fun.

We learn about setting boundaries with “1-2-3 to me”, followed by a quick game of hide and seek. Amazing to see how instantly competitive we all become; the child in all of us just looking for an excuse to emerge.

Next we do a little more work on knots, learning how to lash two sticks together and then frap between the two sticks. Looking back, I have already forgotten, a humbling reminder that children can not be expected to “get” everything first time. relearning is as important as learning.

We do our first big reflection activity, using available resources outside to present a cameo summary of what we learned yesterday. This leads on to a discussion of the purpose of review – consolidating learning, thinking about next steps and metacognition. We discuss when we review ( when L.O. has been met and the value of timing reflection with a food or drink activity – when everyone is relaxed. We are introduced to the different types of reflection : Interpersonal, intrapersonal and individual needs. We talk about the difference between review (the task) and reflection (our thinking about our own response to the learning).

After lunch we talk about risk and how we manage it. Lily promises to empty the contents of her safety bag.

We do some more talking about the 4 levels of the forest – canopy, shrub, field and ground.

How much fun can you have with a simple game of “What are you doing with that stick?” The objective is to mime the activity of the last person whilst thinking of a new task to claim you are doing in response the next person. Confusing and funny.

We finish the day by (trying) to light Gillie kettles. It seems so easy, but each attempt fizzles out as we begin to learn the importance of patience and dry materials ! Lily comes to the rescue with egg filled with wax and saw dust. I think about the importance of preparation and anticipating the needs of students.

I really enjoyed the first day of my NOCN Forest Leaders course today, learning about the 3 look afters – self, others and environment. The day was packed full of tips and ideas on engaging young people and bonding exercises.