Introduction to Forest School Course - Session 4 - An Example Forest School Session

Welcome back to the 4th session of my experiential Introduction to Forest School Course. In this video we will be encouraging you to head back outside and guide you through an example Forest School Session Flow (Routine) so you can get a feel for the Forest School approach.

LINKS & REFERENCES:
= ) FOREST SCHOOL SESSION PLANNING
I have made 2 in depth videos designed to support practitioners plan Forest School Programmes:
- ‘Short Term Session Planning at Forest School - How to plan learner led Forest School activities’ -    • Short Term Session Planning at Forest...  
- ‘Long Term Programme Planning for Forest School - How to plan learner led Forest School programmes’ -    • Long Term Programme Planning for Fore...  

= ) SESSION FLOW
I have used green banners throughout this video to highlight what stage of the session flow (routine) each activity is an example of. My Short Term planning video (link above) explains more about Session Flow at Forest School.

= ) ACTIVITY 11: Songlines
I first came across this idea in one of ‘Creeping Toad’s’ (Gordon MacLellan) books. Gordon is an environmental artist, poet and storyteller based in Derbyshire, UK - https://creepingtoad.com/ ‘Talking to the Earth’ by Gordon MacLellan, ISBN-10: 1898307431.

= ) ACTIVITY 12: Letter from the Guardian
I’ve always been fond of dodgy rhyming (as you may have noticed!😊) and tend to use poems, puzzles and riddles a lot as a way of hooking peoples interest into nature at the start of a session.

= ) ACTIVITY 13: Leaf Bunting
An idea I had to keep things simple without needing to bring lots of kit for this session – taking inspiration and combining the ideas of making ‘leaf crowns’ with ‘leaf bashing/ Hapa zome flags’.

= ) ACTIVITY 14: Animal Calls
An idea to build community and connect as a ‘tribe’ from ‘Coyote’s Guide to Nature Connection’ by Evan McGowan, Ellen Haas, and Jon Young, ISBN-10 : 1579940250.

= ) ACTIVITY 15: Nature Name Qualities
Many cultures belief that animals, plants and aspects of nature have certain energies or attributes associated with them. I like this idea to share at Forest School as it can encourage people to think about species/nature more holistically.

= ) ACTIVITY 16: A Forest Friend / Mud Monsters
Forest Friends, mud monsters, tree spirits, stick men, boggits, fairies, by whatever name, making characters is a popular activity at Forest School.

= ) ACTIVITY 17: Playing Together
I’ve found that using characters (Forest Friends, cuddly toys, puppets etc) can be useful to facilitate play at Forest School, especially if learners are not sure how or what to play. The idea of giving a character a tour provides a purpose and direction, but one that is totally open ended allowing the learners to take control. I have also noticed that using ‘characters’ has supported quieter learners ‘find a voice’ as they may communicate needs through dialogue with the character.

= ) ACTIVITY 18: Sit Spot
The ‘Sit Spot’ is a core routine of nature connection. Ideally you would have a regular local sit spot which you would visit frequently. ‘Coyote’s Guide to Nature Connection’ by Evan McGowan, Ellen Haas, and Jon Young, ISBN-10 : 1579940250 explains more about ‘Core Routines’ of Nature Connection practices.

= ) ACTIVITY 19: 7 Direction Poem
The 7 directions are acknowledged as sacred in many cultures. I first came across the idea of a 7 direction poem on a workshop with the John Muir Trust - https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/

= ) ACTIVITY 20: Stories of the Day
‘Sharing Stories’ is a core routine of nature connection practice. Ideally you would have a community of people willing to ‘catch’ your stories, unconditionally listening and acting as mentors. ‘Coyote’s Guide to Nature Connection’ by Evan McGowan, Ellen Haas, and Jon Young, ISBN-10 : 1579940250 explains more about ‘Core Routines’ of Nature Connection practices.

= ) ACTIVITY 21: Let your thanks fly
Gratitude is essential to Deep Nature Connection and human wellbeing. I like to ensure there is at least one activity in a session that focuses on gratitude.

= ) ACTIVITY 22: Goodbye to the Guardian
As we marked ‘Crossing the Threshold’ on the way into the space, I find it is also important to mark the transition of coming out of the space. This is another time that gratitude can be shared.

DISCLAIMER:
All information shared within the Forest School Lou channel is provided in good faith, and based on my own experience of Forest School in the UK. It is not designed to be a replacement for quality, face to face, accredited Forest School training, rather as a resource to support Forest practitioners and those in training. I am a Forest School trainer, but not your Forest School trainer, therefore no training contract exists between us. Ensure you are appropriately qualified and undertake your own risk assessments before undertaking any activity with groups, which takes into account the learners age, ability and level of understanding.