Forest School has been our lifeline in home education. My son volunteers at one forest school session a week with pre-school children. It’s given him so much more confidence and shown me that he could have a future career in forest school, childcare, or the outdoors sector.
I spend a lot of time outdoors and in the forest, but it’s mainly walking through and sticking to the paths.
In October 2022 I started helping out at another forest school with Oscar. There, we get off the paths to explore, enjoy the peace, play in the trees, and properly enjoy and engage with the forest. We hide behind trees, build dens, make fires, whittle wood.
The children are all in their element, enjoying their freedom to play further from adults than they might usually, to play with fire and knives, and to be outdoors in nature whatever the weather.
This year, I am making a conscious effort to spend more time mindfully IN nature rather than just passing through it.