Forest Play School

Boat rides on the pond

On our first day of forest play school, this past March, it snowed a foot. With rush-hour highways at a standstill, I decided to take the smaller roads. The entire hour and a half drive (that, in good conditions, would take about 30 minutes) I wondered if my kids would be the only ones there. It was cold. It was snowing. And, it was still coming down heavy.

When we finally arrived and stepped into walking stick woods, the soft snow muffled the sounds of   
the traffic, white flakes gently drifted through the black branches of the trees, and, while a few parents huddled around the small camp fire, the kids ran off to play with a small group of peers who had also braved the weather, not a thought in their heads about the cold or snow.

It was an amazing day.

Well, spring snows, even big ones, don't last long. So, this was our third week of forest school. (Hour 1 of 4):

     

Messy yes, but so much fun and without anyone nagging them to stay out of the mud. This was the kind of day that adults remember fondly when recalling their childhood.

From March to May, we visited the forest weekly, discovering raccoon dens, greeting the local deer, welcoming the worms from the once frozen earth, climbing, observing, exploring and learning. 

Ms. Teresa and the kids head into "The Deep Woods"

Beyond forest exploration, the children listened to Ms. Teresa tell stories and took turns telling their own stories to the group. One day, my daughter's favorite, they took turns acting out the stories as they were being told. Most importantly, they played, (http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/08/04/337387726/brains-at-play)

Dress Up and Pretend Play

Forts

Cooking afternoon snacks

And, of course, climbing

Ceres with a bird's eye view

Over the last few months, I have seen Yannis' and Ceres' comfort with climbing and their sense of their own physical capabilities grow. While I know some of this is developmental (and, I'd like to think, genetic) I can't help but think that the confidence, strength, and agility is attributed, in part, to the opportunities at forest school. They climbed, balanced and took small risks, little by little gaining the ability to take on bigger challenges. I see not only physical growth, but also emotional and big boosts to their self confidence. 

It has been wonderful to have an environment where they can do this all safely, with many adult hands to spot the climbers, someone to watch the fire and others to help with using shovels or visiting the prairie.

Collecting and setting up kindling for the fire

Marshmallows!

Over the past few years, there has been a growing awareness of the need for outdoor nature play time. Articles like this one http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Nature_Deficit/ , discuss the importance of getting outside. And then, last week, this article in The Atlantic about a study linking exercise to ability to focus academically. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/exercise-seems-to-be-beneficial-to-children/380844/ . As I read more about it and see my children thrive in this environment, I am grateful to have this wonderful opportunity for them.

This fall, the kids have been so anxious to start again. They both ask me each morning, "are we going to forest school today?". We can spend about 45 minutes on a playground before they ask to leave. After a 4 hour session at forest school, it was like dragging kids from a candy store trying to get them to the car. Ms. Teresa has been working on obtaining certification with The City of Chicago and DCFS to make the forest play school official. The system has been slow, but we are hopeful and in the meantime have visited the woods alone. While the kids enjoy being out and always have fun, it doesn't have the magic that Ms Teresa, Ms. Sarah and the rest of the children bring to the forest. 

This summer, a few months after forest school had ended, we were at Waterfall Glenn in Lemont. The kids were splashing, catching crayfish, finding schools of fish, carefully balancing on the river rocks to cross to the far shore. Another little girl was nearby with her parents, very timidly walking along the edge of the creek and had a breakdown after slipping on a rock. Her father, watching on, turned to us and, after asking if we lived nearby (no, we come from downtown Chicago, we told him), said, "your kids are so comfortable out here." The more they are out, the more comfortable they are, I told him. It just takes practice.