Forest Schooled | Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence

Posts discussing emotional intelligence and the role it plays in building self-esteem and developing healthy relationships with ourselves and others

Guest Blog: Environmental Education (and Magic!) in the Mud Kitchen at Forest Days

Landere Naisbitt

Apr 9
7 min

Guest Blog: Environmental Education (and Magic!) in the Mud Kitchen at Forest Days

What is a mud kitchen, you might ask? It might sound dirty (which it is); it might sound like silly nonsense (which it is not); it might

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How do we advocate for more Nature programs, like Forest School?

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 1
6 min

How do we advocate for more Nature programs, like Forest School?

I was sitting in a wooden chair at a table in the school principal's office wondering how it all happened so fast to get me here

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Feb 1
3 min

Nature and the Nervous System

I can still hear it despite being covered by a thick layer of ice and a deep blanket of snow. I just have to get a lot closer now because...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 6, 2021
3 min

Remembering to say thank you

The best ones always seemed to be at the top of the tree. By the time they’d fallen to the ground and we happened to stumble upon them...

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Supporting behaviour through relationships, instead of rewards and punishments...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 17, 2021
6 min

Supporting behaviour through relationships, instead of rewards and punishments...

"What do you need to feel safe?", I asked. "I don't want to get hit by sticks!", he said. I was standing between two boys whose play had...

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What am I going to do to keep myself uncomfortable?

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Aug 31, 2020
5 min

What am I going to do to keep myself uncomfortable?

Years ago I attended a brief workshop at a conference that, in just a short two-hour window, provided me with lessons that have stuck with

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Aug 17, 2020
3 min

Storytelling Resources

Ever since gathering a group of storytellers together at the start of the global shutdown in 2020 for weekly livestreams, I've been getting

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Learning when to stop asking children questions, even when it's in the name of “inquiry”

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 9, 2020
5 min

Learning when to stop asking children questions, even when it's in the name of “inquiry”

I’ve written before about my use of questions to prompt or assist children (and adults for that matter) to consider something more deeply..

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Do I do Forest School for the children? Or do I do it for me?

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 11, 2020
3 min

Do I do Forest School for the children? Or do I do it for me?

It's winter. A time of year in the northern hemisphere where days are short, vitamin D is lacking, I feel like hibernating, but modern...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Nov 3, 2019
3 min

Forest Schooled Evolves... Again

Well, I’m dusting off the ol' Forest Schooled keyboard. It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog here. Life moves and sways, shifting...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Sep 1, 2019
3 min

Forest Schooled, The Book

Okay, you know that feeling when you have an idea and then someday that idea becomes a reality? It's an amazing feeling and one I am so...

297 views0 comments

Trusting Children to Resolve Conflicts in Play

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 7, 2019
6 min

Trusting Children to Resolve Conflicts in Play

As soon as we get outside of the school building and into the forest the kids race to the top of a small hill. Then they proceed to start...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 9, 2019
1 min

Is the forest really magic?

Spring is officially bursting where I am and it has brought so much excitement to all of us at Forest School. The changes have been so...

79 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 12, 2019
5 min

“So what do you do about puddles?!”

“So what do you do about puddles?!” I could sense a slight panic in her voice as she asked me this. And it was a valid question from...

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Integrating Forest School into a Public School Day

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Mar 24, 2019
9 min

Integrating Forest School into a Public School Day

In the Starting a Forest School Program from Scratch series I described the steps I took to get a couple of programmes up and running in...

680 views1 comment

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 5, 2019
6 min

Intervening in Children's Play...

This is a tough one for me to write, but here goes... One of my missions in Forest School and even through writing this blog has been to...

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Children's risky play and experiencing 'scary-funny'

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Sep 30, 2018
4 min

Children's risky play and experiencing 'scary-funny'

The other day at Forest School a five year old named Ryan approached me with tears in his eyes. He was calm, but also clearly upset. He...

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A History of the UK & US Forest School Movement

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 3, 2018
1 min

A History of the UK & US Forest School Movement

If you've been following along with me over the past several months, you may have caught my ramblings here and there about how I'm...

574 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 12, 2018
6 min

Running out of time for Democracy!

I feel like a bit of a Forest School hypocrite when I say that I've made conscious decisions about how to "structure" the Forest School

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 15, 2018
4 min

Shelters, Trust, and Maths, oh my!

It is only the third session in a new after school program. The children range in age between five and ten years old. They all attend the

202 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Sep 10, 2017
4 min

Bickering? Or bracelets?

Making bracelets. That can be such a popular activity for young people, or anyone really! Perhaps there's something about getting...

335 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Sep 2, 2017
6 min

Why Forest School?

If you caught the recent Facebook post or Forest Schooled newsletter, you'll have seen I've just started grad school and will be working

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Aug 13, 2017
3 min

Encouraging Emotional Intelligence...

Two 7 year old boys were sharing materials to practise lighting fires. I was nearby working with another girl practising her fire lighting

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Sometimes the problems are small, but the feelings are big

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 21, 2017
3 min

Sometimes the problems are small, but the feelings are big

Sometimes the problems are small, but the feelings are big. For example, this one time as a session was ending I found a 5 year old sitting

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Managing behaviour by asking kids to think for themselves...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 29, 2017
5 min

Managing behaviour by asking kids to think for themselves...

Children look to us a lot for answers and guidance. They ask, “Can I do this?” or “Can I have that?” and rely on our answers as...

2,058 views0 comments

A Forest School Leader's guide to facilitating reflection in the outdoors

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Nov 6, 2016
7 min

A Forest School Leader's guide to facilitating reflection in the outdoors

This blog post is a little different. It's a long one, but please read or at least skip to the end because I need your help! I can tell...

1,756 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Oct 27, 2016
4 min

Fire Dynamics...

Has anyone else noticed the difference that having a fire makes at a session? I'm sure you have, at least to some degree. In fact, it's...

199 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Sep 28, 2016
2 min

It's peaceful here

I was exploring the wood with a 7 year old girl who wanted to find a place to build a den. Her 4 year old brother wanted to come along...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Aug 19, 2016
3 min

Play is not just about having fun...

“I'm the mother and you're the baby,” said one girl to another. “What am I?” said a third girl. “You're the older sister,” replied the...

187 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 16, 2016
4 min

Look after the woods...

Our Forest School site was vandalised for a second time over the weekend. It had already been vandalised the week before (we'd originally...

70 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 6, 2016
4 min

Struggles with self-esteem...

It's pouring with rain. There's an 8 year old child in front of you attempting to use a fire striker to light a piece of cotton wool. He...

53 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 12, 2016
6 min

Anxiety and burnt toast...

I've been trying to make sense of a situation I encountered with a girl at Forest School this week. I found it a bit odd at the time and...

214 views0 comments

The most fascinating conversation I have ever had...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 4, 2016
3 min

The most fascinating conversation I have ever had...

Disclaimer: This post refers to political issues affecting our global community. It is not intended to advocate or condone any particular...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 25, 2016
6 min

It's been emotional!

“Emotions are inborn, generated automatically in the most primitive, reptilian, limbic portion of our brain. Fear, anger, sadness, love,...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 20, 2016
4 min

Behaviour and the brain...

I have written about Jake a few times, particularly referring to the arguments or conflicts he gets into with others as well as his...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Mar 16, 2016
5 min

Let's play...

Today's session was very different from last week's session (Thank goodness!!). The mud wrestling and associated traumas of the week...

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Delight in the mistakes and imperfections

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Mar 3, 2016
4 min

Delight in the mistakes and imperfections

So far my journal entries have been focused on my mini-triumphs – the moments where I've felt I've been able to recognise or apply,...

16 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Feb 24, 2016
4 min

Self Esteem... Mind the Gap

What is self-esteem? It's a word we throw around a lot and everyone has a general idea of what it's about, but what does it actually...

61 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Feb 10, 2016
4 min

EmpathME

There is one boy at the PRU who we are finding particularly difficult. His name is Connor. And it's not just us who find Connor hard to...

18 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Feb 2, 2016
3 min

Why do we have rules?

Lately, I've been engaging a lot with the concept of empathy. It's a word that is often overlooked, as if it is something innate, in us,...

65 views0 comments