Forest Schooled | Learner-led

Learner-Led

Posts discussing the value of learner-led educational approaches like Forest School and how adults can best support this in practice

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)

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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Considering Ecological Relationships, Impact, and Reciprocity in our Outdoor Programs

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 14, 2020
6 min

Considering Ecological Relationships, Impact, and Reciprocity in our Outdoor Programs

Okay I have something to confess... it’s been a weight on my shoulders (and on my ecological conscience) as an environmental educator. It's

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Forest School Perspectives: Making Space for Diversity in Practice

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 26, 2020
6 min

Forest School Perspectives: Making Space for Diversity in Practice

This blog was first shared by the UK Forest School Association. You can view that post HERE. Imagine something exciting happened to you an

194 views0 comments

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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Guest Blog - Early Childhood Ways of Knowing:

Landere Naisbitt

Dec 1, 2019
10 min

Guest Blog - Early Childhood Ways of Knowing:

How Kindergarteners Teach Me About Nature Connection and How to Live in Healthy Relationship with the Earth This is special. This...

424 views0 comments

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...

296 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 21, 2019
4 min

Backwards Planning

I’ve been delivering Forest School programs for several years now, mostly with school age children ages 5 to 12, and so my methods for...

38 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...

93 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...

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Exploring what Place-based means in Forest School...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Feb 10, 2019
7 min

Exploring what Place-based means in Forest School...

The word "place" comes up a lot in this work, with Forest School being described as a means for learners to gain a "sense of place,” an...

790 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 21, 2019
4 min

Learning through taking risks...

I took a risk. It was the coldest day we'd had in the school year so far and nobody was quite back in the mindset of playing in cold...

402 views0 comments

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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It's not your dam, Mother Nature gave the rocks to you...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Oct 11, 2018
4 min

It's not your dam, Mother Nature gave the rocks to you...

"I'm going to build a dam!" a six year old named Carter said. And off he went to the stream where he started to move rocks from the...

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Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 22, 2018
5 min

Learning with storytelling...

I've taken a huge leap in my practice recently. I've started telling stories. Now, I know that might not sound like such a big deal, but get

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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...

571 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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Starting a Forest School program from scratch: Part 5

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 29, 2018
5 min

Starting a Forest School program from scratch: Part 5

Preface: I've called the first post in this series "Part 1", but a friend reminded me that there is so much more that comes before this...

793 views0 comments

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

Starting a Forest School program from scratch: Part 4

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Mar 18, 2018
4 min

Starting a Forest School program from scratch: Part 4

Preface: I've called the first post in this series "Part 1", but a friend reminded me that there is so much more that comes before this...

1,547 views0 comments

Forest School as a mindset... as well as a set of activities

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Feb 25, 2018
3 min

Forest School as a mindset... as well as a set of activities

I've been thinking about why it's such challenge for me to explain what Forest School "is" to people who are not familiar with it. One of my

935 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 29, 2018
4 min

Whole body learning...

We've had snow on the ground for weeks now, but a few days ago the temperature rose and it rained. This started to melt the snow... but then

209 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

473 views0 comments

A learning environment where the kids who can't sit still succeed...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Aug 26, 2017
3 min

A learning environment where the kids who can't sit still succeed...

Short on time? Listen to this blog post as a podcast. And subscribe to my podcast channel on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify....

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How to make a hammock with sticks and string...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Aug 20, 2017
2 min

How to make a hammock with sticks and string...

One of my favourite things is when you spontaneously have enough time to work on a really cool project. This past week at camp we had a...

276 views0 comments

Knots and lashings... Learning practical skills

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jul 30, 2017
3 min

Knots and lashings... Learning practical skills

I've been working with some teenagers and pre-teens this past week, which always brings a contrast from working with the little ones. Often

656 views0 comments

The Forest School Formula – exploring what 'long-term' really means...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jul 23, 2017
5 min

The Forest School Formula – exploring what 'long-term' really means...

There has been a lot of discussion (both historically and recently) amongst the Forest School community with regards to what truly defines

177 views0 comments

Forest School is Education in Reverse...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 25, 2017
3 min

Forest School is Education in Reverse...

Being in a new place surrounded by people who are unfamiliar with Forest School has resulted in a few interesting conversations for me these

232 views0 comments

When children's play makes us feel uncomfortable...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jun 4, 2017
4 min

When children's play makes us feel uncomfortable...

When you play and learn outside frequently, you are bound to come across something dead. Animals move through their life cycle in the outdoo

825 views0 comments

When Kids are the Boss: Swings, Ladders, & a 7 year old Engineer

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

May 14, 2017
4 min

When Kids are the Boss: Swings, Ladders, & a 7 year old Engineer

A 7 year old had an idea. She wanted to make a swing. When she told me this, I started racking my brain trying to think of ways to do...

428 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Mar 2, 2017
2 min

Children are, by nature, scientists...

I was bug hunting with a 7 year old boy named George when we stumbled across some mushrooms. George made a face and quickly stated he...

234 views0 comments

Why trees? What do woodlands do for children's play?

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 26, 2017
5 min

Why trees? What do woodlands do for children's play?

I had a conversation with someone the other day who was interested in Forest School, but questioned why the ethos put an emphasis on it...

668 views0 comments

How Forest School Leaders are different from Teachers...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 12, 2017
4 min

How Forest School Leaders are different from Teachers...

Since undergoing Forest School training, I have changed the way I approach learning and education entirely. One major difference is I ask...

1,214 views0 comments

Knots and Neurons: How understanding our brains can help us learn

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Dec 4, 2016
5 min

Knots and Neurons: How understanding our brains can help us learn

Teaching knots is fascinating to me. There are some people who just 'get it' – those who can watch a demonstration once and then do it...

2,863 views0 comments

How to 'plan' learner-led experiences...

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Oct 7, 2016
4 min

How to 'plan' learner-led experiences...

Forest School leaders need lots of different tools. I don't just mean tools like saws and loppers. I also mean mental tools, as in ideas...

4,077 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Sep 1, 2016
1 min

Muddy Learning

When I say muddy learning, I don't just mean literally learning outside in the mud. It's not just about the messy physical aspect of...

122 views0 comments

If learning is supposed to be child-led, what's my role?

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jul 3, 2016
3 min

If learning is supposed to be child-led, what's my role?

Sometimes the whole 'child-led' learning thing can be a bit confusing to me. It feels like it should be straight forward right? Let the...

468 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...

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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...

36 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Apr 18, 2016
6 min

We've got principles...

It was number 2 out of 6 for my pilot sessions today! (See My Forest School Fledging for a rundown of what happened during session 1 last...

42 views0 comments

Caylin (Forest Schooled)

Jan 13, 2016
3 min

The Quest for deliberation

Back in October, I attended the Forest School Association Conference “Forest School: Play and Principles”. The workshop I went to was...

107 views0 comments