An Unexpected Journey

Our most recent forest school adventure was planned to be a somewhat typical day at Cliveden. However, when we arrived at the gate we discovered that the grounds were temporarily unavailable for the morning. What is a group of would-be forest dwellers, explorers, and picnickers to do under such unexpected circumstances? The children immediately set to work trying to figure out a way around this problem, and soon we were discussing whether anyone knew of a suitable alternative location nearby. Together we remembered a park that we had walked past a couple of times in the fall on our way elsewhere, and we were soon headed out for our new destination on what was shaping up to be quite a lovely sunny March morning.

On the way, a rush of water suddenly appeared across the street from us moving down the side of the road with great speed toward a storm drain. The children's curiosity was piqued, and we opted to take a detour to check out what was going on. We crossed the street, leaping across the growing stream to explore it safely from the sidewalk. Soon the children were sticking their hands in the clear water to feel its coolness and placing grass and leaves in the flow to gauge its speed. Some of the kids wondered where it might be coming from, and so some of us set off up the street to find out. Just around the corner, a man standing next to an open fire hydrant was more than happy to explain about the test he was conducting of the city's drainage system in that area. He let them watch as the hydrant was closed again, and the flow retreated.

With the water behind us, we soon arrived at the park with its towering trees and spacious terrain and, of course, an irresistible set of swings and play structures. As adults we questioned for a bit whether the location was "foresty" enough, but the children had no such reservations. In addition to the swings and slides, the kids chose to climb trees, explore a massive "badger" den at the base of a tree, watch some robins, search for natural treasures such as an entirely intact bird wing, observe and manipulate interesting reflections of sunlight, and generally enjoy several hours outdoors. We had a lovely picnic on a shady hillside, and during our closing circle, the kids expressed that exploring this new location had been a fantastic idea and that a return trip might be in order.