Location, Location, Location

While our ultimate goal is student exploration and discovery, careful planning by the adults makes a difference in the possible depth of those child centered experiences. As parents, you make sure your child gets a good night's sleep and comes dressed in appropriate layers...as teachers we make sure to pack supplies conducive for that day's weather and location. A lot of thought goes into making those decisions. Dorian, Jason, and I reflect on recent Forest School observations, thinking about the students both individually and as a group. We think about questions they asked, discoveries they made and frustrations they experienced. We use this information to build and enhance our next experience. Recently, I have been thinking  a lot about the importance of location. I love the days where we make a camp...designated with boundaries from which the students can roam freely. I enjoy scouting new areas for the perfect site... a place that will both reinforce past experiences and introduce new possibilities. Our Carpenter Wood camp was one of those sites. 

From the broadest viewpoint, Carpenter Woods provides a location close to school, has a shallow creek for creek walking and water play, has multiple trails for hiking and as a bird sanctuary, is filled with a wide range of bird species for us to discover. From a more detailed perspective, our specific camp was chosen by the bank of the creek. Our camp was  between a wooden bridge (imagination play...think Billy Goats' Gruff) and a log that had fallen across the creek but was only 2 feet off the ground (balance, safe risk taking, and supporting your friends). Other considerations were a mud bank ready for digging and a lean-to built out of sticks by some previous group. Here's how our day played out:

Izzy enjoyed discovering the mud wall. We brought some of the "clay" back to school and are going to try firing it in the kiln. 

I handed Gil and Izzy a new Forest School item..."what is it?", they questioned. "Open it and find out", I replied. "A hammock!", they discovered. 

James and Zion spent time mastering the fallen log bridge. 

Dorian and I went on a hike with Dontrelle, Eric, Aliyah, and Nyasiah. We discovered a Garter snake (above) and a Downy Woodpecker (below)

Gil spent some time cleaning out his boots...somehow, Sylvie just lost hers. 

James, Nyasiah, Izzy and I took a long creek walk.
"The creek is your map...it will tell you where to go...I felt like an explorer, learning new things." - James