Forest School: A Day at Cliveden

Somehow, Forest School felt particularly magical this week. The day was cool yet sunny and our site was Cliveden, the place where it all began. This was our 5^th or 6^th session at Cliveden making it a site full of memories but still filled with promise for new experiences and discoveries. As soon as we walked out of school, students pointed out moments from our past adventures...”here is the hill where we rolled”...”do you remember the crow in the chruch parking lot? Do you think it was really dying?...”oh look – this the tree where we played in the pile of leaves...now the ground is covered with flower blossoms”.

Once our Cliveden homebase was set, small groups of students scattered to explore favorite locations - “Fairy Village”, Middle Tree”, The City”, and “Groundhog Haven”. The importance of familiar space is evident, allowing the students to explore and play with independence and confidence. One group came back shouting with excitement after actually seeing the groundhog that until now, was just part of our imagined stories. Another group took a walk to the apple tree, discovering the first evidence of next fall's apples. Right before our eyes we could see how the pollinated blossoms were swelling into tiny fruit.

Even though games and activities repeat through out the weeks, Dorian, Jason and Joan are always looking for ways to expand the learning. On this trip, a renewed interest in bows and arrows allowed us to explore what makes the perfect bow stick and continue learning how to tie knots. Some students used sticks and twine in a more abstract way, building a mobile, a perch for a bird and a bracelet decorated with small white flowers. We exercised our bodies through games of tag, gymnastics in the grass and learning how to build human pyramids. We returned to school tired yet refreshed...it was a magical day.