When our co-op families gather together for forest school, here is what participants can expect:

1. Walk to Base camp

After arriving on site, we take a short walk through the woods together to our "Base camp." Children love the opportunity to run the trail or connect with their friends as we go on our easy hike. Everyone gets a chance to stretch their legs and take in what nature might offer us on that given day.

2. Morning Circle

After settling at Basecamp, our session guide leads us through our morning circle. We say a "Morning Verse" and invite discussion about what we see, hear, smell, and feel.

3. Parent-Led Activity

We invite the children into an activity that will introduce them to a new way to engage with the natural materials they will find in their forest school. We may gather fallen leaves, sticks, and stones to make a collage, or practice tying knots. Perhaps we will play a game of hide and seek together through the trees, or identify flowers that are currently in bloom. We may do a Messy Maths activity, or do a themed craft.

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As a homeschool co-op, each participating parent is fully involved in the children's learning experiences. Therefore, we rotate which parent leads the daily activity. The adult that leads the activity is in charge of bringing all necessary supplies at their expense, but they can choose the activity to fit within their budget.

4. Free Play

As children decide they are done with the adult-led activity, they may move on to free play. Here the children have a chance to fully engage with their environment in whatever creative, imaginative, or explorative way they choose.

 

All parents are expected to stay present and utilize the numerous opportunities that will arise to teach skills such as risk assessment, teamwork, identification, etc. There will also be endless chances to discuss traditional early education topics such as the color of flowers, the number of sticks in a bundle, the seasons or the day's weather, and so much more.

5. Lunch

We call all participants back to base camp, encourage all participants to wash their hands, and then come together to share a meal. We sit down at base camp and sing a song of gratitude before enjoying the lunches we have packed for our families. Then the parent who led the day's activity will read aloud an engaging picture book as we eat.

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After the book we take some time to highlight our favorite parts of the session. We also share accolades, when we encourage children to consider something good they saw in their friends or thank someone for their help.

6. Dismissal

As children finish eating we end our time in nature by singing a goodbye song together.