From yesterday’s blog, we looked at certain pioneers in child development specific to forest school and the natural environment. It shows the benefits of free, outdoor play on a child’s health and social wellbeing.
As you might think, forest schools are not only based in large, leafy and wooded areas, many of today’s forest schools are found in urban areas such as crowded cities in the hope of accommodating more children to have this valuable experience (Veale, 2013). This shows the versatility that forest schools can offer, accommodating all children no matter of their background or where they live.
Forest school also aids children to take risks, learning to use their bodies to control their movements such as running, jumping, climbing and digging to name but a few. By combining more complex moves, with different parts of the body they can learn co-ordination as well as developing muscles and bone density (Tovey, 2007). Through making mistakes children will be able to learn how to correct them with the help and guidance of the forest school leaders. Working together as a group with different tasks enable children to learn valuable social skills that will be of great benefit throughout the course of their life for example taking turns (Veale, 2013).
Within today’s society the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfES, 2014), the statutory framework for all Early Years settings suggests that children need to have access to the outdoors on a daily basis and be able to play in environments that enable their learning, suggesting that the ever increasing Forest School approach has shown to be a popular form of child development and education. Forest school can also cover all aspects of the Characteristics of Effective Learning and many of the prime and specific areas within the EYFS, in particular understanding the world, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, communication and language and mathematics. Early Years Matters (2015) state that ‘in the outdoors, children’s use of language is five times greater than indoors’ .Children should be able to experience the joy of discovery, thinking critically, show creativity in their own way, and develop self-confidence as learners to mature socially and emotionally. These are all central and very important themes in forest school. Some of these skills may be seen as risk taking, such as using tools to cut wood, but through practising and building upon knowledge it aids children to understand what might happen if safety measures are not in place (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf, Accessed 30.09.15).
From research shown, children are seen to take risks and challenges to further their own learning showing a contrast to the ‘cotton wool kids’ that is so widely seen in the UK. Kumar (no date) state that ‘children who play in nature are imaginative because the stimulation is constantly stimulating the brain’ showing the benefits to forest school if it is child led and child initiated.
The positive social interaction between children in the outdoor environment can also be seen to build upon individual’s confidence and self- esteem, whilst having a hands on approach to learning.
As already discussed above one of the main benefits to forest school is the impact upon an individual’s personal, social and emotional development as well as their wellbeing. Children often learn the processes of respecting their environment through being a part of it and going through the forest school process (Veale, 2012). Do you think however that if children have too much ‘child led’ play, this could result in them disrespecting the natural environment?
As you might think, forest schools are not only based in large, leafy and wooded areas, many of today’s forest schools are found in urban areas such as crowded cities in the hope of accommodating more children to have this valuable experience (Veale, 2013). This shows the versatility that forest schools can offer, accommodating all children no matter of their background or where they live.
Forest school also aids children to take risks, learning to use their bodies to control their movements such as running, jumping, climbing and digging to name but a few. By combining more complex moves, with different parts of the body they can learn co-ordination as well as developing muscles and bone density (Tovey, 2007). Through making mistakes children will be able to learn how to correct them with the help and guidance of the forest school leaders. Working together as a group with different tasks enable children to learn valuable social skills that will be of great benefit throughout the course of their life for example taking turns (Veale, 2013).
Within today’s society the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfES, 2014), the statutory framework for all Early Years settings suggests that children need to have access to the outdoors on a daily basis and be able to play in environments that enable their learning, suggesting that the ever increasing Forest School approach has shown to be a popular form of child development and education. Forest school can also cover all aspects of the Characteristics of Effective Learning and many of the prime and specific areas within the EYFS, in particular understanding the world, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, communication and language and mathematics. Early Years Matters (2015) state that ‘in the outdoors, children’s use of language is five times greater than indoors’ .Children should be able to experience the joy of discovery, thinking critically, show creativity in their own way, and develop self-confidence as learners to mature socially and emotionally. These are all central and very important themes in forest school. Some of these skills may be seen as risk taking, such as using tools to cut wood, but through practising and building upon knowledge it aids children to understand what might happen if safety measures are not in place (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf, Accessed 30.09.15).
From research shown, children are seen to take risks and challenges to further their own learning showing a contrast to the ‘cotton wool kids’ that is so widely seen in the UK. Kumar (no date) state that ‘children who play in nature are imaginative because the stimulation is constantly stimulating the brain’ showing the benefits to forest school if it is child led and child initiated.
The positive social interaction between children in the outdoor environment can also be seen to build upon individual’s confidence and self- esteem, whilst having a hands on approach to learning.
As already discussed above one of the main benefits to forest school is the impact upon an individual’s personal, social and emotional development as well as their wellbeing. Children often learn the processes of respecting their environment through being a part of it and going through the forest school process (Veale, 2012). Do you think however that if children have too much ‘child led’ play, this could result in them disrespecting the natural environment?