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Forest School
A nature-based approach to learning that centers children’s freedom, curiosity, and relationship with the natural world. Forest Schools create space for exploration, connection, and slow, emergent learning in outdoor environments.
Forest School is not one fixed model, but a wide-ranging philosophy grounded in the belief that nature is a powerful teacher. Whether it’s a daily outdoor program, a weekly woodland gathering, or a fully immersive school in the forest, the core values remain: time in nature, child-led discovery, and trust in the learning process.
Many Forest School programs draw from Scandinavian roots, where outdoor learning has long been valued for its benefits to children’s well-being. In North America and elsewhere, the movement has evolved in diverse ways—some emphasizing survival skills and bushcraft, others centering ecological awareness, storytelling, or Indigenous knowledge. In your own approach, Forest School is interwoven with contemplative practice, relational presence, and deep nature connection. Practices like sit spots, quiet wandering, and Coyote Mentoring help children slow down, notice more, and find their own rhythms of inquiry.
Rather than impose structure, adults serve as mentors and companions—offering questions, safety, and attunement, while allowing the land and the child’s curiosity to lead.
Why It Matters
Forest School reclaims something essential: the right of children to be in relationship with the earth. It invites slowness, attunement, and a different sense of time—one where play, imagination, and real encounters with weather, trees, and other living beings shape the learning day. For families and educators, it offers an alternative to indoor, over-scheduled childhoods—a way to reconnect learning with life, and with the living world.
References & Further Reading
- Forest School Association (UK): forestschoolassociation.org
- Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature by Jon Young, Ellen Haas, and Evan McGown
- David Sobel, Childhood and Nature: Design Principles for Educators
- Children & Nature Network
- Forest School Canada – National guidelines and philosophy
- Article: What Is Forest School? (Wild Schooling Network)
Articles and Resources on This Site
A child kneels in stillness, pencil in hand, mapping bird language and wind. This is relational learning—seeing the invisible through Sit Spot, presence, and reverence for place.
Discover how a Danish mother’s forest walks sparked a global educational movement, reimagining childhood learning through nature, storytelling, risk, and child-led exploration across cultures and climates.
A field-tested mentor’s manual for deepening children's relationship with nature, offering stories, routines, and practices to awaken curiosity, quietude, and ecological belonging.
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