SCIENCE
Science is introduced to children through wonder. We drive for the deep learning, which takes place when children are following their interests and educators spontaneously create valuable learning experiences based on what the children discover. The rhythm of the seasons, shadows moving across the snow when sun is moving across the sky, metamorphosis of bugs or plants over time are what children can see and learn more about in forest school.
TECHNOLOGY
Technology in forest school can be described as loose parts, the materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. At forest school, rocks, moss, streams, sticks, leaves, etc, are loose parts that children use to create, design, and experiment.
RESILIENCE
Resilience is best rooted in children when they can benefit from returning to the same location on a regular basis. The permanent location of our program makes it possible for children to observe the daily changes that weather and other influences have on the environment. Children develop a sense of place in the world as well as emotional security for specific places in nature where they feel comfort and are able to calm themselves.
ENVIRONMENT
Environment stands for our forest school community, the forest we meet in each class, and our planet Earth. We foster group cohesion and empathy. We will encourage the children to rely on each other for playing and learning. Asking each other questions to solve everyday nature puzzles, allowing them the opportunity to find an answer together. We will continuously direct their attention to living things and their peers. We want to help them understand their impact on others. Our goal is to create empathy and kindness while the student develops a connection to the forest setting.
ART
Art supplies, poems, and songs are part of our daily forest school backpack curriculum, but we see creativity as a practice that is more than drawing, singing, and reading poems. Creativity is about learning to accept change, experiencing collaboration, recognizing variety and developing social skills in our forest school children.
MATH
Math and counting numbers are often part of our forest school day, for example, as we learn to identify white pine by counting its needles that grow in bundles of five, compare symmetry of different leaves, or look closely with the magnifying glass at six-sided snowflakes.
