Description
Branching Out Forest School is teaming up with Shropshire Hills National Landscape to deliver subsidised woodland holiday club sessions throughout 2024, with a special focus on Shropshire's myths, legends and folklore.
During these sessions we will welcome children aged 6-12 years (please note, Thursday's session will be for 10-14 year olds) into our semi-ancient woodland site where we will encourage children to explore the natural environment, connect to it, develop their skills sets and a sense of curiosity, and all the while creating new friendships with each other. 2024 will also see a special focus on Shropshire's myths, legends and folklore, celebrating these tales of times gone-by and learning how they bring our landscape to life. Special guests will be present throughout the year, with renowned Shropshire author and story-teller, Amy Douglas, attending Tuesday 28th May's session.
Examples of other activities include:
- Tool use
- Green woodworking
- Fire skills
- Campfire cooking (freshly cooked snack will be provided every day)
- Den/Shelter building
- Natural crafts
- Wildlife education + conservation activities
- Group games
As well as having these optional arranged activities, the children will be free to roam and explore our woodland site and are encouraged to have lots of self-directed free-play. There are a number of areas set up ready for our woodland explorers to do this which include:
- Scramble net
- Hammocks
- Slack line
- Climbing area
- Mud kitchen with Serving hatch & Dining area
- Creepy Crawly exploring
- Reading corner with supply of nature-themed books & learning resources
And of course we have the oblihgatory Fire Circle at the core of our site - and a compost loo for when nature calls!
With all our sessions we will follow the Forest School principles. So what is Forest School? Forest School adopts a holistic approach to learning in the natural environment with a child-centred approach. We foster self-confidence, self-esteem and resilience through Forest School activities that promote self-responsibility, self-assessed risk taking and teamwork activities, all taking place in a natural woodland environment so individuals can reap the benefits of 'eco-therapy'. We welcome a range of ages and have a wonderful community of Forest Schoolers who display kindness and caring attitudes to one another - in this way Forest School offers a great life lesson in how to work in a team and develop a sense of 'belonging'.
These sessions will be particularly special: We have teamed up with Shropshire Hills National Landscape and will have a special focus on Shropshire's myths, legends and folklore, celebrating the different landscapes and the characters that adorn these spaces as a way to connect children to their local area and to learn more about these spaces. We will utilise local story tellers, authors, artists and wildlife experts to plump up these experiences for participants, ensuring that children will feel more connected to their surrounding natural environment - and proud to be a part of it! After all, they are our future conservationists!
(As part of the funding provided by Shropshire Hills National Landscape, there will be 2 free places per session for children from the lowest income families. Please get in touch to discuss this if you feel this applies to yourselves and would benefit from such opportunity.)
"The natural environment is an antidote for the human population, and we believe strongly in offering opportunities where children can learn from a young age in how to connect to the natural environment so they can apply and reap the benefits of this throughout their lives."
Legal Bits: Our Forest School Leaders are certified Level 3 practitioners. All necessary requirements are in situ:
- Public Liability Insurance
- Emergency Outdoor First Aider
- Activity Risk Assessments
- Site Risk Assessments
- Safeguarding
- Food Safety & Hygeine
- DBS Certificates for Volunteers
For more information on Branching Out please visit our website www.branchingoutforestschool.com
What to bring
Online bookings by eola