Activities and Learning
Activities and Learning
At Where The Wild Things Are, we offers a range of activities for our learners to choose from.
By combining practices and knowledge from across the experiential education world, with a holistic and learner-led approach, we work to develop learners’ connection to nature, physical health, interpersonal skills, wellbeing, and sense of self.
Play
Campfires
Fire building is probably the most exciting and most iconic activity associated with Forest School. During our sessions learners will have the opportunity to both make and maintain fires for a variety of purposes.
Fire can be a dangerous element, and so making fires during our sessions serves to teaches our leaners how to follow safety rules, how to take personal responsibility, and how to be mindful of their actions.
Learners will get the opportunity to practice the use of different fire-starting tools, like fire strikers and matches, and learn new fire building techniques. They will also learn all about the fire triangle and the basics of thermodynamics.
Making a fire is hard work, therefore learners building fires practice perseverance, dedication, determination, and patience.
Using Tools
During our session, learners will have opportunities to use a variety of tools. Some of the tools we will use on our sessions are bow saws, pruning saws, loppers, bill hooks, hatchets, mallets, and whittling knives.
The tools we use can be dangerous if used improperly or recklessly. Similarly to fires, this provides us with the opportunity to teach learners about taking responsibility for their own safety, as well as the safety of other.
Using tools is a very physical activity, getting leaners active and moving, while also practicing their gross and fine motor skills, and improving their hand eye coordination and mobile range.
Tools serve as a stepping stone activity for learners achieving other goals during our Forest School sessions. Learners might use tools to prepare materials for crafts, for shelter building, or for preparing firewood.
Crafting
Craft making is a great activity due to its versatile nature. Crafts can range from very simple designs, like making a skewer from a stick, to more elaborate and creative endeavours, like an intricate wood carving.
Due to the wide range nature of crafts, craft making is an accessible and inclusive activity, regardless of skill level, and offers a creative outlet for self-expression to all learners.
Crafts use lots of different technics and skills, most of which requiring concentration and determination, while practicing learners fine motor skills, focus, perseverance, creativity, and attention to details.
Some of the crafts learns might make during our sessions are skewers, mallets, tripods, leaf prints, weavings, wood carving, walking sticks, necklaces, flower pressing, charcoal drawings, statues, rain sticks, clay people, wands, and more.
Play
First and foremost, play is fun. Joy is such an important part of learners’ healthy development, which enforce learning and strengthen social bonds, while also developing important links to the learners’ local environment.
Games create an environment of low stakes and high reward, prompting learners to try new things, to stretch their comfort zone, and even to interact with learners in the group they might otherwise avoid.
When playing in a group, learners practice a range of social skills, from collaboration, teamwork, and conflict resolution to communication, empathy, and leadership.
Games are usually very dynamic, holding different roles that change and shift. This makes games an inclusive space, letting learners find roles where they feel most comfortable in.
Foraging
At Where The Wild Things Are we refer to foraging as the act of acquiring natural materials from our surroundings for personal purposes. This includes for food, but also extends to crafting materials, fuel for the fire, bits for games, and keep sakes.
Foraging helps connect young people to the natural world and gives learners a greater sense or respect and appreciation for materials, resources, and food.
Through foraging, learners learn about their local environment, about taking only what they need, and about how to best take care of nature.
Shelter Building
Making a shelter is a monumental task, usually requiring several learners to work together in unison, and can take up to several sessions to complete.
Having to work together on a shared vision requires learners to not only communicate their ideas with each other, but to also negotiate and compromise.
Just like mentioned above in Games, learners working closely together helps develop their full range of social skills.
Shelter building is a very physical task, practicing learners’ gross motor skills, balance, and strength. Through working together to manoeuvre larger branches, learners also learn to coordinate with one another while also building trust.
Occasionally, Shelters also involve a fair bit of intricate work, from knot tying to waterproofing and insulation. This helps practice learners’ fine motor skills, focus, and attention to details.
Nature and Environment
Nature is a core principle of the Forest Schools ethos that resonates deeply with our own values.
During our sessions, learners get the chance to engage with, and learn about, nature, both formally and informally, through planned activities or exploration and investigation of our Forest School site. Learners might go on minibeast hunts, camouflage themselves or others, or play games using natural materials, all of which help to improve the learners’ connection to nature.
Learners will also engage in more hands-on environmental activities, such as removal of invasive plants, planting trees, seeding wildflower, building bug hotels and toad abodes, or creating safe zones for rare species and nesting birds. Taking action to protect and restore nature empowers learners and helps reduce climate anxiety.
​Spending time and having positive experiences in their local environment increases learners’ attachment to their home and surroundings, which in turn has been shown to promote pro-environmental behaviour and to improve one’s wellbeing.
Making Food
During some of our sessions, learners will have the opportunity to prepare simple campfire foods for themselves or the group.
Food is a fantastic reward that helps enforce other learning that happens during food preparation. Flowing instructions, sharing resources and practicing patience (at least if they want it to taste nice) are only some of the skills learners will practice.
Preparing their own food also helps learners make healthier connections and respect to food.
Lastly, having food in our sessions provides a small, but sometimes necessary, boost to learners’ wellbeing, if it because of the cold weather, the end a long day, or other reasons.
Find Out More
The categories mentioned above try and capture the essence of the large range of activities we ran and offer at our Forest School.
If you'd like to find out more about specific activities, or wonder about a an activities not mentioned above, please get in touch!
We would love to hear from you and tell you more about what it is we do here at Where The Wild Things Are.