Forest School And Outdoor Learning In The Early Years

Outdoor learning continues to play an essential role in early years education, and this new edition of a bestselling book explores how the Forest School approach can be easily and effectively incorporated into early years practice. Expanding on aspects of Forest School teaching, and drawing on new developments and policy changes within the field, this new edition also includes: - a new chapter on working with parents - greater coverage of the 0-2 age range - new case studies to aid learning - coverage of international approaches to Forest School Yet again Sara Knight delivers an inspirational text for all those working in or studying early years education and care. Sara Knight is an experienced early years educator and Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. She is a trained Forest School practitioner and author of Forest Schools For All and Risk and Adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play (both published by SAGE).

This book is a complete guide to Forest School provision and Nature Pedagogy and it examines the models, methods, worldviews and values that underpin teaching in nature. Cree and Robb show how a robust Nature Pedagogy can support learning, behaviour, and physical and emotional wellbeing, and, importantly, a deeper relationship with the natural world. They offer an overview of what a Forest School programme could look like through the year. The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy provides ‘real-life’ examples from a variety of contexts, sample session plans and detailed guidance on using language, crafting and working with the natural world. This accessible resource guides readers along the Forest School path, covering topics such as: the history of nature education; our sensory system in nature; Forest School ethos and worldview and playing and crafting in the natural world. Guiding practitioners through planning for a programme, including taking care of a woodland site and preparing all the essential policies and procedures for working with groups and nature, this book is written by dedicated Forest School and nature education experts and is essential reading for settings, schools, youth groups, families and anyone working with children and young people.

Learning outside the classroom is an essential part of early years education, and this book looks at the opportunities the Forest School experience can offer young children for learning outdoors, and how this fits into the early years curriculum. By offering clear guidance on what the Forest School approach can achieve, the book shows you how to incorporate good practice into all outdoor play activities. Issues examined include: - what is, and what isn't, a Forest School experience - how exercise, fresh air and learning outside help counter obesity - how Forest School can improve behaviour and social skills - accommodating different learning styles - examples of Forest School in practice This is an inspirational read for anyone working in early years education, and for all those who care about the future of our young children and the world in which they are growing up.

This fully revised edition of Understanding the Danish Forest School Approach is a much needed source of information for those wishing to extend and consolidate their understanding of the Danish Forest School Approach. It enables analysis of the essential elements of this particular approach to early childhood teaching and the relationship it holds with quality early years practice. Describing the key principles of the Forest School Approach to early childhood, and heavily supported with practical examples and case studies, each chapter ends with highlighted key points, followed by reflections on practice to aid discussion and reflection on own practice. Including a new chapter on the curriculum, this text explores all aspects of the approach including: The geographical, historical, social and cultural influences that have shaped the philosophy and pedagogy of the early years setting in Denmark. The people and theories that have influenced and supported the practices of using the outdoors with children. An analysis of the learning environments, their risks and challenges and what a learning environment is made up of. The Danish early years curriculum; the areas of learning and the way pedagogues facilitate the learning processes. Parental, political and research perspectives on the approach and the sustainability of its future. Understanding the Danish Forest School Approach highlights the key ideas that practitioners should consider when reviewing and reflecting on their own practice, and outlines the national appraisals and evaluations of the curriculum. Providing students and practitioners with key information about a major pedagogical influence on early years practice, this is a vital text for students, early years and childcare practitioners, teachers, early years professionals, children’s centre professionals, lecturers, advisory teachers and setting managers.

Helps demonstrate how to run Forest School sessions with a wide range of different age groups and in many different settings.

Do you want to create exciting outdoor experiences for children? Are you looking for guidance on how to incorporate the wilder and riskier elements of outdoor play into your planning? This book will give you the confidence to offer the children in your setting adventurous and challenging outdoor activities, as well as ways to utilise natural resources to their best advantage. There is clear, practical advice on what you need to do, which is underpinned by the theory that supports the benefits of this approach. Examples from settings are included, to illustrate best practice and to show how things can be achieved. Issues considered include: - being outside in ′bad′ weather - the importance of risk-taking - the benefits of rough and tumble play - observing and assessing children in this mode - how these experiences improve children′s learning - explaining activities to parents, colleagues and managers - ensuring health and safety requirements are met - the role of the adult in facilitating these experiences. Suitable for all students and practitioners working with young children from Birth to 8 , this book will not only give you ideas for outdoor play but also help you understand exactly what you are doing, why it is educationally sound and developmentally important for children, and where it connects with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in England, the Foundation Phase (FP) in Wales and the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland. Sara Knight is an experienced early years educator and Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. She is a trained Forest School practitioner and author of Forest Schools and Outdoor Learning in the Early Years.

Forest School is now implemented across a wide range of settings both nationally and internationally, and this book explores the global similarities between the Forest School approach and how natural spaces are being used all over the world. Written by a range of international authors, the text includes perspectives from: - Sweden - Portugal - Brazil - Germany - Slovenia - South Africa - Australia - USA and Canada - India It considers the impact that global influences have on early learning, and reflects on how the Forest School approach is used in the UK. With case studies, annotated further reading and points for practice this is a key text for all those studying Early Childhood Studies, Early Years and Primary Education. Sara Knight is Principal Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. She is a trained Forest School practitioner and author of Forest Schools For All, Risk and Adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play and Forest School and Outdoor Learning (all published by SAGE).

This Open Access book examines children’s participation in dialectical reciprocity with place-based institutional practices by presenting empirical research from Australia, Brazil, China, Poland, Norway and Wales. Underpinned by cultural-historical theory, the analysis reveals how outdoors and nature form unique conditions for children's play, formal and informal learning and cultural formation. The analysis also surfaces how inequalities exist in societies and communities, which often limit and constrain families' and children's access to and participation in outdoor spaces and nature. The findings highlight how institutional practices are shaped by pedagogical content, teachers' training, institutional regulations and societal perceptions of nature, children and suitable, sustainable education for young children. Due to crises, such as climate change and the recent pandemic, specific focus on the outdoors and nature in cultural formation is timely for the cultural-historical theoretical tradition. In doing so, the book provides empirical and theoretical support for policy makers, researchers, educators and families to enhance, increase and sustain outdoor and nature education.