Starting a vegetable patch
At this time of year everything is flourishing and green, the fields are filled with wild flowers and the bees and minibeasts are in abundance. With my own little vegetable patch thriving I thought I’d share a “how-to” start your own growing project, which is a lovely project to do with little ones and great for your wellbeing. Hopefully you’ll end up with some yummy home grown veggies to enjoy too!
I’ve discovered that herbs and chillis are great for growing on window sills, or if you have space in the garden for a veg patch or raised bed you have more options for what you can grow. You can even use containers of all shapes and sizes for growing. It’s important not to feel pressure, just let the magic happen and use the process as an experiment!
This year I planted a few vegetables and herbs from seed back in April; parsley, oregano, mint, Thai basil, chillis, lettuce, sugar snaps and runner beans. I re-used some trays and filled them with compost, you could also re-use yogurt pots or use toilet roll tubes for planting your seeds. Pick up some compost and choose which seeds you’d like to try at your local garden centre.
First, fill the pots with compost, sprinkle a few seeds on top and cover with a little more compost. Pop them in a warm spot on the window sill and make sure the soil stays moist by watering them each day (but not so it’s too soggy).
After a couple of weeks little sprouts start appearing, it all feels quite magical!
Now is the time to nurture those little sprouts!
In actual fact there’s very little to do at this stage other than give them a little water and watch them shoot up…
… and keep shooting up!
Once they outgrow their little pots you can re-pot them into a bigger container or plant them straight out into the garden. I kept the chilli plants indoors on a sunny window sill but everything else was popped into a raised bed outdoors. Last year upon moving a number of chilli plants out into the garden, the next day the entire plants had been eaten!! So having learnt from that I decided to keep the chillis indoors to see how they fare.
At this stage it’s important to keep watering your little plants each day, and checking in to see how much things are growing. The lettuce did really well in early summer and I was able to pull off leaves to have in a salad each day and they just kept growing!
I found out that runner beans and sugar snaps need LOTS of growing space to get nice and tall, so this meant replacing short bamboo sticks with 6 ft sticks and they seemed so much happier!
I’ve now got lots and lots of sugar snap peas and runner beans sprouting. The chilli plants haven’t quite formed any chillis yet… but hopeful they might appear soon too. Out of the herbs, the parsley, mint and oregano have done brilliantly in pots in the garden.
It’s a little bit of trial and error but it’s incredibly rewarding eating some of your own home-grown fresh vegetables for dinner!
Such a fun experiment and we’d recommend delving into your own veggie growing for a wholesome project the whole families can get involved with.
Our favourite podcasts
If you're new or curious about the childcare in nature, parenting or even the education world, there are some fantastic free listening to soak up on your next woodland walk. Lately when we pop in our earbuds, we're listening to @naturenurtures_ podcast because they are striving to build healthy communities, who value children and the natural world 🌱✨
Other podcasts we love are:
@hellolunchlady - Their latest podcast talks to a small group of mums who wanted to do something radical to help combat climate change @radicalhopeclub
Emma and Tom Teaching (the incredible illustration is by @blandoodles) - Emma and Tom muse about the joys of teaching in general. Expect deep discussions, wellbeing and things to steal for your own lessons!
@edtechpodcast The Edtech Podcast gets behind the personalities in global education innovation & edtech. You hear from educators, investors, startups, bluechips, Government & students.
We always love hearing podcast recommendations so let us know your favourite!
Book recommendations for 2-3 year olds
One of our favourite things to do on a sunny day, a rainy day and quite frankly every day is to find a little cosy spot and a good story book. Stories are magical for children (and adults) and delving into another world for a short time sparks the imagination and expands our knowledge and vocabulary. Books are learning opportunities for children and although some of our favourite books are adventure packed and help to expand the imagination, other favourites are tales that are familiar to children and provide a learning opportunity related to their stage of development.
These are some of our favourite books for 2-3 year olds, as voted for by the teams in the Little Forest Folk nurseries, drum roll please….
…
Supertato by Paul Linnet and Sue Hendra
The Supertato books are funny adventure stories, packed with bright and colourful illustrations and children really do delight in the silly-ness of these books.
Winnie the witch by Valerie Thomas
An all time favourite, there are now 19 books in the Winnie the Witch series! But the original is still a favourite for children, it’s funny and the illustrations are clever and conversation building.
Fred gets dressed by Peter Brown
We find this is a really good book when children are learning to get dressed by themselves, it has cheeky illustrations and a familiar story line that children love to read again and again.
Little red and the very hungry lion by Alex T. Smith
A classic fairy tale with a twist, full of jungle animals and a ‘sassy’ female main character that we adore.
I am Angry by Michael Rosen
A perfect book for little ones to help to explore emotions. I am angry is a rhyming tale all about the overwhelming emotion anger brings and reassuring readers that it doesn’t last forever.
The lion inside by Rachel Bright
This book is one of our favourite story books with a lovely message. Helping to build confidence in little ones and coming to accept yourself as you are.
Shh! We have a plan by Chris Haughton
This is a funny book with easy repetition for children to join in with. It’s simple, very fun and well illustrated, it’s fantastic for little ones early language learning.
We hope you enjoy these recommendations, happy reading!
Nature based gift ideas for little explorers
Buying birthday gifts for children gives us all a challenge… so we wanted to share with you our favourite nature lover gift ideas for the miniature explorers in your life. We also fully support “experiences” rather than “things” as you can’t beat quality time spent together. But we think the joy when a child opens a gift is pretty magical and so we thought we’d share a range of our favourite gifting ideas which are also fantastic opportunities for projects and things to do together. These gifts are suitable for children from 2 years upwards and we’ll note if they are only aimed at a particular age-group.
Gift Ideas
Firstly we love this wooden insect house which is perfect for inquisitive children. Providing a safe haven for all sorts of bugs in your garden and a fun learning project to get children outdoors and monitoring who moves in! The hotel should attract pollinators, such as bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies, ladybirds and beetles! This one is from Garden Gifts and costs £16.99. This is great for children at any age, I even know a few adults who would enjoy this as a gift, younger children will need to be fully supported by an adult when monitoring comings and goings at the hotel.
After a quick web search you can find a range of different insect houses to choose from along with hedgehog houses and bird feeders which are all great gift options for little nature detectives. If you’re handy with a saw and hammer you could have a go at making your own insect or hedgehog house, this is something the children enjoy building at Little Forest Folk with the educator's support.
Next up are Mud and Bloom letterbox nature based boxes, a great option for gifting from afar. We highly rate Mud and Bloom and we’ve shared all about them previously in the Things we love section of the blog. The boxes are such an amazing gift idea for children and subscription based so the gift keeps on giving each month or for as long as you’d like to sign up for!
These boxes support children to connect with nature and are suitable for children aged 3 to 8 years. Each box contains four seasonal growing and craft activities along with instructions, nature news and games to teach children about the seasons, plants, insects, birds, soil and rainfall. The boxes cost £13.95 each for one child and £16.95 for two, you can purchase one box or opt for a monthly subscription for up to 6 months for £13.50 per box.
Heading up into space this Solar system craft kit is a great creative gift idea from Not on the high street for little artists come astronomers. This gorgeous gift comes packed in a little cardboard box with everything needed to create your very own solar system using engraved wooden shapes, watercolour pencils & lolly sticks, it also comes with eco glitter to add a little va-va-voom sparkly shimmer!
This kit costs £13.95 and is recommended for children aged 3 upwards.
Who doesn’t enjoy a game of bingo?! For a family fun game which is educational too we love these beautifully illustrated Bird Bingo and Bug Bingo games which would make a lovely gift.
The games feature 64 species of birds or bugs from around the world. Spot all kinds of different types, mark them off on your card and bingo! There are also options of Cat Bingo, Monkey Bingo, Ocean Bingo and more to choose from!
These we found available to buy online at Laurence King for £19.99 but they are also available from lots of online outlets.
We hope some of these recommendations might come in useful!
Enjoy your future gifting and exploring!
Exploring in the natural world
We’re already at the start of March and despite Storm Eunice’s best efforts and days on end of windy weather, we are actually starting to see the beginnings of Spring with shoots appearing everywhere, which is just glorious. For me, watching the seasons change always brings a fresh sense of purpose and I get excited for the months ahead and all the plans I intend to make. For children, the changing of the season is a brilliant learning experience and the perfect time to get outdoors to really see the changes in the environment.
Something we’ve heard lots of families mention over the last couple of months is how they plan to include even more outdoor time as part of their regular weekly family activities. We love this. The fact that there are so many parents who are keen to get their children outdoors in the fresh air, being active, learning through their play, experiencing new challenges and maybe even exploring some riskier play, is simply music to our ears.
I wanted to share some thoughts and things that might help support getting outdoors with children. Below are some of the easiest ways to get started for any parents or adults and if this helps at least one family to feel more confident in getting their children outdoors, then mission accomplished.
First things first, think about starting small. There doesn’t have to be an enormous amount of planning when you’re just getting started with exploring the great outdoors with your children. Find a local green space that you know or are comfortable with and simply try and experience that space in a different way.
For example, if you have a favourite park that you go to, instead of heading to the same spot you might usually play in, perhaps use this as the perfect opportunity to have a fun adventure walk to explore different areas. You can simply take your time to explore and let your child take the lead on where they want to go and what they want to see or you can open up the conversation and talk to your child about what they can see, hear and smell around them. We often miss so much of nature around us because we just look straight ahead, so encourage your little one to look up high to the tops of the trees and down low to the ground. Try not to rush the walk but instead really take the time to stop along the way and discover new things together, taking in the wonder of nature. Just exploring a new natural environment can create the most wonderful conversations with our children, sparking their curiosity and leading to the most insightful questions from them.
Activities for your adventure walk
Collect nature treasures for arts & crafts...Take a small bag or basket along with you on your walk and let your child look for and collect forest treasures. These can be twigs, sticks, leaves, stones, feathers or similar. You can then look through their discoveries when they are done or to extend the learning, use those forest treasures to make a collage at home.
Forest treasure hunt...Give your child a list of a few things to specifically look for along their walk, such as a certain colour or shape of leaf or fallen flower petals, a conker or pinecone. This is a simple way to give an adventure walk purpose, and creates a real sense of excitement when they find what they were looking for.
Search for minibeasts...An adventure walk is the perfect time to see what insects and minibeasts you can find together. If you can find a log to look underneath, then you’ll likely hit gold. This activity also creates the perfect opportunity to talk to your child about looking after their natural environment and all the creatures that live within it. If you have a magnifying glass at home, take it along to see those minibeasts even more closely!
Bark rubbing... Children love exploring the patterns and textures of bark and all you need is some crayons and paper. Choose a bumpy tree with interesting bark. Place the paper against the trunk and rub the crayon over the paper to make a print of the bark pattern.
Find a muddy puddle...It sounds so basic but it always brings so much joy! Find a puddle and have a good jump and splash in it. Just don’t forget the waterproofs and wellies!
Take a storybook & enjoy a snack... Take a blanket, a good story book and a snack along with you on your adventure walk. You can stop along the way and read together or just sit down for a moment and have a little picnic. Children love to read outdoors in nature. We’re really fond of the Alison Fondman book Stickman, a great read especially when on a forest adventure.
And for those parents looking to really deepen their knowledge and understanding of outdoor education and risky play, we have just recently introduced a 1-day session for parents, grandparents or anyone wanting to learn more, it’s called “LEARNING, PLAYING AND EXPLORING IN THE NATURAL WORLD”.
We hope some of these tips lead to some exciting adventures with your little ones! Give yourself time and enjoy being surrounded by nature… spending time around trees and looking at trees is proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and improves mood, so a day in the forest is time well spent for both adults and children!
Lisa
Editor of Little Forest Folk Life
It’s December!
Can you believe it's already December and before we know it, we'll be in the year 2022? I know many of us are guilty of constantly repeating the age old saying "where does the time go?" but it really is incredible how we're almost at the end of this year and that soon we'll be ticking into the next. I'm terrible and hear myself at least 3 times a week saying it to people but then this morning, I was thinking to myself but where does the time really go? Because I remember when I was child, that time certainly felt like it went more slowly. A day felt different and a year felt like such a long time and Christmas was always welcomed warmly as though it had been away for so much longer than a year. But as soon as I became an adult, it was as if I was upgraded to the adult version of time, as if a different clock applied altogether but the new clock seems to tick faster and faster. Even now it amazes me that the weeks can fly by so quickly and that in a blink of an eye I seem to have semi-grown up children and I find myself wondering where the years have gone and why it feels this way. Perhaps it's the childlike wonder of our youth that played with our concept of time. Or maybe there is a more scientific reason for this feeling of experiencing time differently at different ages. After a very quick mid-blog google search on that very question, I was presented with the concept of "Clock time" and "Mind time" over a lifetime. According to Google (further digging will ensue when time allows), the effect is due to saccadic eye movement. When you're young and experiencing lots of new stimuli, everything is new, so time seems to be passing more slowly. But as you get older, the production of new mental images slows down, giving the sense that time passes more rapidly. Interesting and I suppose it does offer one explanation. But whatever our individual concept of time, one thing I think we can all agree on, is that this time of year is always a great reminder to take the time to relax, have fun and enjoy good food and good times with our family and friends. It's been another challenging year for so many of us and I for one, am really looking forward to slowing down. Christmas time for me means spending time with my family, playing quiz games, watching old Christmas movies (Home Alone is still a firm favourite in our house!), taking long walks together in the cold air and cooking delicious food to enjoy. Whatever your plans are this year, I hope you have a wonderful time filled with happiness, family and warmth. For those of you who love to get busy cooking and want to try something new in the kitchen over the holidays, then do check out our newly added recipes.
We hope you have a wonderful festive break!
Lisa
Editor of Little Forest Folk Life
We’ve launched!
Time for something new?
As the seasons shift and we inch closer to Winter, it really feels like change is afoot. None of us could have imagined that the pandemic would last this long. But as we learn to live with it and adjust to our new normal, things are definitely starting to look up. And one really positive thing that I’d like to share is that after talking about this for quite some time now, we are finally launching our very own lifestyle blog…Little Forest Folk Life! It’s a first for us and the idea behind it is that we’ve created an online space here where we feature all of our favourite things. These are some of the things that make up life at Little Forest Folk. Our favourite recipes, activities, products, and even places to visit; all the things we’re often asked about.
The idea started last Summer when I had a really inspiring but impromptu catch up with Little Forest Folk founders Leanna and James, their three children and their spaniel Lucy. They all descended on me at home for a last minute visit on their way to go camping in the Cotswolds. As the children and the dogs played, we sat in the garden and talked excitedly about what’s next for us, what might be the next stage of our growth. Everyone has dreams and has aspirations, it’s what drives us, what gets us up in the morning. But what happens when you reach those goals that you set yourself years ago, when you see those dreams unfold. We’d opened the nurseries, won plenty of awards and Leanna had even realised her dream of opening a school. So we’d actually accomplished what we set out to do, so what do you do next? Well as I said to Leanna during their visit, it’s time to start thinking and dreaming big all over again.
We then continued to talk about many other ideas including opening more nurseries and maybe even expanding outside of London, little did we know then that in just a few short months, we’d soon be facing a recruitment crisis with a national shortage of staff. We even talked about holding our very own festival for Little Forest Folk families when it was safe to do so again.We talked about how we could add value where we can to the families who are interested in who we are and what we do and so I put forward the idea of this blog. Now, while in our excitement we thought we could achieve all of the ideas we had that day (and I’m certain that they will all eventually be realised) we’re still a relatively small team and we can only do so much, if we want to do it well.
I hope you agree that Little Forest Folk is now so much more than just a group of outdoor nurseries, it’s not just about "Great childcare in the Great outdoors” it’s about an entire approach to raising children. And over the last year or two we’ve been having the most amazing conversations with parents in our community who want more from us. And we’re ready for that too. Part of the drive behind us getting Little Forest Folk to this point, is the fact that we are so incredibly excited about what we are doing and so determined to make things happen and we don’t let anything stop us or slow us down. Why would we start slowing down now? And so we’re finally launching the lifestyle blog and we hope you enjoy it.
In addition to the new lifestyle blog, we do have other big ideas on the horizon that we’re working on. There will hopefully be more nurseries across London but in addition to this, we’re also focussing on building a training business so that we can share what we’ve learned with as many others as possible. There will be training available for parents, for teachers and anyone else who is interested to find out more about outdoor education and forest school. Keep an eye on our nursery website for more on that. Oh and did I mention that we’re starting our very own podcast too? It may end up just being Leanna and I talking candidly about life, children and education. What could possibly go wrong?
For now though, I want to say a very big thank you for all the support you’ve shown us and we really hope you enjoy the blog.
If there is something you’d like to see that we’re not yet featuring, then get in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you, just email me.
Until the next blog…
Lisa
Editor of Little Forest Folk Life
Let children play outside…even when it’s cold
When the weather starts to turn colder, the frost sets in and we start to layer up to keep warm, this is the time of year when many families start to ask about playing outdoors when it’s cold.
“Do children get sick a lot?
Don’t they catch colds from being outside in the winter?
Don’t they get cold and wet and freezing?
These are some of the questions that families ask us and from our experience over the last 6 years we can happily share that children who attend our forest nurseries get sick far far less than in a conventional nursery.
Instead of breathing recycled stale air...
They are running around gulping great big lungfuls of fresh air.
Instead of touching plastic toys that have had lots of other sticky fingers over them...
They are embracing nature play, collecting sticks, leaves and other natures bounty.
Instead of sitting down all day, not really raising their heart rate...
Our children are climbing, digging, rolling, jumping and swinging, a mixture of bone strengthening, muscle building and cardiovascular exercise.
Their physical development and physical health is sustained at a high level. Exercise also improves our children's emotional health, allowing for relaxation and calmness and a heightened sense of well being.
We also build our immunity playing with dirt, mud and other natural materials, thereby bypassing all the concerns raised in the hygiene hypothesis. Wintering outdoors brings incredible health benefits to children.
At a time of year when children in the UK generally begin to ease towards a more indoor, sedentary lifestyle our children are actively bounding around in the forest. The plague of coughs, colds, tummy bugs and other childhood diseases that can run rampant in a traditional nursery during winter months don’t really affect us. Of course, we have runny noses all winter, but these are not the green, snotty bacteria runny noses of colds and flu. These are the results of the colder weather and the warmth we feel inside from our exertions coming out in a lovely dribble of constant runny noses!
Tummy bugs in addition to diseases like chickenpox, hand, foot and mouth which spread like wildfire in groups of small children don’t really get passed around in the forest. Not only are our forest adventurers less susceptible to bugs but when they do pick them up, they are kind enough to not share them with their friends in the forest.
The immediate health benefits of playing outdoors throughout winter are obvious. Just as important, however, are the long term benefits to children who play outdoors through the colder months. Renewed activity guidelines for the early years by the British Heart Foundation state that 2-5 year olds should be taking at least 3 hours exercise every day to benefit their current health but also to install future health habits and benefits.
“Children of pre-school age who are capable of walking unaided should be physically active daily for at least 180 minutes (3 hours), spread throughout the day.
— BHF National Centre
It can be difficult to factor in these minimum exercise requirements in a day that is mostly indoor based, but take children outside and their natural inclination is to move. Our children are on the move at least 6 hours a day. They are having fun, they aren’t being cajoled to move, they are simply playing. But that playing is reducing their chances of being a part of the terrifyingly large 31.2% of British children who are obese (Public Health England’s Health Survey for England 2014).
“31.2% of children aged 2 to 15 were classed as either overweight or obese
— Public Health England’s Health Survey for England 2014
And do the kids get cold? Not if they are dressed correctly! Remember, for each adult step, a child requires 2 or 3, so they are already more active than we realise. Indeed, we more often hear complaints about the cold from our teachers instead of the children! Just make sure they are rugged up as our kit list suggests and your little one will be able to run around outdoors all day long.
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.
— Alfred Wainwright
The World Health Organisation regards childhood obesity as one of the most serious global public health challenges of the 21st century. Obese children are more likely to develop childhood diabetes along with various other health problems. This along with the news that doctors have started prescribing vitamin D tablets to children following an upsurge in the number of children developing rickets is astonishing, when there is a simple and easy way to significantly reduce the chances of experiencing these health problems.
This is in addition to behavioural issues, such as ADHD which evidence indicates can be alleviated by spending more time moving outdoors. Kids can still learn while playing, and indeed what we are showing at Little Forest Folk is that play is indeed the best way that 2 to 5 year olds do develop a curiosity about the world and spark a passion for learning.
Furthermore, scientists have found that instances of myopia (short-sightedness) are less prevalent in children who spend more time outdoors and are more used to focusing on items in the mid to long range instead of close-up.
There are so many benefit to physical and emotional well-being if you just make one simple change in life. Let children play outside. Regularly, with joy, all year around. Don’t think that because the days are drawing in that you need to cower indoors.
Encourage your little ones to keep playing outdoors giggling, running, engaging, climbing and smiling every day throughout Winter. Their health will be significantly stronger as a consequence.
Why mindfulness is important from a young age
As parents we dedicate ourselves to helping our children become the best they can be and to equip them with the key skills they need to be happy and fulfilled in their lives. In these busy times in which we live, a skill we believe is of vital importance for children to master from a young age is mindfulness.
“We spend far too much time worrying about the future, rehashing the past and not enough time enjoying and experiencing life in the present.”
Mindfulness is all about learning to direct our attention to our experience as it unfolds, moment by moment, with open-minded curiosity, kindness and acceptance. Rather than worrying about what has happened or might happen, it trains us to explore and respond skilfully to whatever is happening right now.
In essence, mindfulness and the ability to be present in the now is a skill which once mastered and practised will have incredible benefits to children’s emotional wellbeing, ability to manage stress and their ability to listen rather than hear. It will allow them to recognise and identify their own emotions and feelings and teach them how to help themselves feel good inside.
Mindfulness is such a powerful tool for life that it is now being practised in many schools over the UK, however it’s rarely practised with 2-5 year olds. So we embarked upon a training programme which was a learning curve and a lesson for us all in how such young children can learn most from this practice. As ever our mindfulness training will take place under the guise of play, with storytelling and props helping to set the scene for the relaxing environment.
Top tips for developing mindfulness…
Puppy training
Practise the basics of how to aim and sustain attention. Start with with fun and relaxing breathing based exercises you can do at home or outdoors. Breathing exercises teach us how to control our brains to exploit the feeling of being in the present and being self aware. It can be incredibly rewarding and will have the bonus side effect of feeling relaxed whilst also working on your mental and physical awareness and wellbeing.The David Attenborough attitude
Learn and practise how to be curious about your experience. Lie down quietly, close your eyes and just concentrate on how you experience the world around you. How your body feels and what can you hear, smell or feel. Notice everything.A walk in the woods
It’s easier to be mindful in a quiet room with no distractions but what about in the middle of every day life. Try practising ways to bring mindfulness to daily activities such as walking outdoors in our forest. Breathe steadily and rhythmically, and don’t forget to look all around you taking in the detail of what you see. Remember to look up too.Getting off the thought bus
Practise how to question and step back from our own internal thinking, getting off the bus of stressful thoughts and keeping our equilibrium. You are the observer of your thoughts, you are not your thoughts.Keeping your cool
Try to understand the difference between responding and reacting, to help us learn to become better facilitators. In stressful situations, practise breathing before immediately reacting. This will help steady you and think about what you want to happen next. And excellent for children to see you doing that too. Demonstrating that you are calm and in control no matter what happens.Getting friendly
Bringing mindfulness into interpersonal relationships – specifically through listening and communication practices. Take the time to really listen to what your family members/friends are saying, you need to be open and relaxed to be able to actively listen properly
Another fantastic way to help develop mindfulness is to try doing some yoga with your child. Even if you’ve never done it before, it can be really fun and a great way to set the tone for the day. We love Yoga With Adriene For Kids and we think you will too. Make the time to do the whole video if you can and even if that doesn’t fully go to plan, if nothing else it will be a great conversation starter with your little ones about why it’s important to slow down and take the time you need to refresh and recharge.
You’ll be experts in no time… mindfully sitting, breathing, listening, mindful movement and stretching, smelling, tasting and eating together!
The argument for risky play
Sometimes it feels like we live in a truly risk averse society today. Often children are wrapped in cotton wool to ensure they come to no harm, but while the intention is to protect this also denies them the opportunities that risky play and behaviour provide to learn and develop. Helicopter parenting has become the norm, seriously reducing the freedom children have to play freely.
Outdoor play offers a wealth of opportunities for naturally risky play. We want our children to grow up with resilience, to be independent, to be confident, to be problem solvers.
We want to demonstrate our faith in them to build up their confidence that they can trust their own judgements in life. We want to acknowledge their capability for managing their own risk, we want to teach them to bounce back from failure and we want them to challenge themselves whilst exploring boundaries. We want our children to feel the joy of freedom, to encourage their creativity and enhance their adaptability.
We believe these long term goals to form strong personal characteristics and abilities to help navigate life are of vital importance. We obviously don’t want our children to come to harm but we have to take a risk-benefit assessment to analyse how we can manage risks associated with children’s playful behaviour whilst avoiding children missing out on some highly beneficial learning through this play.
Playing outdoors in nature offers endless opportunities for risky play. You as the parent play the role of supervisor, to be there to support and be ready to help when asked for it but not before. The relationship between children and parents form a very important role in risky play as children need to feel safe and secure enough to embark on risky play in the first place. Parents can help with words of encouragement or role modelling how to do something but doing it themselves.
One of the hardest parts for parents is allowing risky play to happen and spending time outdoors where there is access to the right kind of environment. One of the mottos we live by in every aspect of play we try to use the motto:
“I can help you with my words but not my hands”
This helps to try and edge children towards learning to problem solve, assess risk and build up their resilience. When children want to climb a tree, they’ll often judge for themselves the strongest footholds, the safest route and if they can climb up unassisted, and it’s safe to do, then even better. If they want help in getting back down, try to first using words and not hands to reassure your child that they can do it. They will feel amazing for it.
We want to encourage self belief and confidence. And if there’s anything children can’t do, then use the power of ‘yet’. They can’t do it YET. Failure can offer a wealth of learning opportunities, such as how to best approach the challenge the next time. The excitement and pride of successfully climbing a tree unassisted for the first time is a wonderful thing to see in a young child.
We have faith in our children. They are amazing and we trust in their capabilities. As parents just like us, we’re sure you are regularly astounded at their abilities. Wherever possible, risky play in groups is hugely beneficial. Allowing children to monitor and assess their own and their peers risky play teaches them extremely valuable life skills.
Children are designed to learn emotional resilience through engaging in risky play. They need to encounter fear to learn how to manage it. If we deny our children the opportunity for risky play then we also deny them the opportunity to bolster their mental health.
Let's give children more freedom. Take them outside. Let them climb a tree. Encourage them with words rather than your hands. And revel with them in the thrill of success when they reach the top!
Playing IS learning
If your child is fortunate enough to spent lots of their time playing outdoors then you might sometimes be wondering how much actual learning is taking place.
In our opinion, learning isn’t something you ‘do’. It’s something that happens constantly for children, especially in the early years. A popular misconception is that children need to be sitting down, participating in an adult-directed focus activity to be learning. We believe this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Learning happens everywhere: at nursery, school, at home, out in the world. The most valuable learning that occurs is when curiosity is sparked and children are inspired by their environment and interests to explore and investigate themselves. We believe when you sit children down and direct them to focus on a task that you as an adult have decided will be interesting to them, you’re already starting on the back foot. You are potentially risking pulling children away from learning and interests they are deeply engaged in, to sit with you and participate in an activity they may have no interest in. We want to help children to understand that learning is a lifelong process that happens everywhere they go.
And there is enormous evidence to support this. If you’d like an inspiring read into why children should be given freedom to learn their own way then we highly recommend Peter Gray’s ‘Free to Learn’. Alternatively, if you’ve time to read through a bit more academically focused research and evidence bases for play as learning, then we’d recommend visiting the Cambridge University’s research department into play. The Cambridge Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development & Learning (PEDAL) conducts intensive research attempting to affect government policy. Their discussions on play-based pedagogies are grounded in research on cognitive developmental psychology and are extremely interesting.
Our children are growing up in a world where soft skills are going to be far more highly valued and useful than academic skills. Let’s not hide from the fact that we have left the industrial era and are now in the innovation era.
Creativity, innovation, problem-solving and critical thinking – these are going to be the most sought-after skills. And these are skills that it is very difficult to ‘teach’ in a conventional sitting down, adult-directed focus activity. We need to allow children to explore, to investigate, to try and to fail, then reconsider their options and try again. We need to give them freedom of time and space to learn how to think, and to think of how they love to learn.
Empathy, compassion, flexibility, the ability to collaborate and strong communication skills are being honed in the forest every single day. And we are pretty confident that these skills the children are learning so well are skills that will serve them far greater in their future life than calculus ;-)