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