forest school
--Due to current COVID19-related restrictions our Forest School is currently not running--
Every weekend, primary school students attend our forest school in a pristine riverside forest area. Our pedagogy is heavily influenced by the methods of Waldorf and Montessori and by the social constructivism and social constructionism theories.
We encourage our students to explore and discover the natural world and themselves, nurturing for them experiences full of meaning with life-long effect. Our main goal is prosperity. By recognising the social, emotional and physical needs of the children, we can offer guidance and care while outdoors. We do not lead the sessions nor have a pre-scheduled curriculum. Instead, we facilitate the conditions for a plethora of creative experiences from which the children get to choose for themselves. This way we support the development of their self-esteem and self-respect.
We further aim in the development of the environmental identity of our students. The main difference between forest schools and mainstream environmental education events is that forest schools take place systematically throughout the year in the same natural environment. This is very important because it allows children to observe nature and its changes in all four seasons and also develop a place attachment to this particular natural setting, which can transmute to caring for nature in whole.
Our forest school is open all year round, even when the weather is “not good”. We want our students to experience all weather and learn to feel comfortable even in difficult outdoor conditions. We only postpone our sessions when there are very high winds, in fear of falling trees.
