Parents feel more secure when their children decide to stay indoors instead of engaging in outdoor activities. However, outdoor play has significant benefits, like developing emotional stability. Therefore, some organizations are trying to introduce a new approach via the educational system. Can you believe there is a Forest School where instead of sitting all day between four walls, you can jump, climb, and embrace outdoor play in a wooded area?
Where did it start?
In the 1990s, educators from the UK visited Denmark and learned about how Scandinavians embed the values of open-air living in education. They later introduced the Forest School in the college crèche.
What is it? How does it work?
Children who attend the Forest School explore the natural environment and go through the appropriate risk and challenges that will direct their learning. A survey of 30 children aged 4–9 found they felt independent, and a greater sense of personal, social responsibility that led to a deeper love of the environment. By attending Forest School, they developed a range of non-academic skills used in everyday life, which also allowed them to think 'outside the box'.
Application in the current educational system
Most Forest Schools operate in sync within mainstream state schools; students leave their classrooms for a half-day or one full-day a week. Many children face a constant pressure to reach set educational targets from a young age. Bridging formal and informal learning could help children find an easier, smarter way to accomplish these goals. Forest School, for both pupils and teachers, is an opportunity to move away from the monotony of classroom learning and engage in hands-on, self-directed learning. The program's main aim is to help students develop useful life skills while harnessing a love of the great outdoors.