Forest School Jo

So here it is, my final day on the Scilly Isles. I'm going to miss waking up to this view... Cases groaning as we squashed our treasures inside, beds stripped, rubbish in sacks, luggage hauled to the port for 10am, and then the final few hours enjoying St. Mary's. My hand baggage is heavy so I chose to stay very local. A wander in the shops, lunch by the sea, a swim, a book, and sunshine. It sped by way too fast! Last night we all dined together, all 9 volunteers plus Katie and kind of said our goodbyes then. Today all 5 of us staying at Kistvaen were on the 4.30 Ferry, so we mingled a bit, found our own way to say goodbye to this place, and boarded together for a calm crossing to mainland Cornwall. We laughed, and chatted, and dozed on the deck in the sun. The denim blue sea was gentle, with ripples and dolphins speeding us on our way.  Penzance was welcoming and the boat service ran like clockwork, all too soon we were on the docks in a group hug saying goodbye. We have lived...

Tomorrow will be the penultimate day. Forest School with the 3 - 8 year olds, I'm really looking forward to it, watching the children enjoy the woods and exploring the environment. Today, however, was my last full 'day off', and it was glorious! The sun shone, the sea sparkled, the white sand glittered, the green of the trees and gold of the broken was vibrant. A few volunteers and I headed off to St. Martin's, the 5th inhabited island here at the Scilly Isles, and the 5th one we've visited. This wasn't the usual boat trip chugging over to a sister port, we took the long way, the wildlife tour around the Eastern Isles, and looked out for seals! The water was very calm considering we are nestling in the British corner of the Atlantic. The breeze was warm. Seals lazed on the rocks or bobbed their heads out of the water to watch us pass by. It's never entirely certain who is the voyeur! The people holding mobile phones aloft or the water creatures watching us w...

I will be 100% honest as say I have almost nothing to add today! I have a non work day and I've spent it almost solely trying to deal with travel insurance for my cancelled train trip that had to be rebooked to make sure I got here! I have had a stroll around Hugh Town. I've done a little shopping, and I've bought a book, set here, because I fancy reading a good murder!!! I'm sure dealing with forms and claims and red tape and pedantic admin people has nothing to do with it...  I've added a couple pics to enjoy. I call them - Scilly: Little Details! 

Well, where do I start? Forest School is Forest School. What makes it is the ethos, the teamwork, freedom, and the chance to be in nature. So much is exactly the same no matter the setting, children, and adults. At the same time, the setting, children, and adults do dictate what Forest School will be! This Forest School has a picturesque setting, but it's still in the heart of a natural forest, carpeted in pine needles, decorated in bracken, with an enviable blue view between the trees of sky and sea. Trees can be climbed, paths can be explored, logs can be overturned, and sticks can be ANYTHING! Dens for people were improved and built for toy creatures. Sticks were wands, and staffs, and styluses. A slack line and hammock encouraged balance and turntaking. A rope swing was adapted, and competent children helped the reticent climb on. A few bugs were found. A bit of running took place. Games were played... Smiles flashed, giggles rang out, new ideas added to the varied provision ad...

Today dawned with scattered cloud and a breeze. The woods are always cooler and it's a relief to imagine 'working' without a borderline heatwave distracting everyone!  Everywhere on St. Mary's is in walking distance, but we were collected and chauffeured to site. For anyone unfamiliar with the islands off of Cornwall, the Scilly Isles have a Mediterranean temperate, are 5 habited islands, and scattered between are many more! The biggest is St. Mary's, where we are, and no where is as much as 3 miles from the sea, so it is the backdrop to almost everything. The site we will be using is next to  the beach so the setting is very photogenic! Here, there are various introduced trees, mostly mature, that are similar to Chartham. On school grounds we have Scots Pines, here there are huge Canadian Pines. There are invasive species to look out for as well as ones native but rare in the UK.  Bracken, gorse, and brambles are a given! After a chat with the Isle Of Scilly Wildli...

I spend a lot of time pointing out how varied Forest School can be. The length of sessions, the quantity of support, the setting, the clients, and the environment you are in. It's something we're exploiting at Chartham with Three Basecamps being set up to offer different types of opportunities. One focusing on wildlife and growing, one on games and physical activity, and one on tree climbing and independence. All sessions will have much more in common than they do in difference. All these aspects are available at each, the children will always have the choice to join in or devise their own pursuits, and resillience, teamwork, respect, independence, observation, and curiosity will be fostered in them all, but each has an environmental situation that makes offering specific activities possible. Here on St. Mary's the environment will also influence how Forest School works. Just looking around the island shows many similarities, like bracken, sycamores, brambles, ground ivy, c...