"Jen does a stunning job at caring and accompanying the children, including on the many outings she is organising for more onsite discovery!"

- Parent -

Offering

Our whole approach is designed to support personal, social and ecological well-being through healthy relationships. Our curriculum is everything that we learn, whether child led, co-produced or offered by an adult. We have designed a flexible framework to guide our learning in tune with the seasons. This gives us a nature inspired rhythm as well as the freedom to be able to adapt and respond to children's passions, talents and interests.

Seasonal Themes

Deepening relationship with self, community and nature

Mondays, 09:30 - 15:30: Adventure Days

These are really fun packed days out, learning in the community. All trips and visits are planned together with the children and democratically decided using consent. We have been on trips following the children's interests to places like Horsham Museum, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, Greenwich Observatory, Cutty Sark and the Maritime Museum, Chichester Novium, Cissbury Ring, Arundel, Kingley Vale, Th e Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceaux and The British Wildlife Centre. At the start and end of each term, we have planning and consolidation days which are slower paced to plan ahead or to reflect and further explore particular interests. There are so many opportunities in being nomadic!

Tuesdays, 10:00 - 15:00: Forest Circles

Learning inspired by nature at the hornbeam circle. This unique offering is more than a forest school, it includes bespoke workshops with Clive the Woodsman, voluntary participation in collaborative projects and the feeling of belonging that comes from being part of an eco-democratic learning community in a beautiful ancient woodland. Examples of possible projects include green woodworking, making and firing clay pottery, making candles from birch fungus, nature based jewellery, art and textiles projects using natural handmade pigments and dyes, woodland poetry, music and performance, and soil science experiments to make the invisible visible. The range of possible projects is as broad and deep as the sky.

Thursdays, 09:30 - 15:30: Play and Projects

Learning through free play and the opportunity to develop personal and / or collaborative projects. Children will be offered opportunities for self reflection and journaling on their own unique blend of passions, talents and gifts for the world. Previous projects have included two theatre productions written and produced by the children, designing and preparing a family day meal, making homes for wildlife, writing and hand publishing Samhain Stories, making a Rube Goldberg machine and a rights for rivers project.

All learning is self directed, children are free to engage and participate in their own way, so far as their freedom does not limit the freedom of others. Anyone in the learning community is able to make offers and requests.

What is a typical day like?

We have a very open and flexible structure for each day. Some structure gives children a sense of safety whilst flexibility allows for emergent learning, negotiation and real time adaptive planning (great life skills).

A typical day

09:30 Welcome

09:45 Morning meeting

10:00 Play, projects and plans for the day

12:00 Lunch (in reality, the children eat whenever they are hungry)

13:00 Play, projects and plans for the day

15:00 Tidy up and afternoon meeting

On a day to day basis, we are highly adaptive to allow space for play, emergent learning and organic growth. Sometimes we learn indoors, sometimes we take our learning outside.

Mixed Age Learning

Little Forest has always been a mixed age learning community and this is a key part of our philosophy and ethos. As well as it being a child's right to freely associate with children of mixed ages, children also learn so much from their peers.

While Little Forest started out as a learning community for children ages 5 - 11, it was always the intention that the community would grow in age with the children. Our oldest member is now thirteen. The time is right for Little Forest to extend the upper age limit and grow our offering for all children ages 5 - 16. If you have older children who might be interested in self directed learning in community, please do reach out and contact us.

Benefits of mixed age learning

We have so many examples of the benefits of mixed age learning, both for the younger children who pick up new knowledge and skills from their older peers, and for the older children, who grow in confidence, consolidate their learning and practice leadership skills when they share their learning with their younger peers.

For example, a 6 year old and 12 year old were talking about reading books. The younger child said that they could learn everything they need to know from YouTube videos, to which the older child said that may be true, but nothing can beat reading a really good book. A week later, the younger child decided that they want to read and picked up a book. Their 8 year old friend came and sat beside them and offered to help. With the experience of learning to read so fresh in their mind, the 8 year old was able to offer explanations, encouragement, tips and tricks which were completely in tune with the 6 year old's way of thinking. An adult observed the whole process and noticed that while the 12 year old provided the inspiration for learning to read, it was the 8 year old who was able to enter the 6 year old's learning zone (Vygotsky called this the 'zone of proximal development) and to open up the world of reading just enough for the 6 year old to be able to access. The 6 year old gained a motivation to read. The 8 year old grew in confidence and ability to facilitate the learning of another and the 12 year old went on to facilitate creative writing sessions attended by the whole community to create the next Little Forest Production.

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