I was invited by the Free Rangers owner (who also happens to be my wife!) to head down to the forest and brook to shoot some photographs showing what the holiday campers were up to. I was expecting a game of hide n seek; a few marshmallows and perhaps a quick check of the bird boxes. But what an underestimation. ‘Forest School’ really does mean school! But in such a fun and active style that the kids didn’t realise how schooled they were being!

Ed and Vince led the sessions with such ease and composure that the atmosphere was unerringly upbeat and fun. The kids did a river survey, looking at how healthy the waterway was; with Ed and Vince subtly and regularly building in environmental science, ecology, biology, ornothology, geography, nutrition (or whatever category otter poos fits?) etc, etc, into their teaching – but in such a way that the kids felt they were just picking up interesting goodies as they explored (…a bit like the Kingfisher really!)

Then after a welly-emptying break and a sock-hanging-up-to-dry interval, the Free Rangers were straight into advanced fire-making using fugus fire-lighters, kindling, steel rod tinder sticks, and ‘raft’ twig scaffolding. I was amazed that the kids all knew to call the gas produced ‘CO2′ when quizzed; and their understanding of safety and hazards was also far greater than I had expected from these tiddlers.

Having been a middle-years teacher for almost 15 years, it struck me that ‘deep learning’ (a current buzz-word for conceptual understanding that lasts far longer than the morning of a test!) really is enhanced with such practical pedagogy. Vince and Ed are fabulous practitioners of this new – but, also, very old-fashioned – style of teaching. The children ‘do’, as opposed to just listen. They are fully engaged, mind and body, 100%. They are afforded the opportunity to try, test and evaluate real life scenarios in an environment that couldn’t be further away from anything considered boring.

[I hope the photos do some justice to the terrific skills and expertise (both bush-craft and educational) of Ed and Vince; and the convivial atmosphere of the day!]

Owen Lucas – Owen Lucas Photography

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I was lucky enough today to spend time in The Den where our preschool children are based.

When I arrived the children had just re-fuelled and enjoyed lunch together with staff and were ready to continue whatever it was they were interested in before the interruption of lunch.

I was asked by one girl to join in with her painting activity. A couple of hours passed quickly but was full to the brim!

Her interests led her to:

1) Paint a ghostly farmyard & monster volcano

2) Print with her fingertips, palms, toes and feet

3) Experiment with rolling empty drinks bottles over swirls of paint

4) Wrapping bandages over hands and then printing with paint

5) I had the pleasure of scribing for her as she narrated her painting

Content with her investigations she decided to venture outdoors where I became the “Slow Motion” monster (never could run very fast!) and she dodged the daffodils and then climbed to the safety of the top of the mud slide.

Finally as our day came to a natural wind down, I was invited to bring my polar bear into the role play area to buy 2 week’s worth of polar bear food that was on offer for this week only. My bag was a princess dress with the arms tied.

Phew!

This was just one day in the life of one of our children…..we have over 70 children at our nursery at the moment…imagine the fun we have!

Needless to say The Den did not look like the above photo by the time we had finished!

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At Free Rangers the children are offered the great outdoors as much as possible. But as there are occasions when some shelter and R&R are required we – as much as possible – bring the outside in!

Free Rangers Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton Free Rangers - Forest School Nursery -

Today I met up with a friend I hadn’t seen for eight years. We had always got on well and as I had hoped it was as if we had remained in close contact; when in truth we hadn’t. Over a hot chocolate we started reminiscing about the adventures we shared. I could remember the incidents, but, upon reflection I couldn’t recall the tiny details like she could.

This led to me quizzing my husband. Was I loosing my mind? Or didn’t I put enough importance on these events and my lazy brain didn’t even bother to log them. In the car journey back home we discussed this and the conversation developed into me asking him about his earliest memories.

I then had a think back to my own memories and officially tried to recall the earliest, most vivid ones.

As a teacher my brain automatically hopped back to my school days and then further back to nursery days. I realised that of the memories I could dredge up, I could paint a clear picture in my mind but not as many as I had hoped. I then started to question myself, was the nursery I attended, boring? Was it a case of me having a lazy brain or was there another factor playing a part in me not being able to remember the most early days of my education.

I then began to get slightly worried….why are all of us at Free Rangers Nursery ploughing so much time and effort into delivering fun, exciting and engaging learning experiences when the children (like me) might not remember a darn thing?

And then I realised, or at least I came up with an explanation that satisfies my own questions; “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

So this is it…during the early years of my education I can’t remember much, I can’t remember creating some of the “masterpieces” that my mum and dad occasionally drag out, I can’t remember the names of my teachers or most of the children I shared a classroom with (I’m still only talking Early Years here), but what I can remember is that I loved learning. Don’t get me wrong I can’t remember what I learnt; although hopefully it’s in the grey matter somewhere; but I remember the important things to me; the joy of clasping my first grasshopper, and trying not to let it go too soon because it tickled my palms unbelievably so, I remember the corn whipping at my bare ankles as my brother, sister and I ran to take Dad his lunch in the fields. I remember being winded as I thudded on the hard ground having been launched from our shetland pony. One of my favourite memories is lying down on my tummy and transporting myself down into the grass and imagining I was one of the creatures that looked up to the top of the blades of grass and had to negotiate each small clod of earth as if it were a small mountain.

Enough of memory lane though, back to the point of this blog. Why is Early Years Education so important? Especially if those that it is supposed to benefit don’t actually remember it! And why is our little piece of it here at Free Rangers actually really rather good?

My personal opinion is that at Free Rangers we try not to focus heavily on the outcome (the outcome is really just a bi-product) we try to focus on the journey or the process. We try to provide an environment where the children can direct their learning with the help of careful planning on our part. The children have no idea of the charts, planning and discussion that goes on, and I’m glad they don’t. As adults we try not to lead the children but occasionally lean in and facilitate their learning.

Will they remember the time they passed through our doors? Some of the children will be with us for a few years and yet only be able to draw on a few memories. Does that bother me?

No. Because time flies when you’re having fun.

As long as children’s experience of early years provides them with a strong base, I believe they will progress through life and education and relish the opportunities afforded to them. They will have experience in their back pocket to draw on in good and not so good times. At Free Rangers we want to provide the experiential learning that will bolster them through both.

So it doesn’t matter whether they remember us or not; but I do hope they’ll recall the essence of Free Rangers and appreciate what it was we were all trying to instil; an overall sense of wellbeing and love of life that will give each child the belief that they can do or be whatever it is they choose.

Free Rangers Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton Free Rangers - Forest School Nursery -

If you’d like a more detailed explanation as to why Free Rangers Nursery succeeds so brilliantly educationally, here are some ‘teacher-speak’ notices (around and about the site) to show exactly how the practices at our nursery fit in with the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) curriculum.

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It’s difficult to show the extent of what’s on offer to our Free Range Kids with just a camera. But Midsomer Norton and Radstock boast woodland, fields and paddocks aplenty; and – as well as a purpose built converted barn – the local natural classroom is vast…!

Free Rangers Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton Free Rangers - Forest School Nursery -

Free Rangers Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton Free Rangers - Forest School Nursery -

Free Rangers Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton Free Rangers - Forest School Nursery -

Our band of happy Free Rangers is growing. We are looking for free lance Forest School Practitioners that hold a level 3 qualification to join the team, possibly to deliver outreach forest school sessions or to deliver sessions to our nursery children. Please contact us if you are interested. 01761 411328, come on you know you want to!

Free Rangers Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton Free Rangers - Forest School Nursery -

Whittle while you work…! Learning to work responsibly with tools.

Free Rangers Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton Free Rangers - Forest School Nursery -