<![CDATA[Glastonbury Forest School - Blog]]>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 10:34:48 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[Strange times]]>Fri, 15 May 2020 11:28:49 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/strange-timesI have not updated the blog for so long as we have a good following on facebook and keep updates there. I know now though, we are going through extraordinary times and felt compelled to put something here. 

The world is going though change, the humans have to be patient and ride out a potential threat to their existence. This time, it is on the doorstep rather than something in the future. We probably (for many of us) thought we would never be here, in this reality. It has at times felt almost biblical.  

We have had to become more tolerant of family members, we've sought comfort through being together yet apart on a Thursday evening while clapping for those who are on the frontline. For some parents/carers they have had the enormous struggle of working full time, whilst educating their children simultaneously. For those who already worked from home this transition may have been easier and for those already opting for home education this could have been seen as a life restriction. Then there will be some of us who have been under immense pressure due to a loss of earnings, increased stress at home and an unknown future. 

Some of us, have lost our jobs, others have somehow managed to adapt their skills to be able to work from home. Some have set up make shift offices in their summer houses, conservatories or that space under the stairs. Either way, what this has meant for everybody is change. We as humans love patterns, routine, predictability, safety. Some people have embraced the calm, the solitude, the opportunity for self discovery, self development, closer relationships, improving the home or garden, a chance to get fitter or to cook many cakes. No doubt, whatever impact this shared experience has had, it will have impacted on some more than others.

We do know that Mother Earth is healing while we slow down.

Our Forest school page on facebook gets updated regularly with activities that can be carried out at home. this is a useful resource for children who like being outdoors, are creative or like learning about nature. The activities are aimed at children aged between 5-12years old although anybody can have a go. 

All of our 'On Site' sessions are paused. Social distancing is impossible with what we do and despite people feeling that 'outdoors' is safer, it's difficult to support a child when you have to be 2 meters away from them with things like tree climbing/ tool and fire skills. It is complex for children to play at a 2 meter distance during play  (have you seen the pictures in France at current? - we will not be doing that). We will consider our situation for 'on site' sessions at the end of June and will update everyone at this stage.

We have started to offer zoom/video forest school sessions for children aged 5+ 1:1 or (if you have more than one child they can join in too), in your garden or at the kitchen table. We can run a creative session, free flow or have a more structured session with curriculum embedded.

We are also offering coaching for self esteem and confidence, through creativity, nature and talking via zoom/video embedding mindfulness, self compassion and behavioural activation in what we do. I am qualified in coaching alongside my honours degree in Psychology, teaching and forest school qualifications. Theses sessions are useful for Tweens, Teens and adults.

All sessions currently offered via video link are charged on a sliding scale and can be anything from 30mins to 3 hours.

We have been in lockdown for a while now, but continue to be safe, smart and begin to envisage how you would like your world look so that you can start to make changes for a better life now. 
]]><![CDATA[home school groups]]>Sat, 06 Oct 2018 11:42:14 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/home-school-groupsThis academic year we have been successfully delivering a term of home schooled sessions. We have been using our world map to travel from one country to another and study different cultures, religion, habitat, dwellings, art and so on and have embedded numeracy, language development, science and the arts within what we have been doing. Students have been using tools, fire, team work,, independent skill development to create and explore during our sessions.  If you are interested to see what we have been doing please have a look at or follow the event links as this will often have weekly updates of our progress: 

Week 1: https://www.facebook.com/glastonburyforestschool/posts/1910239799069674 

Week 2: https://www.facebook.com/glastonburyforestschool/posts/1918406884919632

Week 3: https://www.facebook.com/glastonburyforestschool/posts/1927515597342094

Week 4:  https://www.facebook.com/glastonburyforestschool/posts/1934766723283648

we have 3 more weeks to go and already have returners and new parents/carers interested in Term 2. It's a very exciting time for Glastonbury forest school and we are overjoyed to provide this wonderful experience to the Glastonbury ares.
]]><![CDATA[We have been getting ready for our summer sessions]]>Tue, 24 Jul 2018 11:15:35 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/we-have-been-getting-ready-for-our-summer-sessions]]><![CDATA[it's been some time]]>Tue, 27 Mar 2018 10:41:43 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/its-been-some-timeWell it's been a long time since updating our blog. With the forest school Facebook page doing so well our blog sometimes becomes neglected :(

So, what have we been doing? Well, with the incredible weather of late many of us have been enjoying snow days and time out from school. On our Glastonbury Forest school Facebook page we are always uploading resources and ideas of things to do at home, in the garden or out and about to keep you and your children outdoors, learning and exploring.

The forest school site: we are predominately delivering sessions at the Godney Road site at present. This is because there is a good amount of willow copse and our current intake of students have a love of den building. Here we have two separate copse areas, one we use in the wetter months and the area that is furthest away we set up for our summer school sessions. We currently have sheep residing on the field within the copse which always makes for some musical and comical experiences during the sessions as they often appear to be joining in with the children's conversations or vice versa! 

We are really looking forward to the Easter workshops this holiday which are now almost fully booked so if you are considering booking a place for your child please click on the 'book a place' button above and this will take you to our online booking form.

We are  branching out (excuse the pun) as Kelly our Forest school practitioner is now also consulting pre- schools, nurseries, primary schools and organised groups on the benefits of outdoor learning and how to transform their outdoor spaces. She has also developed a fantastic range of teaching aids and resource packs for schools, pre-schools and organised groups which include task / lesson plans, embed the curriculum, and allow for differentiation.  If this is something that may interest you please get in touch via email to: glastonburyforestschool@gmail.com 
]]><![CDATA[Summer clubs so far]]>Sun, 13 Aug 2017 08:23:55 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/summer-clubs-so-farIt's been a very busy so far with the students at Forest school really taking ownership for the forest school area. They have cleared space, made eco urinals, a swing, 3 fire pits, 2 dens and a shelter! We have made walking staffs, built fires, cooked, made clay faces, talked about the 'green man' the levels, the local plant life and trees, been bug and amphibian spotting, played games, made journey sticks, visited ham wall, we've discussed tribes and communities and told stories around the fires. Tool use has been: bow saw, loppers, knife, hand drill, bush hook, shovel. Here are some photos of what we have been doing
]]><![CDATA[July's Saturday club... so much achieved!! A BIG well done to the Forest school attendees and thanks to Ben for his support today!]]>Fri, 30 Jun 2017 23:00:00 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/julys-saturday-club-so-much-achieved-a-big-well-done-to-the-forest-school-attendees-and-thanks-to-ben-for-his-support-today
]]><![CDATA[Mask making, charcoal drawing, tree house, fire, Marshmallows, Loppers, knife & incredible weather too!]]>Fri, 02 Jun 2017 23:00:00 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/mask-making-charcoal-drawing-tree-house-fire-marshmallows-loppers-knife-incredible-weather-too
]]><![CDATA[A few pics from today: fire, hot chocolate, Marshmallows, tree house, bow saw, Loppers, knife, walking staff, tree knowledge.]]>Fri, 05 May 2017 23:00:00 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/a-few-pics-from-today-fire-hot-chocolate-marshmallows-tree-house-bow-saw-loppers-knife-walking-staff-tree-knowledge
]]><![CDATA[April Saturday Club - whittling vegetable signs]]>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 13:47:52 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/april-saturday-club-whittling-vegetable-signsIt was a beautiful sunny day in Glastonbury! We started by carrying out a health and safety check on our walk along 'Duck pool drove'. The group used team work to carry some wood to the forest school area and put it near the fire pit. All attendees had some time to explore and gel as a group while the area was set up. They used a bow saw to cut the wood to an appropriate length for the fire pit. Some of the students then built and lit a waffle fire and also a small waffle fire in the base of the Kelly Kettle. The kettle was filled and then put on. In the mean time some long lengths of willow were cut and snipped into smaller lengths. The bark was peeled off and the sticks were put to one side. The side branches were replanted to add to the 'living urinal' area. Two students made hot chocolate drinks for the group and everyone sat inside for some shade to eat lunch. After eating, the group took in turns whittling the shorter sticks with knives and snipping a sharp angle to turn them into small signs for growing vegetables. Individually, the children designed their vegetable signs by drawing pictures of the seeds they had planted last month. Well done to everybody today - you used: snips, knives, independent and group work, fire building, free exploration and so much more!
]]><![CDATA[March Saturday Club - seeds!]]>Sun, 05 Mar 2017 07:28:04 GMThttps://www.glastonburyforestschool.com/blog/march-saturday-club-seedsWhat a fantastic group! Well done to everybody who took part in this months Saturday club - everybody worked really well together to create an industrious team - give yourselves a pat on the back! We took a walk down the lane and carried the necessary equipment over to the forest school area. Those who had attended previously helped to introduce the newbies to Health and Safety issues including: Reens, tool carrying, safe tool use, tree house policy, fire safety and fire building. There was time to explore and create a couple of 'student lead' activities where attendees took it on board to clear the base of the tree house of dead grasses and play a game of hide and seek. The Planned forest school activities included: tree knowledge and identification,  wood collection, use of lopper, use of bow saw, fire building, maintaining the fire, making hot chocolate drinks, planting vegetable seeds in preparation for the forest school veggie patch, knowledge of a variety of techniques for seedlings including greenhouses and propagators, tree house safety. Attendees has the opportunity for free play at the end. An enjoyable day was had by all!

​Quote of the day 'Do you know the best thing about all of this? It's that we are working so well as a team...'
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