Forest Days Fall Session

Our kindergarten students finished up our fall session of Forest Days just before winter break. We were so fortunate to have mostly moderate weather days and only a handful of colder days. But with the proper gear and a morning filled with out-of-the-box learning in the natural environment, our students were always eager to get outside and engage in their chosen tasks. Forest Days was marked on our classroom calendars and the children could not wait for their next session.

Forest Days has been an exciting endeavor to watch unfold. Research tells us the benefits of spending time in and learning in nature, but what does that look like for public school kindergarten students? My colleagues and I kept track of which activities our students visited each week, documented with photos, completed surveys with our students, and incorporated some of the outdoor learning into our classrooms. 

Back inside our classrooms, we saw more impromptu learning sessions happening. We looked for the birds outside our classroom window that we had seen flying overhead and near the creek. We recreated habitats with blocks and sticks like we had outside with branches. We wondered why we still found worms in the ground when it was 40 degrees. We gently captured, identified, and released many classroom visitors. We talked about ways to clean up our school grounds when we discovered and cleaned up a lot of trash during a windy Forest Days session. 

We saw evidence of amazing engagement in our outdoor learning with Forest Days. Every week was filled with academic learning and social skills development. Even outside, children were reading books, writing, counting, observing, and following directions. Children were working together as a team, sharing, and problem-solving. For me though, it was most heartwarming to see my students genuinely appreciate nature. 

There is just something special when children discover the awe of nature. The look on their faces when a gust of wind came and beautiful, colorful leaves began to fall everywhere. When they smiled with pride in working with their friends to plant beautiful flowers all by themselves. When they spotted a huge hawk soaring through the sky and they stopped what they were doing to watch. When they experienced milkweed seeds for the first time and helped them take flight. When they found those worms on that really cold day and were determined to make a warm home for them. When we did our sit spot and they just closed their eyes and lifted their faces toward the sun. It made my heart smile. 

Our Forest Days spring session will pick back up in March, and just like my students, I am counting down the days. As we watched the natural world go to sleep for the Fall and Winter, we will now be able to see it wake back up with all the beauty and new growth that Spring will bring. 

Until then, enjoy all the beauty our world offers during these cold winter months and get out there and explore. I cannot wait to share the joy and wonders that our next session will bring, and explore how this experience has benefitted our students this school year.