Reflection on the new changes at Mini Rangers

Forest School techniques are all about giving children a purpose to learn.  Teaching knots that will tie up the shelter, using a peeler to prepare vegetables, a knife to whittle or a bow saw to chop wood.  It may seem far fetched when you look at your newly walking 1 year old to make the leap to them using a bow saw, but little by little and with staggered steps the idea is that by the time your child reaches the end of reception not only will they have mastered these skills, but they will be able to choose which tool goes with which job.

Learning for purpose have lead the changes at Mini Rangers.  Firstly we looked at snack time.  This was the perfect area to introduce different tools for food preparation to the children.  This is to encourage their competence and bring them a stage further towards our development goal of 'realising tools can be used for purpose' as an emerging skill to an expected skill of 'selecting tools and techniques needed to shape, assemble and join materials they are using.' and finally at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage (End of reception year) children will be 'safely using and exploring a variety of materials, tools and techniques.' These same goals can be overlaid onto the camp fire activities where new tools and risk go hand in hand.  With our tool talks and respect positions and inviting children to come in to feed the fire we give purpose to these EYFS goals.

Trajectory schemas are seen by
'An interest in how objects and people move, and how children can affect the movement.  This schema can be seen in children's actions when they drop objects, jump, swing and Climb up and down repeatedly.'
So that Steep bank, that can only be climbed or slid down with no activity based at the top really feeds into the Trajectory schema.  This is why Schema's are so exciting to me, I have children who constantly throw food, toys or anything else I put on their high chair and the fact there is a relationship to that steep bank at Etherow is a really exciting observation.  Moving on from that we are also looking at the mastering of Physical Development here.  So from the emerging skill of 'climbing confidently and pulling themselves up' to the expected skill of 'moves freely with pleasure and confidence in a range of ways'  to the  exceeding skill of 'Negotiating space successfully and experimenting with different ways of moving.'  All this and to go with it the added bonus of seeing the characteristics of effective learning such as Active learning and motivation - being involved and concentrating, keeping trying, enjoying achieving what they set out to do.

'where skills are taught in isolation from the need to use them, there is  a risk that balance can be lost and the growth of independent and creative thinkers is limited' (Nutbrown, p50)

Sometimes the jargon of the EYFS can numb the sheer joy of the activity I mean children climbing that bank are not thinking of the muscle strengthening, the co-ordination of remaining balanced while engaging with a vertical slope or indeed how they will get down!  For each child the motivation may be unique to them - that is the question for you to ask!  Can you remember them dropping food and toys off their high chair, do they love to chase and catch bubbles, playing paper areoplanes? Observing the children each week climbing the bank it is irresistible.  It is great to see parents making that climb supporting their eager child.  Here I was being given a climbing lesson.

An experienced mini ranger is expertly showing me how she climbs the bank.

I wanted her to use the rope, but she uses her legs as her strength and support.

Here she humours me by holding the rope,

    This expert climber has her own style and she will climb the bank, but she will do it how she does it best and she is the expert in her own learning.  She has taken control and revels in it.  She shows a persistent interest and despite the effort and the struggle it takes to get to the top and then get down again, she continues to explore.  There is much to be learnt about the characteristics she shows at the moment  reveal her motivation for the task in hand.

Some children might use transporting as a means of understanding the world.  definition:
An interest in moving themselves around and in transporting objects.  Once they are mobile, babies and children begin to move objects and themselves from one place to another, using bags, bikes, trucks etc.  
I have discovered myself lately that when a child is compelled to transport it is often a good idea to take a bag on every journey.  Certainly down in the Education area at this time of year there is so much to transport and for good reason too.  I am going to be regularly taking children off to the woods with parents and carers to search out tinder and kindling, collect leaves and spot plant life.  If you recognise your child in this schema I am sure that child will come prepared for collecting anyway.

It is Vygotsky the Russian Psychologist who contributed to theory of children's thinking and Cathy Nutbrown explains that organised learning can often be traced back to the real experiences children have such as filling the washing machine, baking, gardening, writing postcards or birthday cards.  Tasks are categorised by what a child can do now and what a child can do with assistance Vygotsky identified the inter difference between this as the 'zone of proximal development'.

This is exciting because here we are talking about the importance of that close adult relationship that as a carer or parent we work towards building.  As Bowlby asserts
'As long as mothering is of high quality and is provided by figures who remain the same during the child's early life, then (at least four or five mother figures) multiple mothering need have no adverse affects'.(Bowlby J 1969/1982 attachment and loss: vol 1 Attachment. New Yorks Basic Books).

As parents it is not only important to give our child high quality interactive experiences when they are with us, but to ensure that these activities are continued in whichever high quality child care we choose.  I will say no more on this subject as I am of course inherently biased!

Mini Rangers share many of the same aims as Forest School such as

The use of a woodland setting  -  We are looking at children's freedoms within boundaries, innovative approaches to learning and strict safety routines.

A high adult to learner ratio - With the parent/carer taking the lead in the child's learning allowing the children to undertake tasks and play activities without exposing the children to undue risk of harm.

Learning can be linked I try to link whatever we are doing with the Early Years Foundation Stage.  As an Early Years Teacher this is my area of comfort and expertise.

Regular contact for the children - We run mini rangers, rain or shine throughout term time.  this ensures that we are allowing children to plan and enjoy the routine of mini rangers.

The most important people for the children at mini rangers are the mini ranger's parents.  It is your continued interest and wonder at their excellence that will drive the children forward on their quest for knowledge and skills.

This type of group is constantly evolving.  We rely on volunteers, so to some extent different volunteers bring in different expertise and that is fantastic.   I hope you all continue to enjoy Mini Rangers and the new ideas that come and evolve here.

Monday 2nd November - What effect will Forest School have on Mini Rangers?

So I had a week off playing in the woods and then half term, so lucky!

The first thing I realised on the week away was that it was the start of an incredible journey into Forest School understanding.  I have merely been introduced at the moment.  My aim now is to bring elements into what we do here at Mini Rangers.

I have prepared the team and we are now moving forward with a few new things.  I don't want to explain too much as I can get a bit technical sometimes, suffice to say we are going to start trying to meet the needs of Forest School.

First off Marina is going to invite small groups at a time to help prep food.  This may involve learning how to squirt tomatoes or it may go on to peeling carrots, but the important thing is going to be getting everyone who can to join in preparing their own snacks!

Secondly Ranger Steve is going back to basics, he is going to show us how to manage our woodland appropriately by showing small groups how to collect tinder and kindling, how we dry out our wood and he is going to be getting our mini rangers (who feel comfortable and sensible around a fire) to feed the fire.  We will be following Forest School Ethos here and will be treating the safety of the children with the highest regard this includes putting the fire out if children are behaving in unsafe way.

Thirdly, I will be bringing some of the Forest School activities that we have practised in the woods.  for the first week back I am going to take a small group of brave mini rangers off into the woodland to see if we can spot any signs of Fairy or Troll visitors.  

The teas and coffees will now be served at the entrance to Mini Rangers on a help your self basis and Mark will be there to greet you and answer any questions you may have!

I am really excited to be starting a new term at Mini Rangers and I hope that you will come on my journey towards Forest School Ethos and understanding.

Mel

Reflections of last week using 'Threads of thinking' by Cathy Nutbrown

The outdoors enables children to develop their own ideas and questions.  Subjects are not divided and children will jump from scientific theories, mathematical language to flights of imagination all in the same session.  These questions develop over time, in an ever changing landscape.  During the Mini Rangers sessions we may be in the same place at the same time every week, but the environment constantly has new surprises for us.  

It is really important to allow children to grow and learn giving them opportunities to have unrestricted play outdoors.  At Mini Rangers we have created appropriate risks and challenges for the children, this gives them opportunities to become more aware of themselves and better equipped to learn about assessing risks, putting them on the right track to be able to to live and play independently.  

'In addition to sensory experience, talk is as vital to human life as pure air.'(Brierley 1994, p28)

At Mini Rangers the interactions with the different volunteers and adults create a lively bubbly environment.  From the acknowledgement of your arrival to the interested adults walking around.  The talk around the camp fire, the stories and snack time all offer up times where individuals are valued and recognised.  These adults notice and value the children's play.  For example Last Wednesday it rained so much that we only had Gabrielle and Millie to entertain.  They both enjoy filling containers as I have observed on previous occasions, so I positioned sauce pans on the outskirts of the shelters.  The girls soon got busy moving the containers to different parts of the bench so that they could catch more drips or stir what they had caught.  They also started to become innovative by turning an umbrella upside down and using it to catch more rain in order to fill up their saucepans. The adults around quietly observed, but congratulated the girls on their clever way of collecting rain.

This experience is different to anything you can offer when surrounded by home comforts.  The truth is as adults we would rather be indoors on a rainy day.  The discomfort of being wet or cold presents a risk to us.  The idea of getting dirty and ill becomes a risk.  Children pick up on this and enjoy staying in and exploring the opportunities inside instead.  Is this such a bad thing, well it depends, when you consider the opportunities missed, the independence that these girls showed, the innovation of their water collecting ideas and probably more besides relating to size of pan, how water behaves etc.  More than this though it has shown how an environment that they are comfortable with can completely change.

Here the boys are digging on a dry day and again we can see that they have formed an interest and together they are exploring the changes they can make to the area.

Cathy Nutbrown talks about the consistency in children's behaviour which as she says is at odds with some notions that adults have that children are inconsistent, spasmodic and idiosyncratic in their approaches to life and learning.  She espouses the constants are

- adults and their behaviour
- routines and information
- experiences and materials

Mini Rangers uses these constants to provide an environment for exploration.  If you found that your child/children always head for the same challenge at mini rangers this is no bad thing.  When you announce your plan to go to Mini Rangers your child is probably planning their own ideas for exploration on arrival, which means that when you have been a few times and your child realises the routines are just the same, the same adults are there and all the challenges are in place they will head off with their own ideas in mind.

As the adult in our children's lives it is important to be consistent and to show them your support in the activities that they choose

This is a  photograph of a dad focussing on his child's play.  Other children are particularly drawn into their play.  This particular play is led by the child's interest.  These first steps into discovery are more important for the child than any other as they are with someone that understands the ways in which they think, and understands their needs.

Mini Rangers has a routine that is set to incorporate the initial burst of energy children feel at the realisation they can now start putting all their plans and their ideas into practice.  Half way through the session we feel that they have had exploratory time and some children by now are flagging or just looking for a little something else, so snack time.  We have put a little story in, this is to allow children to experience a little adult led activity.  This is a short time and has always been enthusiastically received by the children.

We follow this with snack time and then the session has ended.

Mini Rangers was designed so that the children would be able to access the constants such as the mountaineering up the bank, the mud kitchen, den building, the stepping logs, the campfire and the bug hotel.  We then occasionally add activities that challenge other areas of their thinking.  Some children are really open to additional activities whilst others are still exploring the constant challenges.  I have found that sensory activities such as mixing the duck food and painting with shaving foam have been extremely popular activities.

I really feel that these activities have been tackled by the children because they feel safe with their adults and their routine.

At Mini Rangers we put out other activities for the children they are only offered.  It is important to stress that if children feel confident to try these it is only because of where they are on their journey and not a sign of future successes or failures.  Professionals create starting points, but we must be bold and relinquish control over what the children do.  I appreciate the difficulties of this and recently had an ofsted visit where I was desperately trying to show off in many aspects.  The child I was looking after was having none of my desperate need to be validated and ignored all my further attempts to implement literacy, maths, science!  She carried on with her own far more interesting areas of exploration.  That is how it should be, as adults we need to recognise our own needs and let the children's interest develop.  Our role is to support, challenge and suggest.

Okay I will come back to this topic, but I am taking break now!

For Mini Rangers Monday 12th October

This is my very last week before I go onto the Forest School Course. Lots to read!!!

This week we are going to set up a Gruffalo trail through the woods.

The snack this week is apple dipped in coconut.

Look forward to seeing you

Mel

Monday 5th October

We are focussing on the way children move this week.

Ranger Steve is going to be setting out an obstacle course that will challenge your children and the way they like to move.

It is really important at Mini Rangers that you consider your child's abilities before they attempt any obstacles.  Always allow them to judge their own risks and try where possible to support them in their efforts.   Some children will always want to attempt the seemingly impossible we want to encourage them, but safely.  Some children can climb before they walk!

We will be creating obstacles that will look at balance, climbing and wriggling under.

We will be encouraging our children to move with controlled effort we will be looking for them to be 'strong' 'gentle' we might use the word 'reach' 'stretch'.

We are going to motivate the children to be active if children are reluctant maybe we could play follow the leader?

Pose challenging questions, can you balance on one leg?  Can you walk across that without putting your feet down, on tip toes ?

Marina will be making her delicious taste of autumn. Blackberries and apple in a pot with a bread stick for dipping.

I can't wait to see you there.

Mel

28 September 2015

What a fantastic Mini Ranger Session

We started the session of with some independent adventures into the wood chip pit with the dinosaurs and Saucepans.  Lilly can be seen making music using the rake and an upturned saucepan.

 We had a lovely parachute session with the children singing nursery rhymes, bouncing balls and running underneath.

I didn't take many photos, but a first for mini Rangers with Ranger Steve reading a lovely story, as you can see the children really enjoyed it.

Marina's snack of sweetcorn wheels went down really well.

Next week and Wednesday we will be making blackberry and apple dip with bread sticks for the snack, and we will be building a special mini rangers assault course.  So see you next week or Wednesday!

Forest School Inspired post

This week I have been re reading a book that introduced me to the ideas of Forest School theory.

The Ethos or definition is such

Forest School is an inspirational process,that offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve, develop confidence and self-esteem, through hands on learning experiences in a local woodland or natural environment with trees.

Forest School is a specialised approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland learning.

Our Case study works within this remit

Volunteers work together to provide the environment  Myself Melanie Commins a childminder and a committed to outdoor learning Early Years Teacher. I work together with Marina a self confessed dirt avoider (has taken on the title of snack provider)  Mark dad of two, jack of all trades, outdoor enthusiast, creative director etc.  Neil my partner in crime, gets lectured by me on early years and is pretty creative when it comes to activities in the outdoors.

The Setting

Etherow Park is council owned and had an educational remit until recently.  It now has no Rangers of its own, but a Ranger who looks after the whole of the Stockport area.  This means that Etherow is free to explore and enjoy, but Mini Rangers is the only outdoor stay and play group it has.  We have had talks with the friends group to help us to clear some of the areas and the grass is cut by the council.  The children can access a number of activities independently.  The area is quite secure as the volunteers always ensure there is some sort of barrier between the water and the area.  The children who come regularly no where the activities are and stay close to the central area.

Mini Rangers is made as safe as is reasonably possible

The council ensure that all plants growing in the area are safe.  Each session is run by the volunteers who undertake a risk assessment of the area before everyone arrives.  Over the year this has resulted in contacting the council when a tree has partially fallen in the middle.  We have also written and use risk assessments for the camp fire with a bucket of water and bag of sand on stand by in case it gets out of hand.  Some weeks we do not have a camp fire this is when we feel that it is not safe or the weather is too soggy.

Mini Rangers has happened over time

We have been able to offer sessions weekly during term time for over a year now, parents and children are able to become familiar with the routines and activities and then feel confident in joining in where they feel they want to.

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing

Although we don't carry waterproofs ourselves, there are lots of good offers at local outlets at this point.  It is worth ensuring that at the very least your child has waterproof trousers and boots, if only to ensure that you have an easier time when returning to the car or home.

Trust is Central

It is important at Mini Rangers that parents and children feel confident and secure and can ask the volunteers for any help.  We have often been on hand to ensure that children get a helping hand when climbing or balancing.  It is important that visitors know that we adhere to our risk assessments and proceedures.

The learning is play based and, as far as possible, child initiated and child led

I am hoping that when I attend the forest school course I can expand on this area.  Until now I have ensured that the activities are simple and reflect children's interests and seasonal interests.  I am hoping that the Forest School course will inspire me into thinking of more sessions that fulfil the encouragement of self confidence and self belief.

The Blocks and sessions have beginning and ends.

The beginning is always a cheery word from our volunteer that greets the visitors at the entrance, with an open ended activity that children can choose to do or not. There is always half an hour of free play and then a story and a snack.  (Coffee, tea and biscuits for the grown ups).  Children learn through seeing others that story time is a time to sit quietly or join in to the adult led section it really only lasts for about 5 or 10 minutes and is always followed by a snack.

The Staff are trained

As yet this has been an ambition of mine.  Although I am an Early Years teacher and feel confident to engage young people in activities and look for areas that are important to them, I feel that becoming a Level 3 Forest School Practitioner will add so much more to our area and what we do.  So watch this space.

Regular attendees will understand that our regular meet ups can add benefits to their children that aren't apparent on first viewing.  Children can be seen to be more resourceful, more resilient.  The children set their own agenda's making pretend camp fires and cooking on them, making dens independently, climbing the bank independently and using the rope to lower themselves down.   Balancing on the tree stumps and become experts at bug hunting.