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A Year of Forest School: Outdoor Play and Skill-building Fun for Every Season
More games, crafts and skills Forest School style, building on the success of
Play the Forest School Way.
This book is organized by season to encourage kids to get outdoors come rain, shine or snow!
Following on from the bestselling Play the Forest School Way, here is a brilliant selection of brand-new games, crafts and activities to get kids developing new skills and exploring the natural world all year round. Structured around the four seasons of the year, each chapter is packed full of step-by-step Forest School games and activities that harmonize with the weather and what’s happening in nature at that time of year, with a nod to seasonal festivals such as Easter and Christmas. In spring, for example, you could make a mud birthday cake to celebrate Earth Day on 22 April, or (inspired by bird song) craft sistrums from sticks and bottle tops, or make a clay hare and enjoy dandelion tea and a chocolate egg hunt at a spring day out. At Forest School, children return to the same location again and again, building a lasting connection with a specific part of the natural world, and this book in its year-round approach will bring this aspect of Forest School play to the fore. Each of the four seasonal chapters includes a description of an extended session (combining active and quieter activities plus, for some, an idea for foraging/cooking) to guide Forest School leaders planning themed days and parents looking for party inspiration or nature days out.
The Forest School ethos of nature-based play and learning that encourages children to develop confidence, self-esteem and emotional intelligence is exactly what’s needed in an era when childhood problems such as obesity and anxiety are on the rise. Woven through the year are stories from the authors’ own Forest School classes, as they make a passionate case for the importance of ensuring children’s access to nature and the incredible benefits they will gain from being outside, even in the heart of a city.
Following on from the bestselling Play the Forest School Way, here is a brilliant selection of brand-new games, crafts and activities to get kids developing new skills and exploring the natural world all year round. Structured around the four seasons of the year, each chapter is packed full of step-by-step Forest School games and activities that harmonize with the weather and what’s happening in nature at that time of year, with a nod to seasonal festivals such as Easter and Christmas. In spring, for example, you could make a mud birthday cake to celebrate Earth Day on 22 April, or (inspired by bird song) craft sistrums from sticks and bottle tops, or make a clay hare and enjoy dandelion tea and a chocolate egg hunt at a spring day out. At Forest School, children return to the same location again and again, building a lasting connection with a specific part of the natural world, and this book in its year-round approach will bring this aspect of Forest School play to the fore. Each of the four seasonal chapters includes a description of an extended session (combining active and quieter activities plus, for some, an idea for foraging/cooking) to guide Forest School leaders planning themed days and parents looking for party inspiration or nature days out.
The Forest School ethos of nature-based play and learning that encourages children to develop confidence, self-esteem and emotional intelligence is exactly what’s needed in an era when childhood problems such as obesity and anxiety are on the rise. Woven through the year are stories from the authors’ own Forest School classes, as they make a passionate case for the importance of ensuring children’s access to nature and the incredible benefits they will gain from being outside, even in the heart of a city.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 7, 2022
This book goes hand in hand with “Play the Forest School Way” and “Forest School Wild Play”. I highly recommend all three.
We use and refer to this book often as it lays out various activities and games to play. It’s a great way to explore nature and learn with your child or children. It even had great information for us as parents. We homeschool but I think this book is great for compulsory school kids as well to do outside of the school day.
Super fun way to learn that gives directions.
We use and refer to this book often as it lays out various activities and games to play. It’s a great way to explore nature and learn with your child or children. It even had great information for us as parents. We homeschool but I think this book is great for compulsory school kids as well to do outside of the school day.
Super fun way to learn that gives directions.
March 24, 2018
I chose this book because my son had attended a ‘forest school’ with his class and, in typical 11-year-old style, told me virtually nothing about it. I thought this would be a way of encouraging him to talk about it and give us some ideas we could try at weekends.
Early in the book was a paragraph on ‘how to use a sheath knife’. ‘Did you use a knife at forest school???’ ‘Oh yeah.’ Images of son’s friends running round the woods brandishing knives….
The book is divided into the four seasons and gives clear details of activities to do in those seasons, such as building shelters, making a walking stick and using feather pens with blackberry ink. There are plans for a whole day of activities in each season. I particularly liked the food and drink based activities (nettle soup, baked apples) and there are some lovely games.
This book isn’t really aimed at parents but at schools, clubs and playgroups. (One of the games needed eight plus players!) I think they will find it useful for outdoors ideas and appreciate the notes on how to support shy or nervous children. However, for the non-experts using this book, pictures and diagrams would be useful .I’d never heard of a sistrum before and I had to google it to find out what one looks like.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It’s given me some ideas for (slightly toned down) outdoor activities and if I ever start my own playgroup, this will definitely be on my bookshelf!
Thanks to Net Galley and Watkins Publishing for this review copy.
Visit my blog https://mypertopinions.blogspot.co.uk/
Early in the book was a paragraph on ‘how to use a sheath knife’. ‘Did you use a knife at forest school???’ ‘Oh yeah.’ Images of son’s friends running round the woods brandishing knives….
The book is divided into the four seasons and gives clear details of activities to do in those seasons, such as building shelters, making a walking stick and using feather pens with blackberry ink. There are plans for a whole day of activities in each season. I particularly liked the food and drink based activities (nettle soup, baked apples) and there are some lovely games.
This book isn’t really aimed at parents but at schools, clubs and playgroups. (One of the games needed eight plus players!) I think they will find it useful for outdoors ideas and appreciate the notes on how to support shy or nervous children. However, for the non-experts using this book, pictures and diagrams would be useful .I’d never heard of a sistrum before and I had to google it to find out what one looks like.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It’s given me some ideas for (slightly toned down) outdoor activities and if I ever start my own playgroup, this will definitely be on my bookshelf!
Thanks to Net Galley and Watkins Publishing for this review copy.
Visit my blog https://mypertopinions.blogspot.co.uk/
May 3, 2018
Forest schools and other outdoor learning environments are becoming increasingly popular, not just in the United Kingdom but in the U.S. and around the world. A Year of Forest School: Outdoor Play and Skill-building Fun for Every Season, by Jane Worrell and Peter Houghton, gives parents and teachers ideas for nearly 40 seasonal activities suitable for forest schools, homeschools or other learning environments.
The book features about 10 activities each for each of the four seasons. Some are games, others crafts, and some are skills like fire building or carving. They are designed to be used for children roughly age 3 or 4 through 12 or so, though the ages are rather subjective.
As an example, the activities for spring (from the table of contents) are:
Make nettle soup (from foraged stinging nettles)
Make a “wood cookie man” (slices of logs assembled into a doll)
Make bramble cordage (make twine from the inner fibers of raspberry or blackberry stalks)
Play “mammoth, hunter, mouse”
Make a sistrum (musical tool) from wood
Make a mud birthday cake for the Earth
Have an “egg hunt” (look for golden tickets together to redeem for a chocolate egg)
Do clay art a year of forest school
Make dandelion lime tea
Summer includes activities like making a bark mask and making ink from crushed berries and cutting a goose feather into a quill to write with it.
Autumn includes activities like making an evergreen paintbrush or baking apples on a fire.
Winter includes activities like doing a compass treasure hunt and making charcoal pencils.
The paperback version of the book is filled with some sketch drawings of the activities. It is printed in dark gray with green accents.
There were things I really liked about the book, with some caveats.
Pros:
Children are trusted to learn skills like foraging, wood carving and fire making from a young age, and given very clear safety instructions on how to do this safely.
The activities are designed to work with various ages and abilities.
The activities are designed to encourage cooperation and teamwork, not competition.
Kids learn about great skills
It encourages kids to spend a great deal of time outside in all kinds of weather
There are lots of fun projects and some fun games
As an avid forager, I love any book that encourages teaching children to gather wild foods
Not much is needed for outside equipment or supplies
The book is generally fun and encourages a love of the outdoors
Cons:
There were times when I didn’t understand terminology used. For instance, a lot of the projects call for “secateurs” and I am guessing those are like garden clippers but I really have no idea.
There sometimes weren’t enough drawings or instructions for me to understand complicated directions. For instance, I found the cordage activity very confusing in terms of how the author said to weave the fibers. Our family has made cordage from other plant fibers but not in the way they instruct, and I ended up very confused by what she meant.
Most of the games involve fairly large groups, so they are not likely to work in individual homeschool families.
The book was written in the UK and some of the trees, foraged foods and such will not be available in other regions. Of course, you should be able to find suitable substitutes.
I was able to preview two versions of this book — one was a temporary PDF sort of look at the print version and the other was a digital download via Kindle. The Kindle version had no illustrations. I don’t know if this was just for the review version or if it will not have any if you purchase it via Kindle. It would be really hard to understand many of the projects without at least simple illustrations. The Kindle page on Amazon just shows the print excerpts, so I’m not sure I’d recommend this book in Kindle format unless you can preview it somehow and be sure you’ll get a version where you can see some of the illustrations.
Also, this is a silly quibble, but the game “Mammoth, Hunter, Mouse” instructed kids to pretend to use a bow and arrow to hunt the mammoths. Actually, prehistoric hunters used atlatls (spear throwers) to hunt, since it was before the invention of the bow and arrow. Since my husband teaches atlatl making and throwing and our kids have grown up using atlatls, this was something we already knew but you can’t really fault the authors for not knowing that.
All in all, I found it to be a fun book with good information about teaching skills like fire starting and knife safety, and a nice variety of nature-related activities. It should provide some good inspiration for outdoor activities, and gives a nice look into the forest school environment. It’s priced inexpensively and would make a good addition to a homeschool or school library.
The book features about 10 activities each for each of the four seasons. Some are games, others crafts, and some are skills like fire building or carving. They are designed to be used for children roughly age 3 or 4 through 12 or so, though the ages are rather subjective.
As an example, the activities for spring (from the table of contents) are:
Make nettle soup (from foraged stinging nettles)
Make a “wood cookie man” (slices of logs assembled into a doll)
Make bramble cordage (make twine from the inner fibers of raspberry or blackberry stalks)
Play “mammoth, hunter, mouse”
Make a sistrum (musical tool) from wood
Make a mud birthday cake for the Earth
Have an “egg hunt” (look for golden tickets together to redeem for a chocolate egg)
Do clay art a year of forest school
Make dandelion lime tea
Summer includes activities like making a bark mask and making ink from crushed berries and cutting a goose feather into a quill to write with it.
Autumn includes activities like making an evergreen paintbrush or baking apples on a fire.
Winter includes activities like doing a compass treasure hunt and making charcoal pencils.
The paperback version of the book is filled with some sketch drawings of the activities. It is printed in dark gray with green accents.
There were things I really liked about the book, with some caveats.
Pros:
Children are trusted to learn skills like foraging, wood carving and fire making from a young age, and given very clear safety instructions on how to do this safely.
The activities are designed to work with various ages and abilities.
The activities are designed to encourage cooperation and teamwork, not competition.
Kids learn about great skills
It encourages kids to spend a great deal of time outside in all kinds of weather
There are lots of fun projects and some fun games
As an avid forager, I love any book that encourages teaching children to gather wild foods
Not much is needed for outside equipment or supplies
The book is generally fun and encourages a love of the outdoors
Cons:
There were times when I didn’t understand terminology used. For instance, a lot of the projects call for “secateurs” and I am guessing those are like garden clippers but I really have no idea.
There sometimes weren’t enough drawings or instructions for me to understand complicated directions. For instance, I found the cordage activity very confusing in terms of how the author said to weave the fibers. Our family has made cordage from other plant fibers but not in the way they instruct, and I ended up very confused by what she meant.
Most of the games involve fairly large groups, so they are not likely to work in individual homeschool families.
The book was written in the UK and some of the trees, foraged foods and such will not be available in other regions. Of course, you should be able to find suitable substitutes.
I was able to preview two versions of this book — one was a temporary PDF sort of look at the print version and the other was a digital download via Kindle. The Kindle version had no illustrations. I don’t know if this was just for the review version or if it will not have any if you purchase it via Kindle. It would be really hard to understand many of the projects without at least simple illustrations. The Kindle page on Amazon just shows the print excerpts, so I’m not sure I’d recommend this book in Kindle format unless you can preview it somehow and be sure you’ll get a version where you can see some of the illustrations.
Also, this is a silly quibble, but the game “Mammoth, Hunter, Mouse” instructed kids to pretend to use a bow and arrow to hunt the mammoths. Actually, prehistoric hunters used atlatls (spear throwers) to hunt, since it was before the invention of the bow and arrow. Since my husband teaches atlatl making and throwing and our kids have grown up using atlatls, this was something we already knew but you can’t really fault the authors for not knowing that.
All in all, I found it to be a fun book with good information about teaching skills like fire starting and knife safety, and a nice variety of nature-related activities. It should provide some good inspiration for outdoor activities, and gives a nice look into the forest school environment. It’s priced inexpensively and would make a good addition to a homeschool or school library.
June 7, 2020
A Year of Forest School: Outdoor Play and Skill-building Fun for Every Season, by Jane Worroll and Peter Houghton is a fun little book with outdoor activities for children from the authors school - called Forest School. This book features outdoor activities appropriate for different seasons, intended to build children's skills in specific activities, like foraging, nature identification, environmentalism, mindfulness, tool use, wood working and shelter building. Artistic projects are also present - Mandela Art, rock stories, musical instrument crafting, leaf weaving and more.
These were interesting activities, both for an aspiring parent, and for one who is not skilled in nature and outdoor skills. These projects would be a blase for kids, and as an adult, I was thrilled with some of them as well, enough so that I can't wait to try some of them. These are great activities to get people out into nature, teach life long outdoor skills, and help develop a healthy respect for nature and the environment. Some goofy stuff in here (the wood-cookie man looks like something I would see in a horror film), but the premise and skills here are certainly useful and applicable. One small criticism would be a lack of detail. Some of the wood working projects in here require a bit more instruction that what is offered, at least for a lay person such as myself, although parents and educators with more outdoor skills may not require that. Overall, a very pleasant read with some interesting activities to try out with ones kids.
These were interesting activities, both for an aspiring parent, and for one who is not skilled in nature and outdoor skills. These projects would be a blase for kids, and as an adult, I was thrilled with some of them as well, enough so that I can't wait to try some of them. These are great activities to get people out into nature, teach life long outdoor skills, and help develop a healthy respect for nature and the environment. Some goofy stuff in here (the wood-cookie man looks like something I would see in a horror film), but the premise and skills here are certainly useful and applicable. One small criticism would be a lack of detail. Some of the wood working projects in here require a bit more instruction that what is offered, at least for a lay person such as myself, although parents and educators with more outdoor skills may not require that. Overall, a very pleasant read with some interesting activities to try out with ones kids.
June 20, 2018
I've always thought sending my son to a Forest School would be wonderful but unfortunately we don't live an area that is accessible to one. We're outdoorsy people as it is and so I do tend to teach him what I can but there were some wonderful ideas for guided and unguided ideas for forest school educational experiences. While this had references to plants that don't occur in my region, you can easily adapt this to wherever you live. I enjoyed the book and got some great ideas to incorporate with my son at home as he gets older!
*Received a digital copy in exchange for my review via NetGalley*
*Received a digital copy in exchange for my review via NetGalley*
February 4, 2019
Fun nature ideas for groups of kids ages 3+.
May 15, 2018
A sort of handbook of activities to do in the woods/forest, in every season, with every weather and with kids of every ages. I would have loved to have a book like this when I was a boy scout!
Una specie di manuale che raccoglie ogni possibile attivitá da fare nei boschi con ogni tempo, in ogni stagione e con i bambini di tutte le etá. Mi sarebbe piaciuto avere a disposizione un libro del genere quando ero un boy scout!
THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!
Una specie di manuale che raccoglie ogni possibile attivitá da fare nei boschi con ogni tempo, in ogni stagione e con i bambini di tutte le etá. Mi sarebbe piaciuto avere a disposizione un libro del genere quando ero un boy scout!
THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!
October 2, 2018
This book was a bit...weird for me to read.
I picked it up from the library because I was expecting to be taken back to a whimsical summer camp setting. Which is kinda true but...
...I knew it was a manual coming in (the subtitle pretty much gives it away if nothing else) but I didn't realize how reading a manual for enjoyment's sake feels...weird.
Still, I really liked it for a manual. It was easy to read, maybe too easy as it was quite a breeze-through.
My recommendation: get it from the library to see if you'd be interested in doing the forest school activities at all, then outright buy the book (as it's equally awkward to have to keep referring to a manual with effectively an expirational keep date). Since I don't have a large group of kids in forest school...it's not exactly useful or applicable to me.
I picked it up from the library because I was expecting to be taken back to a whimsical summer camp setting. Which is kinda true but...
...I knew it was a manual coming in (the subtitle pretty much gives it away if nothing else) but I didn't realize how reading a manual for enjoyment's sake feels...weird.
Still, I really liked it for a manual. It was easy to read, maybe too easy as it was quite a breeze-through.
My recommendation: get it from the library to see if you'd be interested in doing the forest school activities at all, then outright buy the book (as it's equally awkward to have to keep referring to a manual with effectively an expirational keep date). Since I don't have a large group of kids in forest school...it's not exactly useful or applicable to me.
December 28, 2021
I was excited about this book as I love getting outside with my kids and experiencing nature. This felt akin to "The Read Aloud Family" I just read/didn't finish in the sense that I went into it knowing I agreed with the author's POV and that this theme/idea mattered to me, but the presentation and the actual content in the book was lacking. This book is basically a few ideas of things to do outside each season. I came away realizing that I don't really need special activities with my kids in nature to make it meaningful - that feels a bit too prescriptive and like me trying to control their time in nature. The best way in my opinion, is to just get out in nature and let them be, let them explore, and lead the way.
May 14, 2018
I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.
This book is broken up by season. For each season there are a handful of activities as well as a day planned to celebrate the season (the day contains several activities). I have mixed feelings about the book.
On the one hand, the activities are well described. Each activity that occurs outside of a season day is highlighted in a bulleted list. This organization makes it easy to determine if your children could participate in that activity based on the number of children and age, etc.
On the other hand, most of the activities didn't interest me and several of them required actual woods and wouldn't do even in my more naturey than usual backyard. The activities seem consistent with those I've found in other Forest School books so if you've like other Forest School books you'll probably love this one.
All in all I'd say this is an excellent book, but only for people who like the activities.
This book is broken up by season. For each season there are a handful of activities as well as a day planned to celebrate the season (the day contains several activities). I have mixed feelings about the book.
On the one hand, the activities are well described. Each activity that occurs outside of a season day is highlighted in a bulleted list. This organization makes it easy to determine if your children could participate in that activity based on the number of children and age, etc.
On the other hand, most of the activities didn't interest me and several of them required actual woods and wouldn't do even in my more naturey than usual backyard. The activities seem consistent with those I've found in other Forest School books so if you've like other Forest School books you'll probably love this one.
All in all I'd say this is an excellent book, but only for people who like the activities.
October 25, 2018
This book immediately stood out to me because we were moving out to some property with quite a bit of acreage and trees. Also, my husband and I are very outdoorsy and want to encourage our boys to be too. I couldn't help but think it would be the perfect tool for encouraging my sons to learn more about our surroundings! This book is geared towards all children, whether they are active and outgoing or a little more shy. Another thing that I absolutely loved was how the book was divided into seasons. In Washington, we have pretty defined seasons (mostly) and I knew that I could take full advantage of each section. There are craft activities, food activities, and so much more! Not to mention, part of the activities called for a larger group which was perfect for our group of friends and their children. I believe the only "downside" was some of the more advanced terminology but a quick web search helped fix that!
Overall, this book was quite a gem. My son has learned so much and so have I! Plus, it has given us so much more to do outside other than what we normally go out and do.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, this book was quite a gem. My son has learned so much and so have I! Plus, it has given us so much more to do outside other than what we normally go out and do.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 15, 2018
I have been hearing about these schools for years. I even used some of their ideas with my own child while she was growing up! This book is loaded with cool ideas for introducing your child (of children) to the outdoors. I taught my Girl Scouts a bit of outdoor craft when we camped on long weekends. I thought it was useful for them to know some foraging skills, fire building, solar ovens, etc... This book is a good intro to the schools and their philosophy. It's well written and the directions for projects, I thought, were pretty clear. Some of these might be incorporated into an everyday classroom, Scout and other camp troops might find it useful, as might parents.
I received a Kindle ARC in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
I received a Kindle ARC in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
March 8, 2024
I think this book just wasn’t quite what I expected, and didn’t really apply to me. I had hoped it would be more ideas of things to do with my kids outside in parks and other outdoor areas, but a lot of these activities are more geared toward actual forest schools with lots of children and the ability to start fires, use lots of materials, etc. it’s probably my fault for not understanding the topic well enough, but still, I didn’t really come away with any new ideas of how to spend our time in the park or nearby arboretum with a toddler and baby.
April 22, 2021
This was a great book to get some ideas for activities in nature. While I personally would have loved to see a larger collection of activities for each season, it’s great inspiration and very detailed in giving instructions, materials needed, and the number of children to participate. Overall a good book for someone who is looking for nature-centered learning activities.
October 14, 2021
I was more "meh" about this book than I had anticipated. There were a couple good ideas but I didn't learn anything new, except peg carving perhaps. ALSO, having a bunch of children make nettle soup is a horrible idea. Horrible. Nettles are the devil's plant and we're not trying to dance in the flames around these parts.
July 18, 2022
more relevant if you live in a climate with 4 distinct seasons (I'm subtropical) but the activities could be adapted to suit your needs. I do think a few more illustrations/photos would be handy but other than that it's a great resource and I can't wait to try it out with my siblings
August 11, 2023
Good book if you are looking for ideas/ activities outside. I liked the book I read before this more though (Barefoot and Balanced) that focused on unrestricted outdoor play and just getting kids outdoor more and using their own creativity
August 1, 2018
Also adding to my "to be purchased" list. Lots of great activities and ideas to spend whole days in the woods in different seasons.
November 17, 2020
activities and ideas for outdoor preschool/Amboy marsh activities
August 5, 2021
This is great book for getting kids outside. Great for starting your own forest school or just getting your own little one in nature.
August 21, 2021
Excellent, low-impact activities for outdoor play.
August 22, 2021
An excellent book with many creative ideas for outdoor activities throughout the year!
February 12, 2022
Lots of great, age appropriate activities
March 31, 2022
Lots of great activities, but nearly everything needs additional tools. I wish there were more activities that could be done with exclusively things found in nature.
July 3, 2023
Nothing special
August 12, 2023
a range of season based forest activities for children and their families. I liked that foraging and recipes were included along with surival skills and games.
August 12, 2024
My kids are still too small but I just KNOW my husband will do all of these things with them when they are older.
Read
September 3, 2025I'm always looking for fun activities when camping. Especially liked Story Stones and Cookie Man
October 7, 2020
Des situations variées et intelligentes pour aider les enfants citadins (notamment) à regarder, observer la nature et comprendre pourquoi nous dépendons d'elle sur tous les plans : jeux collectifs, coopératifs, land art, appel aux sens, à la mémoire ...
Les situations sont vraiment pensées pour la forêt et pas toujours adaptées aux grands groupes qui sont la réalité quotidienne des écoles françaises, d'où les 4 étoiles, pour mon point de vue. Mais c'est un petit bijou.
Les situations sont vraiment pensées pour la forêt et pas toujours adaptées aux grands groupes qui sont la réalité quotidienne des écoles françaises, d'où les 4 étoiles, pour mon point de vue. Mais c'est un petit bijou.
May 15, 2018
A wonderful books full of ideas for experiencing the outdoor.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Watkins and Netgalley for the ARC
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Watkins and Netgalley for the ARC
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews