Forest School: a BISS activity that helps kids thrive
Vladislav Veljic has been at BISS since 2022. He has worked in Year 1, Year 3, and Year 4. He is now a member of the Inclusion Team working in Team 2. He has had the pleasure of leading both Forest School activities and Sustainability within the school. Vladislav is passionate about the outdoors and spends most of his free time cycling and camping with his family.
Mr. Maxwell Keogh is an educator with over 20 years experience in various settings. His love of the outdoors led him to become a qualified forest school leader and to begin to develop the forest school provision at BISS. He currently leads the forest school in year 3.
With its close proximity to nature, BISS is unique in the Stockholm region for providing forest school sessions to all children from Foundation to Year 4.
Forest school is a child-led, holistic, positive, and inspiring learning process that originated in Denmark and was developed in the UK using research-based pedagogy. It consists of regular sessions taking place in a natural setting. Forest school provides opportunities for children to learn through exploration, experience, and play. Sessions are flexible and mindful of the needs, wants, and motivations of the children.
Learners acquire knowledge of the natural world and also develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and intellectually through risk-taking (such as tool use, fire building, and climbing), creativity, and making connections with the world around them and their place within it. When in forest school, children are able to develop their emotional intelligence, confidence, and communication skills by reflecting on what they have learned, discovered, or experienced with themselves, their peers, and the forest school leaders.
At BISS, children take part in weekly sessions throughout the year, each lasting around two hours. Our sessions take place at Altorpsskogen, and all classes based at the Altorp campus (Nursery to Year 4) currently attend. The sessions involve activities, games, and practical tasks such as cooking, tool use, and shelter building, which are designed to build emotional intelligence through play, exploration, and collaboration. These activities serve as a starting point for children to explore their own ideas.
Activities can include:
Shelter building
Natural art
Using knots and lashings
Fire lighting
Cooking
Animal tracking
Bug hunts
Tree investigations
Climbing and balancing
Woodwork using tools
Creating bug homes and bird feeders
Collecting, identifying, and sorting natural materials
Team games
As the weeks progress and children discover more autonomy in their learning, they are supported in following their own direction based on their intrinsic motivations. By learning about themselves and their relationship with the world around them, children at BISS are truly empowered to take on challenges with curiosity, resilience, and respect.
