This week at Home Ed Forest Club we’ve been celebrating Winter Solstice ❄️🌞 We’ve learned about the Yuletide story of the Holly King and the Oak King and how they bring balance between seasons and light and darkness. We’ve also made our own tree faces along with backstories and made beautiful paper lanterns despite the blustery conditions! We ate mince pies, drunk spiced mulled apple juice and reflected on the individual skills/progression of each child. What a lovely way to end the year. Thanks to all the amazing parents/carers, children and volunteers who make this group an absolute joy to run!

This week at Home Ed Forest Club we have learned how to safely use a saw to create beautiful Christmas decorations made from hazel wood. We have also completed the Christmas scavenger hunt challenge and cooked eggy bread over the fire 🔥

This week at Forest Club, activities were inspired by the lovely Christmas story ‘The Night Tree.’ We found our own Night Tree and made edible decorations for the wildlife to help them through the Winter. We also drunk hot chocolate on the picnic blanket whilst we admired the decorated tree, just like in the story! We also made sure our hedgehog house was cleaned out and made cosy for any hedgehogs ready for hibernation. 🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔

This week we used our imaginations to make our own mini worlds. Group members were extremely creative in making their own characters and creating their back stories. We also cooked pizza over the fire. 🍕

This week at Home Ed Forest Club we learned about Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot, ate edible sparklers, made a firework in a jar, created Andy Goldworthy inspired fireworks out of natural resources, played games with our friends, relaxed in the hammock and watched the magical bonfire!

Not so quiet with these two 😂 but ‘The Quiet Space’ is set up for anyone who would like time away from the group to regulate their emotions, relax in the hammock, read a book or play with sensory materials. All group members can come here when needed.

Holiday Halloween fun at Foxfire Woods 🎃 We made pinecone spiders, willow webs, climbed through giant spider webs, made wizard wands, mixed magic potions and stole seeds from the scarecrow’s field!

Fantastic team-working skills today to make these tasty, toadstool cookies. Our Home Ed group made the cookie dough and baked them in a Dutch oven over the fire. They used jam and icing sugar to look like the Fly Agaric fungi 🍄

Today at Home Ed Forest Club we searched for Autumn Treasures and used them to make beautiful Autumn Crowns and mobiles. We waxed colourful leaves to preserve them and used tools to drill holes though our conkers. We also made a fire for a much needed toasted marshmallow snack! 🔥 🍁🍂

Today in the Home Ed group we learned about the different trees in our forest, did leaf rubbings, used Hazel-wood to make Halloween decorations, baked cookies sandwiched between Hazel leaves and told collaborative spooky stories around the campfire 🔥🍁🍂

Today at Home Ed Forest Club we learned about spiders 🕷️We learned facts and discussed aspects of their anatomy and behaviour. We also completed the spider web challenge, used tools to make conker spiders and made toffee apples over the fire. 🕸️

We learned about Fascinating Fungi today in Home Ed Forest Club 🍄‍🟫 We went on a fungi hunt, examined them closely and demonstrated how a Toadstool gets its spots using a balloon! 🍄

Today in Home Ed Survival Skills we talked about the importance of fire if we were lost in the woods! We also learned about where to find King Alfred’s Cakes fungus and how to use it as tinder for the fire. We also foraged nettles to make tea and learned how to make smoke signals to signal for help! 🔥 💨

Home Ed Wilderness Survival Skills. We’re still imagining we are lost in the woods! In this session we discussed how to find water, how to filter it using items we might have on us and how to purify it. We also toasted toffee apples on the fire 🔥

Home Ed Wilderness Survival Skills. We imagined we were lost in the woods with no phone battery and it was getting dark! What were our priorities for survival in the wild?!

Today’s aim in Conservation Club was to learn to appreciate and protect all the creatures in our Ecosystem, even the less appealing ones like flies! 🪰Apparently midges are one of the only pollinators of chocolate! This fact managed to increase the popularity of flies with everyone 😁

One Bug Hotel built today complete with underground spa. Lots of mini beasts have already checked in! 🦟 🐝🐞🦗🐜🪲🦋

I think I’ve been as fascinated by this metamorphosis as the kids. We now have froglets 🐸🐸🐸

This week we learned about bats and played an Echolocation game. A special thanks to Carrie (my lovely Forest School Volunteer) who finished making the bat box in the rain, when the rest of us ran back to eat summer crumble under the shelter to escape the downpour! 🌧️

This week at Conservation Club we learned all about caterpillars and butterflies and how to help them in our gardens 🦋 🐛🦋🐛🦋🐛We made Hapa Zome butterflies, cooked Cinnamon and Sugar butterflies over the fire and worked as a team in a butterfly challenge game.

This week at Conservation Club we’ve been learning how to ID native snakes and Slow Worms. We’ve also made a Hibernaculam for our resident Slow Worms to hibernate in this winter. The hard work digging was rewarded with strawberries dipped in chocolate 😋

This week in Conservation Club we learned about trees and why it’s important to protect them. We also learned how to use trees sustainably and made Elder bead snakes and necklaces.

This week we in Conservation Club we celebrated Earth Day! 🌍 We used tools to make earth decorations with our own individual pledges written/drawn on the back to remind us of how we will help our planet. We have also played games, made shelters and eaten S’mores!

Today at Conservation Club we learned about bees and why they are important. To help protect them we made Solitary Bee homes and bee-friendly seed bombs which we threw into the meadow. We also added some Dandelions to our pancakes, but made sure to leave some for the bees! 🐝

What a great day to be in the woods. It’s the first day of Spring AND the sun is finally out! 😁Today at Conservation Club we learned about birds and how to help them by making Bird Nesting Balls and Bird Pizzas. We also learned how birds made their nests by creating a “bird mansion.” We also managed fit 6 children inside! 🦅🐣

Our beautiful new banquet table at Foxfire Wood, built just in time for Spring! 🌺🌼🌷

We’re feeling Christmassy, a festive use for the Hazel that needed clearing 🎅🏼

Thanks @ukyoga.co.uk for a brilliant day yesterday. I can’t wait to use my new skills with the children!

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Home Ed Forest School Sessions

For home-educated primary-aged children aged 4+ and their parents/carers/siblings.
10am - 12:30 on Wednesdays.

This term we'll be using tools, foraging, swinging in trees, learning survival skills, cooking around the fire and playing games! We’ll be observing seasonal changes in the woods and go on a fungi hunt. We'll also use natural resources like conkers, acorns and colourful leaves to create art.

This session is for home-educated primary-aged children and their parents/carers/siblings.

Play with new friends, toast a snack over the fire and have fun in nature.

Parents/carers will need to stay at the site and are welcome to either join in the activities or sit at our lovely banquet table to relax, chat, or use the time to catch up on work or admin!

A mid-morning campfire snack will be provided but please bring extra snacks if needed and drinks to have around the fire at lunch time.

Children with SEND are very welcome. Please email us if you have any questions.

Please see our FAQs for further information.

“We love coming to your conservation club. It's given my son a confidence boost, alongside being able to learn new things in a less pressured, friendly environment. As a child with SEN, you have been so flexible, kind and understanding, we really appreciate it!."

Katie, parent

What is Forest School?

Playing and learning outside improve children’s physical and emotional wellbeing and the forest school experience has been shown to be hugely beneficial for children with a range of emotional and developmental needs. Rather than using classroom resources and equipment, children can use natural materials found in the woodland and enjoy activities such as collecting sticks and leaves, tying knots, making dens, handling tools, using twigs to write in the mud, climbing trees, jumping across stones and building fires.

Benefits of Forest School

Forest school can help children to develop:

self-awareness
motivation
empathy
social skills
communication skills
independence
self-esteem and confidence
physical skills including the development of both gross and fine motor skills
problem solving and risk taking
resilience
concentration
knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

There is also a growing body of scientific evidence proving that just being in nature can have a direct positive physiological impact. This includes decreasing blood pressure and the stress hormone cortisol, reducing anxiety and boosting mood.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should my child and I wear to Forest School sessions?

Weather appropriate clothing that is fine to get dirty in! Long trousers and long sleeves are recommended and enclosed shoes to protect from prickles and, as there are deer in the woods, as protection from ticks.

Winter: Welly boots/ Hats/ Gloves/ Waterproof trousers and jacket

Summer: Trousers / Long Sleeve t- shirt/ Trainers (no sandals or flip flops)

Spring/ Autumn: Waterproofs if wet/ rain is forecast.

Trousers/ Long sleeve t-shirt/ Welly boots

Do sessions go ahead if rain is forecast?

Yes! Rain will not stop us having fun in the forest. We have a large parachute shelter to keep us dry. The only time sessions will be cancelled is if there are very high winds forecast. On these occasions, half of the cost of the session will be refunded which I believe is fair to both family and Forest School Leaders. Parents/carers should check emails prior to the event for updates prior to leaving in case of severe weather cancellations.

Will there be a trained First Aider on site?

Yes, all Forest School Leaders undertake regular 'First Aid in the Wilderness' training and qualifications.

Is there a toilet on site?

Yes, there is an eco compost toilet.

Is there running water at the woods?

No, but we do have a limited amount for hand washing. Therefore please bring a water bottle.

Do you have an enhanced DBS check to work with children?

Yes, all Forest School Leaders and Forest School Volunteers have current enhanced DBS checks which are updated every three years. I undertake regular safeguarding training and am fully insured.

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