By Heidi Hoskins, Nature School Director

You walk though the gate and see frost glistening on the ground, each step you take offers up the gentle crunch only thin layers of ice can produce, the air is cool on your cheeks and you hear the wind whisper softly through the Douglas fir. The cold air feels prickly as it enters your nostrils. You breathe out and the warm air brushes your top lip. Somewhere you hear a hummingbird chirp and you look up to see warm arms and eyes greet you for another day of play. 

From the very first minute the children enter Nature School their senses are enlivened. The slow, steady rhythm of nature wraps them in safely and ease as they go from a rushed morning, or possibly week,  of getting ready for the next thing,  to entering a world where trees stand with arms open to remind children of boundaries and play is entwined within the elements as they flourish and grow. 

As play researchers and nature stewards we find every aspect of our relationships, personal development, health and education is influenced by contact with nature. Direct physical contact with nature benefits physical and mental health and emotional and spiritual development throughout life. And early access helps children carry skills and dispositions towards care and connections for a lifetime. 

Children who participate in Forest Schools like our Nature School reap the benefits of time spent in nature. They feel more relaxed because they have more space in which to be physical which develops healthy neural pathways as they are encouraged to self-direct their own learning in a multisensory environment. Proximity and or daily exposure to natural settings increase children’ s ability to focus and enhance cognitive abilities. 

Being in nature can have a profound positive impact on a person’s sympathetic (fight-or -flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system. Essentially, children (and adults) feel less stressed and more rested in nature and when we are rested and relaxed we can connect more with ourselves, others and the earth. 

It is recommended that children ages 3 – 11 get three hours of active movement per day to help focus, and support cognitive and physical development. At Nature School they are not only afforded the time but the space to run, hang from ropes and branches, carry heavy objects , jump off things, tumble, and play rigorous activities.

In Nature School children will often carry all that is needed for a play from one end of the grounds to the others all while playing, exploring, interacting and creating. Their bodies lead them to run, swing and play until they are ready to settle into more sedentary activities or snuggle into their self-made dens. Moving is natural and effortless, a contrast to sitting on chairs in a traditional preschool. Activation of the body is necessary before we can expect young people to ‘sit and listen’ for hours at a time and large motor development, that is so naturally enhanced outdoors,  is necessary for small motor skills like writing. Our body develops from the inside out and unless we have a strong core, we are using undeveloped appendages and neural pathways to support us the rest of our lives.

 Our days end with a recap of our day. We talk about things that went well, and those that did not. We often have meetings about issues that come up over the course of the day, we have socratic discussions, do role play games and come up with agreements on how we should proceed with sticky situations moving forward. From the second our learners walk in until they are greeted by their caregivers we hold space for their whole self. Building community and connection with the self, others and our world are touch stones throughout the experience and we help model, practice and relearn every day, every moment – all while being held in nature.