Forest School Ideas
Forest schools are an excellent way to engage children with nature while fostering skills like creativity, teamwork, resilience, and environmental stewardship. Here are some ideas for forest school activities across various themes:
Exploration & Adventure
Idea 1: Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of natural items (e.g., pinecones, feathers, specific leaves) for children to find.Idea 2: Map Making
Have children create maps of the area, marking landmarks like trees, streams, or large rocks.Idea 3: Bug Hotel
Build bug hotels using sticks, leaves, bark, and other materials to observe insects.Idea 4: Shelter Building
Use branches, leaves, and other natural materials to build dens or small shelters.
Creative Arts
Idea 5: Nature Art
Create mandalas, patterns, or sculptures using stones, leaves, and flowers.Idea 6: Story Stones
Paint or draw on stones to tell a collaborative story.Idea 7: Natural Musical Instruments
Use sticks as rhythm instruments or create wind chimes with found objects.Idea 8: Leaf Crowns
Weave crowns or garlands from flexible twigs and leaves.
Science & Observation
Idea 9: Tree Identification
Learn to identify trees by their bark, leaves, or seeds.Idea 10: Mini Ecosystems
Study logs, streams, or other microhabitats to observe ecosystems.Idea 11: Weather Observation
Track the weather using simple tools like wind vanes or rain gauges made from recycled materials.Idea 12: Plant Growing Experiment
Plant seeds in the forest and observe their growth over time.
Survival Skills
Idea 13: Fire Lighting
Teach fire safety and practice starting a fire with supervision using natural tinder and flint.Idea 14: Knots and Ropes
Practice tying different knots and create rope swings or simple pulley systems.Idea 15: Cooking Outdoors
Make simple meals over a campfire, like roasting marshmallows or baking bread on sticks.Idea 16: Water Filtration
Demonstrate how to filter water using layers of sand, gravel, and charcoal.
Games
Idea 17: Camouflage
A hide-and-seek game where children blend into the environment using natural materials.Idea 18: Nature Noughts and Crosses
Play tic-tac-toe using stones and sticks.Idea 19: Animal Tracking
Look for animal tracks and guess which creatures made them.Idea 20: Forest Olympics
Set up activities like stick javelin, leaf relays, or rock balancing challenges.
Mindfulness & Well-being
Idea 21: Sit Spots
Encourage children to sit quietly and observe their surroundings for a set period.Idea 22: Nature Journaling
Write or draw reflections about what they see, hear, and feel.Idea 23: Forest Bathing
Lead a slow, mindful walk focusing on sensory experiences.Idea 24: Gratitude Circle
Gather and share things each person is grateful for in nature.
Seasonal Activities
Autumn: Leaf rubbing, making leaf piles, or collecting conkers.
Winter: Ice ornaments (freeze leaves in water), animal tracking in snow.
Spring: Wildflower spotting, building birdhouses.
Summer: Stream paddling, making sun catchers with leaves and transparent glue.
