DSPNS Forest school sessions bring the children and the curriculum to the forest on Killiney Hill weekly for a block of time. The structure of each session allows the children to build connection: to themselves through sit spots, creative opportunities and reflection; to each other through games and teamwork; and to the world we live in through experiencing it with all their senses.
The aim is to foster resilient, independent, confident and creative learners using a flexible approach and natural resources.
The learning flows out of the sessions in so many ways. English, Geography, Science, Maths, SPHE, Music, Art, PE, Ethical Education and drama are all covered in the sessions and then the richness of the experience continues the engagement and motivation in the classroom and at home.
Have a look at the wonderful blog posts by Liz McMahon with whom we collaborate with to run these sessions. https://dlrcreativityintheclassroom.wordpress.com/
We have two blogs that really elucidate the benefits of forest school and what happens during a series of sessions written by Yuuki Blakeney, ゆ(Yu) う(U) き(Ki), a trained forest school leader and parent in our school.
https://dspns.ie/forest-school/learnings-and-benefits-third-class/
https://dspns.ie/forest-school/observations-and-benefits/
Forest School
Forest School
Forest School Updates
6th class – principle of long-term process of regular sessions
22nd march 2024 On the day of the final DSP Forest School session for the 6th class students, the sky was grey, and we felt chilly and windy as we arrived at Killiney Hill. The theme was to go through the Forest School ethos which …
1st Class – Session 5
This week in Forest School, our 1st class had a fantastic time exploring nature and learning about the environment through various engaging activities like foraging, cooking, ropes, mapping and building dens! Some of the children foraged for three-cornered leeks. They inspected the plants, learning to …
Junior Infants – Session 5
This week, the children engaged in a number of different activities, with each group going in different directions led by their interests and curiosity. Here are some of the activities they enjoyed:
Bealtaine celebrations – Junior Infants – 4
Today was an exciting day as we were filming the forest school sessions. We are doing this to help others understand what forest school looks like and what the benefits might be so that more children might have access to this type of learning. This …
Nests – 1st class – Session 3
They were given the opportunity for free play upon arrival at basecamp and most ofthe children were excited to build their nests. They naturally divided themselves intosmaller groups or individuals. There was clay for the nests to those who werelooking for it. Apart from that …
1st class session 2 – the music of what happens
So much happens in a forest school session. Each group has a different experience as the environment, the leader, the resources and the children themselves all co-create what happens. We also had a drawing sit spot where we could draw what we noticed during our …
Junior Infants 2 – Grandmother tree and invertebrates
The children are already creating memories and routines. They are finding many treasures and using their sensory and observation skills to develop their curiosity. For more photos and information have a look at Liz McMahon’s blog on Forest Friday | DLR Creativity in the Classroom …