Want to play outside with your kids but don’t know what to do?  Have you thought about adding a bit of learning to outdoor play?  I did last summer and it was a lot of fun.

Before I tell you more, let me first tell you that one of my side gigs is helping set up outdoor communities with Forest School For All.  We had worked with Leah McDermott from Your Natural Learner to develop some fun Forest School For All focused outdoor curriculums.  I got together with some my village to do it last summer.

It was a blast.  We did the Summer Discoverer Curriculum and our village of moms and kids grew stronger.  We started each session with a quick hello to the forest, and an explanation of the materials we should be gathering as we walked in to our meeting spot.  Once there, our group’s rhythm was to settle down for a snack and read the book that followed that day’s theme.  While the book was being read, the moms set up three stations that sometimes utilized math or reading or science or artistic skills or even all of those.  My children were writing their names with sticks, stacking rocks and understanding how they could help bugs.  The children then free played throughout the woods while the moms had our snacks (and sometimes they were quite impressive) and talked with each other about our own life struggles.  It was truly an experience I’ll treasure.

The Discoverers Curriculum is ideal for a 4-10 age bracket while the Creators Curriculum is less intense, only has one project and no book per week, and set up for a 2-7 year age bracket.  The curriculum is easily purchased on its own for a family or group to facilitate or Forest School For All will help you organize and provide the curriculum and supplies.

The curriculum and groups are a truly lovely way to take the next step in outdoor play.  Beer may have been involved in our outings?  But friendship among the moms and kids definitely was.  Thank you Elodie, Courtney and Babette – it was truly a magical part of our summer.

Do you want to utilize an outdoor curriculum?  Or looking for more information in playing in an outdoor community?  Check out Forest School For All website or Facebook page.