Parents looking for an alternative to indoor classroom learning are considering KIND Forest School, a forest school program for children, located in North Bay.
Run by Ontario Certified teachers, KIND is an acronym for Kids in Nature Discovering.
Antonio Alegre’s soon-to-be four-year-old daughter isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty by exploring and playing in the earth, in fact, she’s encouraged to get up close to nature through hands-on experiences.
“She is comfortable being outdoors. She is comfortable with other kids and relating to them and talking to them. It is different exposure being out here,” shared Alegre.
“And what is interesting, is they will teach. When they are out here, they will teach about the forest and different items that they pick up and see. But they will also do different activities where they learn how to build things and put things together. Being here has been incredible for her development”
The school is a licensed daycare that also offers alternative elementary school options.
“Our core offering is outdoor education. We have before and after school care, and anytime on non-instructional school days, so during the summer, March Break, and PD days,” explained manager Ben von Holtzendorff.
‘Our maximum ratio is one instructor for 13 kids, so we can form a very strong bond with the kids.”
The school manager says part of their focus is teaching children responsible citizenship, which includes being environmentally responsible.
“We believe that a lot of that can just come from a connection to nature. So, our kids out here are constantly finding bugs, they’re seeing deer, they’re finding different plants, and we teach them the names of what they are seeing. We’ll bring them inside later and look up whatever information we can find about the wildlife we see,” shared von Holtzendorff.
“For instance, in the summer we went on a bug adventure and collected as many bugs as we could, and the big hit was a beautiful turquoise dragonfly-looking bug that I didn’t even know about, but when we looked it up, it turns out it is called an ebony jewelwing damselfly. So, we learned about damselflies and how they’re different from dragonflies, and what their habitat is.”
Designated play areas are found on the property located behind the main school building.
“We believe that outdoor play is not just for learning to be environmentally responsible but is also hugely important for development. So, we adhere to what is called, ‘risky play philosophy.’ Now that is simply a modern branding of what used to be absolutely normal play for kids,” shared von Holtzendorff.
“If you think about a typical schoolyard there are countless things that are not permitted anymore whether it is sliding on ice, throwing a snowball, or climbing. We like to use our outdoor space to promote physical development and develop the ability to manage risk and help kids understand their limits”
Imaginative play is also encouraged in the forest.
“And our flexible scheduling means that if there is an interesting game going on, whether it is some form of hide and seek, or building forts that kind of thing, they can explore and express themselves whether it is in the type of forts they want to build, or some of them built a tetter totter the other day out of loose parts. So, there are all kinds of things they can do in the forest. We just want kids to be happy and get to do kid things.”
KIND Forest School can be found on Facebook.
