Our Approach to Early Childhood Education
(Please scroll down for our Philosophy of Education)
The following reflections encompass some of the most critical components of the work we do with young children. We are excited to share them with you, to encourage discussion among us as educators and parents. We especially want the work that we’re doing to feel accessible to you, because we respect you as your child's first teacher, and we deeply respect your children.
Teachers are Translators
One of our primary roles as teachers of young children is in bridging the gap between emotions and language. What we are doing is essentially building emotional literacy. Relationship-based education is individualized education—it entails knowing our children as individuals (this child needs a hug, this child needs space, this child responds in the moment, this child needs time to reflect after the fact.)
Languaging
We use a lot of strategic language with the children, as a way of scaffolding their development and allowing them to operate from their highest potential. Examples of this languaging include: “This isn’t working for our friends." OR "This isn’t working for your friend.” “It sounds like you’re trying to say ____________ OR Are you trying to say this?” As a teacher, we can model the use of language as an external processing tool by saying things out loud, such as: “What do I need right now?" In this way, we are modeling for the child a healthy response to our feelings. We take ourselves seriously and acknowledge what we're feeling (ex: I’m feeling frustrated). Then we ask what it is that we need in that moment to support ourselves (ex: what do I need? Space? Food?). Then we can even ask someone else for support in getting what we need. We view our role as teachers as models, and we strive to be people who are worthy of imitation. This is how our children learn to regulate themselves--by watching us!
Inclusivity
Sometimes children will say things like: “I’m not going to play with you.” OR “I get to do this, but you don’t.” It's a natural part of human development to experiment with exclusivity. As teachers, we again use the power of modeling to instill in our children the benefits of being together in community, by saying things such as: “It feels so good to spend this time together.” “I really love having tea with all of you.”, etc... We acknowledge that we are really practicing being with each other, together in a group. And it doesn’t always go perfectly! (Let’s be real, this is hard for adults to get together in a group and not have conflict arise.) We are not looking for a perfect picture, just appreciating that we are dynamic and messy people, we're open to what comes, whether that's conflict or resolution or harmony or challenge. We get to practice having grace for each other, feeling compassion for what we’re going through and where we’re at.
Hold to the Highest Potential, But Don’t Expect Perfection
Along these same lines, we practice accountability without the expectation of perfection. Ex: I see how amazing you are, and you also get to be yourself and be messy. We each have something to contribute, we each want to be seen for who we truly are. We understand that, generally speaking, children rise to the expectations we set for them, and so we hold the children to their highest potential while also allowing a lot of room for grace.
Not Pigeon Holing Children
A critical aspect of understanding human behavior is not conflating the behavior with the child. We view each situation as a separate entity from the child, which requires us not to assume a child always behaves a certain way—it’s usually circumstantial, dynamic, and shifts when there is space for the need to be expressed. Blame-based control, accusing a child of something, doesn’t allow space for the behavior to shift, it actually keeps a child from moving through it. Behavior arises from emotions, and emotions shift. We practice letting the children know that emotions are natural and accepted.
Not Over Managing
We recently observed a conflict arise between two children and then watched as the two children came up with a workable solution together, without any adult intervention. This actually happens A LOT. When a teacher walked over to the children, one of the two children said, “We worked it out”, and they had clearly moved on in their play. Observing children FIRST, not imposing, just observing is a powerful teaching tool. Additionally, we practice letting conflicts be resolved, if they have been resolved already, and not needing our adult version of resolution to take place.
Companions in Wonder
(Actually the name of a book!) We know that as teachers, it is not our job to be entertainers of the children, and instead we recognize how meaningful time in nature is when children have an adult to experience the wonder of it with them. We specifically wait and allow the children to invite us in to the wonder with them, and practice knowing intuitively when we are needed, and when we need to step back out again, sometimes quickly. The goal is for the children to stay in their imaginative play, without having the play changed or renegotiated by the adults.
Small Group Strategy
Sometimes we utilize a strategy of dividing a larger group into two or more smaller groups. This can be really useful with certain dynamics, it sometimes allows us to differently account for age differences, and gives a little breath to certain moments as we go out and come back in together. Smaller groups sometimes create more space, more opportunity for the children to play different roles, and give people a break from each other when needed for that moment in time. Sometimes just offering different options (ex: log pile OR wolf den) can facilitate enough of an energetic shift, even if everyone wants to go together and do one thing together. In this way, we see the role of the teacher as setting an intention, even if follow through is not always necessary.
Acknowledging Our Own Experience as Relevant Information
As teachers, it is critical that we check in with ourselves, taking note of feeling a quieter energy or a need to move, and placing ourselves accordingly in various roles—coordinating with each other to support our most natural role in that moment. Often our energy will shift too, sometimes within a single morning. Communication between teachers is key here. Sitting back, reflecting, taking in the energies of each child, feeling our own energy; all of this can help us gain an understanding of how to position ourselves as a teacher in that moment.
Modeling Contentment and Quiet Activity
As we described above, it's often important not to be right in the midst of a child-led activity or project, so as not to disrupt the magic of what is happening between the children. As teachers we can feel into an appropriate role for ourselves at those times, while still remaining present and available to the children. This could involve doing chores, or sitting with a whittling activity, knitting, something that allows us to be free for connection, but allowing the children to really drop into the space with each other, without our energy being right in the space with them.
Intention Setting as Teachers
Each of our teachers employs a different strategy for preparing themselves to teach, as well as for setting an intention for their time with the children. We wanted to share a couple of strategies with you so that you can better understand the deep intention that goes behind this work with children. For example: Miss Amanda stops and parks at Legion Park which overlooks the forest, and sets an intention, before entering the space with the children. Miss Jen shuts off her music when she hits the dirt road, so she goes quietly into the space. Elizabeth often sings along with an inspiring song in the car before parking and moving into the forest.
Songs and Music as Transitions
Songs and music are magic with young children! The lilting tone of singing or rhythm of drumming captures their attention and has a "pied piper effect" of getting everyone to follow the teacher, almost magnetically. We also utilize the strategy of singing a child’s name when they don’t hear their name being called. We recognize that our young children are magical creatures, and respond to magic, whimsy, song.
Valuing Unstructured, Uninterrupted Time for the Children
As teachers, we consistently see the most in-depth play, detailed coordinated efforts between children, and most creativity when the children are experiencing unstructured, uninterrupted time in the forest. The children have the chance to become who they are, gain a sense of self and of their inherent gifts, (a child singing through the forest of their own desire), experience freedom and imagination, as well as more connection between each other. The space and time creates opportunities for social dynamics to be explored, for trying on different roles, as well as creating more flexibility in the dynamic between personalities. There is naturally more space for negotiation to arise in a healthy, natural, constructive way vs. conflict arising over something more arbitrary (such as a conflict over choosing a certain color of bead during a directed craft), as well as allowing more direct support from teachers for where children are at emotionally. Consistently more learning takes place when it comes naturally from the child, naturally arising from emergent play. This process ends up being more about being than about results or product driven activities. We see the children being more capable, at an earlier age. They are climbing, whittling, using hammers, sharing, negotiating, coordinating, creating visions, taking risks and gaining confidence, balancing, and feeling their capability growing.
Being in the Body First, Then Moving into the Cerebral Space
As teachers, we understand that when a child is really "in" his or her body, they're connected to their internal world and their external world, beyond conceptual and cognitive thinking. This critical body awareness leads to more inter-connected thinking. Being in the body allows us to be more aware of boundaries in the world—we can view our body as a wise friend, along with our intellect, emotional self and spiritual self. We have these four parts of ourselves, and although our society often overemphasizes the intellect, we actually need to integrate all the parts of ourselves to be a healthy, happy, functional adult. When a child gets really cerebral, really young, their ability to freely play gets truncated. And play is the main tool children have for learning! We’re intentionally not moving too quickly into the cerebral space with our children.
Role of the Teacher
As a recap, we view the role of the teacher as a mentor, someone worthy of imitation, a person devoted to doing inner work to continue to develop their own capacities. The most critical piece of being a teacher is doing the inner work! We see ourselves as companions in wonder, not as entertainers. We practice being able to fluidly and intuitively move in and out of the group’s play. We are facilitators, while recognizing that learning happens no matter what. We provide the container of safety, while allowing them the space for the children to practice appropriate risk-taking. A great teacher supports the child in learning how to trust themselves, to check in with themselves, to develop their instincts and hone their sense of self. When the child trusts in his or her self, they develop an internal guide, and can take responsibility for themselves and others. We know that children can learn things from mentors, guides and community, that they can’t always learn from us as parents-this wider sphere of mentors and guides enlivens and enriches the life of the child. We actively encourage future learning by staying curious and full of humor, modeling how to be playful as we learn.
Growing Up Belonging in Our Ecology
We believe that forest schooling is the ultimate place-based education, which is an education that feels relevant to a child's life and the sphere they operate in. Everything we’re doing at the forest is in the context of nature and we often take for granted the opportunities this affords us as teachers and children. The truth is, much of the approach we are taking with children is afforded by the context created by being in the container of nature—we find this container particularly critical for young children. We believe that feeling at home in one's world, feeling a sense of belonging, and building one's capacity for regulating one's nervous system, allows children to be integrated in whatever setting they end up in later on.
Our Philosophy of Education
We believe that it is the right of all children to a consistent and meaningful experience of nature. To this end, our program is facilitated in such a way as to promote the following truths:
1) Children are inherently closer to the source, and as such, they stand with open hearts and hands, ready to receive the gifts nature offers us. These gifts include a calm mind, a brave heart, a heightened awareness of the beauty in the world, a secure sense of self, a spirit of collaboration, a bright & untethered creativity and a kind devotion to all living beings.
2) One of the gifts of childhood is the right to embrace the richness of play, without needing to label the play as purposeful so that we adults can make sense of it, or justify the children’s time spent playing. Play is the way that children make sense of the world, and play in nature is always rich with meaning and allows our children to build a map to assist them in navigating relationships, their sense of self and their understanding of the world and their place in it.
3) A curriculum which emerges from the interests of the children holds more potential for learning than one which is imposed by us as teachers. Children are naturally eager to learn everything they can about the world, and our role in that learning is to be excellent observers of the children’s play, so we may offer small provocations and scaffold them as they build upon their thinking. It is widely known in the world of early childhood education that children who attend outdoor preschools are just as prepared for the world of sit-down academics at kindergarten or first grade, if not more so, than their peers in indoor preschools.
4) Early childhood is the time for social and emotional exploration and integration, and we prioritize this key aspect of childhood development. To this end, we support the children in navigating the emotions which emerge when we spend time in relationship with others. We follow the tenets of a restorative justice model of conflict resolution, which creates space for everyone to share their experience without needing the existence of a victim or perpetrator. We know children to be inherently kind and good, and as teachers we help them translate their feelings, needs and requests so others can hear them clearly.
5) Body awareness, feeling one’s physical being in space, and moving bravely through the world are also important aspects of early childhood. We find nature to be the best possible teacher of appropriate risk-taking, and encourage our children to experiment with running, jumping, climbing, swinging, sledding, rolling, carrying and generally feeling how capable our bodies are. This experimentation also contributes greatly to the sense of inner calm and control which “forest” children seem to regularly display, including a distinct lack of ADHD, post-preschool.
6) We live in a fast-paced world, with access to media and technology at every turn, and recognize that the adults of our future are being asked to operate in a vastly different world than the one our not-so-distant relatives occupied. We know that we need our children to enter their adult lives with open hearts, keenly creative minds, a reverence for the earth and each other, resiliency and resourcefulness. We believe time spent in nature, at every age, but especially during the formative years of early childhood, is time spent building the very skills and character traits we will need the next generation to possess. This time in nature is an antidote to our fast, overwhelming world, but is also an olive branch—extended to the future of our planet and our human race.