Senior Infants – wood mice and elderberries

Last term, this class had eight Forest School sessions. From the summer term through to autumn, we usually keep the children in the same groups, with the same leader and at the same base, making small adjustments if needed. By the time autumn arrives, it’s inspiring to see how Senior Infants engage with nature—building on their summer experiences and returning to the same place to notice seasonal changes.

One example is the elder tree. In summer, it was full of flowers. By autumn, it is heavy with berries. How did this happen? Why did it happen? What might happen next? Many children—and even adults—don’t necessarily connect the stages of a flowering plant’s life cycle unless they experience it first-hand. It’s a very different learning experience compared with looking at a diagram in a book or reading about it on a screen.

As part of the Scaip Project we’ve been gathering resources and placing them on our Nature Based Learning website, with the aim of making this approach accessible to all schools. Nature Based Learning is designed for every teacher. All teachers are qualified to bring Nature Based Learning into their classrooms, and we’re here to support them. We’re also offering courses, and people can sign up through the website for updates and information: www.naturebasedlearning.ie.

Each group takes the learning plans in their own way. Adults join the children in a spirit of wonder and curiosity, supporting observation skills and inquiry by listening, following the children’s interests, and asking thoughtful questions. In this way, children lead much of their own learning—guided by the natural world, by each other, and sometimes by the adults! With this support, they have opportunities to develop empathy, awe and wonder, scientific knowledge, fine and gross motor skills, curiosity, observation skills, and a deep sense of connection.