Forest School Handbook

Forest School Handbook is lively collection of activities, crafts, bushcraft skills and nature-based play which will inspire kids to thrive outside. Whether just popping out for a walk, going camping or exploring in the woods, this handy-sized book will be your essential guide for connecting with the natural world. Packed with ideas and activities for children of all ages, there are bushcraft basics, survival skills, nature crafts and ideas for both energising and peaceful outdoor play. Encouraging controlled risk taking, boosting social skills, wellbeing and a healthy resilience, this is the ultimate way to avoid battles over screen time and classroom-induced fatigue. Build a shelter from what you find around you, design a natural collage, tie useful knots, get to know a tree, light a fire, filter dirty water, make charcoal, go on a night walk, make a bug hotel, create a mini village, whittle a stick and much more. AUTHORS: Naomi Walmsley and Dan Westall run Outback2Basics (www.outback2basics.co.uk) from their patch of woodland in Shropshire, UK. Specialising in bushcraft and Stone Age skills, they provide unique experiences for schoolchildren and teachers to connect to nature. Dan has been a bushcraft teacher for many years and has also acted as a medic and survival consultant on various TV shows. Naomi is a qualified bushcraft instructor and Forest School Leader and believes that every child should be able to safely light a fire and have at least ten uses for a stick by the age of ten. She has also written about bushcraft and parenting for many magazines, including Bushcraft & Survival Skills, Living Woods and Juno. Together, they undertook a five-month Stone Age immersion experience in the US, living in the wilderness without any modern equipment, profoundly influencing their lives and teaching.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Playing in nature Nature Awareness Mini beast hunting Night vision Muddy tracks Sit spot Stalking walks Flour trail tracker Observation stations Get to know a tree Camouflage hands Outdoor games Outdoor crafts Bird feeder Bug hotel Playing with clay Leaf and flower plaques Natural collage and sculptures Goblin villages and mini dens Nest building Storytelling stones Leaf printing Nature weaving Shadow painting Leaf watercolour Nature journal Leaf bunting Stick boats Things to do with conkers Useful knots Knot terminology Clove hitch Double half hitch Sheet bend Siberian hitch Timber hitch Prusik Square lashing Slippery guy line Canadian jam knot Sledge knot Hanking cord Shelters and dens Lean-to shelter A-frame shelter Baker’s tarp Tarp bender Fire Safety Sources of tinder Firewood Lighting a fire with a fire steel Fire lays Making charcoal Making char cloth Carrying fire Group bow drill Water Collecting water Birch tapping Bottle filter Camp craft Cordage Giant grass rope Knife safety Sharpening a knife Carving a butter knife Leather tinder pouch Wilderness survival Making stretchers Signal fire Plants for first aid Primitive skills Slate arrow Pine pitch glue Atl atl and spear Fat lamps Nut lamps Grass mat Natural clay Cave art and natural paints

About the Author :
Dan Westall and Naomi Walmsley run Outback2Basics from their patch of woodland in Shropshire in the UK. Specialising in bushcraft and Stone Age skills, they provide unique experiences for school children and teachers to connect to nature. Dan has been a bushcraft teacher for many years and has also acted as a medic and survival consultant on various TV shows. Naomi is a qualified bushcraft instructor and Forest School Leader and believes that every child should be able to safely light a fire and have at least ten uses for a stick by the age of ten. Together, they undertook a five-month Stone Age immersion experience in the US, living in the wilderness without any modern equipment, profoundly influencing their lives and teaching. They have written Forest School Adventure and Urban Forest School for GMC Publications and Naomi is the author of Live Like a Hunter Gatherer for Button Books. Find out more at www.outback2basics.co.uk

Review :
5 STAR REVIEW Forest School Handbook is a fantastic forest school guide written by two absolute experts in bringing practical learning, fun activities and survival skills to children in the great outdoors. The book is packed with information, ideas and explanations that cover a huge range of bush craft skills. Outdoor play and experiences are at the forefront of ensuring the wellbeing and positive mental health of our children and this book is an excellent resource to use. It helps adults and children safely and confidently immerse themselves in nature themed learning and fun. It is a glossy, useful and delightful book - with obvious expertise and enthusiasm behind it. This handy-sized book, easy to fit in your jacket pocket or rucksack, is perfect for taking on adventures outdoors with the kids! It includes over 75 activities for children ages 5 to 11 on how to build simple but effective shelters and dens, how to tie an array of useful knots, how to collect and filter water, how to forage safely and a multitude of other outdoor crafts that will give them confidence and a life-long love and appreciation for nature and enjoying it responsibly. Altogether a smashing little book that deserves to be in every family and class collection. This little book is super handy to take outdoors and to get inspired in the nature classroom… It’s packed with exciting collection of activities, crafts, bushcraft skills and nature based play to inspire children to thrive outside. From beginner to expert, there's ideas here for everyone: nature awareness activities using the senses, crafts, den building and knots as well as skill building and survival ideas, such as fire lighting, water filters, first aid, foraging, cooking and primitive skills (perfect for a Stone Age topic). I can't wait to start using this brilliant book at home and school. I'd recommend a bit of planning before trying some of these activities, but it's the perfect size to pop in the rucksack so you're always prepared for an outdoor adventure! This is a wonderful book, I love the size of it too, fits nicely into my bag to take out and about! It’s full of lots of interesting activities to do with nature in particular forest school! If you’re wondering what Forest School looks like, for activity inspiration or basic knots, this Forest School Handbook may be useful to you! It’s full of fantastic outdoor and nature activity ideas and inspiration, wild food knowledge, fire safety and tips, camp craft, primitive skills and more. From two highly knowledgeable practitioners, who specialise in bush craft and Stone Age skills, it’s rather valuable! BRILLIANT and full of activities, crafts, bushcraft skills and nature based play which will inspire kids to thrive outdoors! Do you enjoy being outdoors? Or are you looking for a book to inspire your kiddos to step away from screens and embrace nature? If so, The Forest School Handbook is the perfect summer read. It is packed with activities, crafts, and nature-based play. A remarkable compendium of fun, safe, and educational DIY outdoor activities, the "Forest School Handbook" will be an enduringly valued and appreciated resource for parents and teachers wanting to offer children attractive alternatives to their computer, phone, and television screens. "Forest School Handbook" is a critically important and valued addition to family, preschool, elementary school, middle school, and community library Nature Crafting & Activities collections.