Forest School Philosophy
Forest Schools may look like a modern trend, but their origins stretch back several centuries. During the first part of the 1800s, educators such as John Dewey, Maria Montessori, and Margaret McMillan advocated for the importance of children to be immersed in and connected to the natural world as they develop. These ideas carried through until the 1950's, when the first formal Forest School was developed in Denmark. This first formal school focused on a child-centered, emergent approach to learning, with teachers as facilitators in children's learning. The ideas that "play is children's work" and that the natural world is the best "first teacher" of children, laid the groundwork for the Forest School philosophy we follow at Oakview Farm Forest School.
Our Guiding Mission:
At Oakview Farm Forest School, we hold the belief that every child deserves opportunities to experience the tranquility that arises from connecting with the natural world, as it possesses a remarkable ability to strengthen relationships, cultivate compassion, and ignite creativity within us all.
Forest School Curriculum
Our nature-based curriculum is guided largely by local seasonal changes as well as the principles and values embodied by the Reggio Emilia and Montessori approaches to education.
