Nursery World - Enabling Environments: Forest school diary

On their latest trip to the forest, the children took charge of their snacks, says Caroline Watts, forest school leader, Reflections Nursery & Forest School, Worthing, West Sussex.

Snack time was slightly different today as the children sported their new rucksacks and carried their own snacks and drinks.

Decisions about when and where to stop for our mid-morning snack have always been left up to the children, but now they have the added responsibility of carrying their own food and drinks. They usually have water to drink and a choice of fruit or dried apricots.

We bought the rucksacks for the children as we wanted to encourage independence, in a similar way to the Scandinavian model where children look after their own things all day when they are in the forest. Also, the children are now able to bring natural objects, such as a special feather or leaf, back to the nursery to share with the other children or to use for artistic creations. We try to make a bridge between the Forest School experience and the experience in the nursery, and projects such as 'building bridges' often overlap.

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