Friday was gross. It was cold, it was wet. It definitely wasn't the 70 degree day we had enjoyed on Thursday. But Friday was our field trip - the first in two years. I was excited but I was worried the Herons might not be.
But each and every one came through the door with a smile. They were psyched and they were ready. Every kid was wearing layers. Every kid had water proof shoes and pants and coats. Every kid had a hood that would keep their head dry. I read off the attendance with a flourish, asking the students to respond to their name with "Ready!" They improvised a variety of responses, all in the affirmative. We had 100% of the class...and there was much rejoicing.
They sang all the way to Miesville and when we disembarked they were eager to set out on our adventure. We were going to look for geocaches way off the beaten path in the park. I handed them my phone which was set to navigate to the first cache and we were off - straight up a very, very steep hill that was very, very slippery and full of ancient downed trees. (A huge shout out to Kyle David who was an awesome chaperone and charged up the hill along with the Herons). Along the climb, the students found wonder after wonder - mushrooms, moss, hollow birch bark.
It was still pelting rain but no one really seemed to notice. We hiked on in search of the cache and then triumphant cries rang out. They'd found it! But by the time I caught up to them, they were still puzzling out how to get to the cache. It was about 12 feet up. Kyle was tall...but not that tall. One child started to shimmy up the very slippery tree. I cautioned that there must be another way but he and the other Herons assured me there wasn't...and they urged him along, chanting his name. He got to the cache and dropped its contents down. We signed the log and traded trinkets, took our celebratory picture and then set the coordinates of the next chache (we found four in all!)
I've been thinking a lot lately about the importance of autonomy and independence. The New York Times had an opinion piece about the Japanese show "Old Enough (I hope the link will work but it might not...). The show is about very young children who are sent on errands and filmed as they try to complete the errand. Three year olds cross city streets and navigate a grocery store. Five year olds head to a fish market and get food to make lunch. The article explored childhood in America and at what age children should be gaining certain aspects of independence. During our professional development this past week, we read a piece about how adults can pass along fear and insecurity to their students when they are unnecessarily protective. The article looked specifically at students who were involved in outdoor activities in bad weather and how they looked to adults to know how to react to the situation.
So these things were on my mind as I watched the Herons on our rainy, cold field trip. The first thing I noted was that these kids knew how to be in the outdoors. They were dressed for it. They were comfortable walking through the muck and ducking through the undrebrush. Seven years ago, when I started taking kids outdoors every Wednesday I made a commitment to head out for the whole morning no matter the weather. There were definitely uncomfortable days, but students quickly learned that they were responsible for their own gear. They took that responsibility seriously and soon there were fewer kids unprepared. We built up our collection of extras in case someone forgot something and, students supported each other, often having friendly competitions for who had the most layers. So on Friday, the Herons didn't bat an eye. They were ready.
The next thing I noticed was that I had trouble keeping up with them. This was in part because I am 49 years old but it was also because they were not looking to me to tell them what to do. They consulted with each other but they didn't defer solely to me. This is a primary goal in the progressive classroom. The teacher has a special position but it is not a position of absolute authority. Students learn to how to consider situations and make decisions. They pause and seek guidance when they are not sure (such as when a geocahce is 12 feet above the forest floor) but the students have agency. They decide what happens. They work together to solve problems instead of waiting for an adult to save them. (This is a theme in the Old Enough episodes that I have watched.)
Forest school offers so many opportunities for students to problem solve in creative ways. Amber and I brought a lot of different ingredients for students to cook with on Friday. We had eggs that we had intended kids to boil if they wanted to (indeed one child worked diligently to create perfectly soft boiled eggs). But another group wanted to scramble their eggs. "Do we have a pan?" they asked. "No...but we have aluminium foil." They quickly fashioned a pan out of foil. They cracked the eggs into their "pan" after coating it with butter. "Do we have a spatula?" "No." The students hunted around and found our metal cups would do the trick of scraping and stirring the eggs. Soon they added a few Cheezits for the sake of cheezy goodness and they declared the scrambled eggs "the best ever."
Forest school also encourages responsible risk taking. As a teacher, it's my job to assess situations and set boundaries for safety. Most of the time, I can do this pretty invisibly. On Friday, a dip in the 50 degree water was ill advised as the first activity. However, as the last activity 15 minutes before we got on the warm bus, it was just fine (but still very chilly!). So the creek was the last place we explored. Predictably, some students stuck to the shore and some started to edge toward the deeper water. One brave soul sat down in the water and let out a howl. Another student quickly joined him. Many of the students didn't go above their boots...a few went all the way under. Each student was able to choose their level of responsible risk and, in the prepared environment, anything they chose was responsible. There were a few kids who hadn't packed dry clothes - they were uncomfortable but still safe - and my guess is that they will remember to pack extras next time.
And that's, I think, why I love Forest School so much. Students learn to take care of themselves. They learn that they are capable of problem solving and decision making. They learn that they can set their own course and tackle their own challenges. Our trip to Miesville gave us an opportunity to do all of these things - a very fitting culmination to our adventures this year.