If you amble through Crippen Park between the fish ladder and library, you might happen upon a group of small children giddily banging sticks on trees, inspecting worms, painting and listening to stories – even on the wettest days.
They are participants in Little Nest Forest Preschool, led by Catherine Barnum, and over the past eight months these little people have come to feel as comfortable in this forest as they would in any other four walls that might serve as a classroom.
“What we call the Grandfather tree is our focal point, kids naturally gravitate to it,” says Barnum-Cummings. “And yes, sometimes they get wet and cold and uncomfortable, but when we work through that they get better at dealing with discomfort the next time. I work hard to be really gentle with them through this process.”
Barnum-Cummings says that someone handed her an article on European forest schools back in 2009, when she was taking her Early Childhood Education training at Capilano University.
“From that point on it was my obsession,” she says. “Every project I did, every article I read, I looked at it through that lens.”
She started her own forest school on Saltspring after her son Luca was born. Soon after, Forest School Canada was formed.
“They started contacting me for information,” she says. “But I was just learning myself and I said so. I continue to take as much training as I can, and this forest school idea is evolving into its own thing here in North America.”
Barnum says that next year, she wants to incorporate her Waldorf roots into the program with 40 minutes of indoor activities at her house on Miller Road.
“ I envision baking the snack for the day with the kids, having circle time with guitar, and them having their own jobs. Then they will hop in the wagon and we’ll make our way down to the fish ladder and hike from there to the Grandfather tree for the outdoor portion of our day.”
For more information or to register
your child for forest preschool, go to
littlenestforestpreschool.com.
