We live in a changing world, and it is important to learn how to assess and face the unexpected. In Forest School we have plenty of opportunities to practice assessing situations for safety, planning next steps and taking healthy risks. All of this sets our students up for success in a changing environment. The Forest is such a great place to learn.
#learningallthetime
#learningoutdoors
#learninngindoors
#kvfs
#kvr
#forestschool
#forestkindergarten
#firstgradeintheforest
Children are designed to be messy and unpredictable, playful and imaginative, and to be very different from both their parents and from each other. The variability and flexibility of childhood lets them innovate, create and survive in an unpredictable world.
~A. Gopnik
#forestschool
#kvfs
#learningoutside
#emergentcurriculum
#optoutside
#lafargewi
#kvr
#excellentquotes
KVFS First Grade takes off for their inaugural scooter ride on Old Hwy 131. But not before learning important safety and trail etiquette! They came back sweaty, tired and beaming from ear to ear!
“Uncertain times require personal responsibility, independence of thought, self-initiative, self-assertion, flexibility, creativity, imagination, and willingness to take risks.”
—Peter Gray (2013)
#forestschool
#kvfs
#learningoutdoors
#scootertofreedom
#3wheelscooters
#1stgrade
#kvr
#lafargewi
" What we learn with pleasure we never forget." - Alfred Mercer
And what a delight it was for students to meet (and attentively study) a few baby snappers that had just hatched and where making their way down to the Kickapoo River!
#forestschool
#Kickapoovalleyforestschool
#learningoutside
#snapperbabies
It was a great first day of school!
Students circled up to meet their classmates and prepare for a day of scholastic and outdoor adventures.
Meanwhile parents chatted around the coffee cart and got to meet some their peers as well!
Looking forward to an excellent school year!
#kvfs
#forestschool
#learningoutside
#optoutside
#kickapoovalleyforestschool
#lafargewi
#lafargeschooldisctrict
#educatingoutdoors
#firstdayofschool
#kvr
#kickapoovalleyreserve
KVFS staff prepare for the school year by exploring play spaces and carefully noticing sensitive areas and species while considering our impact. KVFS is fully committed to engaging children in nature while moving with care on the landscape.
#backtoforestschool
#forestschoolteachers
#learningoutdoors
#outdooreducation
#movewithcare
#kvfs
#kickapoovalleyforestschool
#mushroomsgrowingeverywhere
#wisconsin
#lafargewi
#kickapoovalleyreserve
#kvr
The Governance Council and Leadership Team extend a HUGE thank you to The Quack Attack for choosing KVFS as a recipient of proceeds from the 2022 Duck Race!
Nearly $2500 was donated- pictured is Governance Council member Jen Oium accepting the donation (third from the left).
To the whole crew at The Quack Attack, and KVFS parents Damian and Ashley Dinger, especially- we are so grateful!
Pizza Night Fundraiser for KVFS at Sittin Pretty Farm!
- Online ordering time slots with limited walk in availability
- Bar offerings include on tap rotation featuring Driftless Brewery, kombucha, wines, hard ciders, sparkling waters, and sodas
- Outdoor banquet table seating or bring a picnic blanket
- Indoor seating for rainy weather
- Sunset walks along the ridgetop with views across local farm fields
- Come and take in the farm's curation of old farm machinery, trucks, lily pond, permaculture gardens, and rustic building designs at the woods edge
Thanks to the KVFS staff and families that participated in the La Farge 4th of July Parade earlier this week!
We were surprised by an unexpected thunderstorm, but as the forest schoolers we are, still had tons of fun!
We have a few spots left for 2022-2023 school year... message here, email us at kvfs@lafarge.k12.wi.us, or visit kickapoovalleyforestschool.org!
#LearningFromTheOutsideIn
We have a few spaces available for 5K and First Grade!
Apply today!
#enrollinforestschool
#forestkindergarten
#learningoutside
#optoutside
#outdooreducation
#theforestisourclassroom
We certainly get our share of scrapes and bug bites at Forest School! Thankfully Nurse Emily is here to help!
If you want to get a peek into the life of a school nurse in this day and age check out https://www.wischoolnurses.org/wasn/a-day-in-the-life-home/emily-oium
for a great interview with Nurse Emily!
#schoolnursesrock
#forestschool
#lafargewi
#kickapoovalleyforestschool
#lafargeschooldistrict
To explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. – Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia
Humans are designed to connect with nature. Seeing as we are part of nature it is only natural that schooling might happen in the forests, woods, prairies, along the creek-sides, and in every other environment where humans exist.
When we are outside we are more likely to enter a state of effortless attention. Being able to experience that from the very beginning of life will help later on when attention is required in a variety of environments.
#KVFS
#forestschool
#forestschooling
#educatingoutdoors
#optoutside
#lafargewi
#kickapoovalleyreserve
Rain or shine we are out here having fun and learning as we go!
Here is a little Forest School Friday photo blast to start your weekend!
#forestschool
#learningwithoutwalls
#outdooreducation
#kvfs
#learningoutside
#lafargewi
#KVR
#kickapoovalleyforestschool
#kindergarten
#springtime
While we are often active, slowing down and focusing is an important part of what we do as well. Periods of quiet, focused attention hone a child's ability to be mindful of their surroundings, the work they do, and each other. Many observations from nature make their way onto the pages of student workbooks. #learningwithoutwalls #outdoorkindergarten #indooroutdoorleanring #forestschool #kickapoovalleyforestschool #kvfs #kvr #lafargewi
It makes a big difference to have the right gear out here! As Forest Schools like to say " there is no bad weather only bad gear".
Springtime is filled with water, mud, and thankfully some sunshine as well so we can dry everything out!
#forestschool
#springtime
#leanringoutdoors
#optoutside
#kvfs
#kvr
#publicforestschool
#outdoorgearforkids
#outdoorschoolshop
Just a few Forest School highlights to end the week.
Exploring the creek, indoor "work time", climbing trees and an enthralling puppet show.
Have a great weekend!
#forestschool
#kvfs
#learningoutdoors
#optoutside
#kindergarten
#lafargewi
#wisconsinforestschool
#kvr
As we delight in the slow unveiling of plants and animals emerging from the thawing ground, we also find another thing emerging. Trash! Everyone knows how much trash is visible when the snow finally melts. Trash picking has become a borderline treasure hunt for these students! Thank you, students, for helping care for the land in this way, and thanks to everyone who gets out for the springtime cleanup!
#outdooreducation
#springcleaning
#forestschool
#KVFS
#learningfromtheoutsidein
#optoutside
#lafargewi
#kickapoovalleyreserve
From heart melting earthworms to tender little (grass) bunnies. Forest School children care a great deal about the wellbeing of both living and pretend play creatures.
Some students were able to, ever so tenderly, observe and connect with the worms that are returning to the surface of the earth. These spring rains have also brought about a lot of worm rescue missions where the worms are returned to the dirt from the dangers of the cement sidewalks.
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During free-play a few large "bunny homes" where built out of grasses to shelter all the baby grass bunnies. Forest school students can turn grass into just about anything!
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Happy Wednesday!
#kvf #forestschool #freeplay #optoutside #greetingspring #lafargewi
“Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart."
-Richard Louv "Last Child in the Woods"
"Look at this!"
The natural world is zoomed in upon on a daily basis at KVFS.
Counting the spikes on a bur, or examining the first green sprouts coming up underneath the snow. When you look at lichen from a distance it might look to be just one type covering an entire branch, when you look closer you can see that there are two, three even four different kinds!
Have you zoomed in on the natural environment recently and noticed anything you haven't noticed before?
#forestschool
#KVFS
#lafargewi
#optoutside
#connectexploreenagge
#natureschool
#evironmentaleducation
#forestkindergarten
The varying landscape, wildlife and flora found at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve offer ample opportunities to play, learn and grow.
Students have visited this little creek in almost every season and are enjoying it in its early springtime manner. All the grasses are laid flat and the creeks banks are more exposed than they are at any other time of year.
#kvfs
#kickapovalleyforestschool
#gratitude
#learningthelandscape
#optoutside
#kindergarten
#forestschool
#lafargewi
#KVR
