Kickapoo Valley Forest School -

KVFS' Fall Break is next week! The full week is planned as it overlaps with Wisconsin's gun deer hunting season. On Monday and Tuesday next week, staff will be working and learning together with the shared goal of continuous improvement of what we do at KVFS, and we'll also be packing in preparation to move into the 1st grade's new classroom building. Have a safe and cozy break, forest schoolers and families!

Play for its own sake. "Self consciousness is the greatest inhibitor to creativity. How can we discover something new if we are recycling past thought--and perhaps insecurities -- over and over in our minds? For creativity to flower, it must grow free of old patterns of thinking and being. Children are uninhibited and naturally spontaneous; in their enthusiasm, they jump feet first into whatever they're doing. " -Joseph Cornell, Author of Deep Nature Play

Forest schooling offers children time and space for tender-hearted interactions and quiet observations of living beings. We believe all children can be guided and encouraged to notice the needs of other living things within a culture of care and compassion. #forestschool #kindnessforallcreatures #learningoutside #outdooreducation #kickapoovalleyforestschool #kvfs #lafargewi #lfsd #driftless

FOREST SCHOOL "...facilitates more than knowledge-gathering, it helps learners develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually. It creates a safe, non-judgemental nurturing environment for learners to try stuff out and take risks. Forest School inspires a deep and meaningful connection to the world and an understanding of how a learner fits within it. Our approach to risk means that learners constantly expand on their abilities by solving real-world issues, building self-belief and resilience. We believe that risk is more than just potential for physical harm, but a more holistic thing, there are risks in everything we do, and we grow by overcoming them. Forest School therefore, helps participants to become, healthy, resilient, creative and independent learners." -Forestschoolassociation.org/what-is-forest-school/

Autumn has been so kind to us! Leaves for jumping in, walnuts to crack open for food and for making dyes, music time outside while the grass is still green, and a thrilling visit for the 1st graders to learn about fire rescue and saftey from the La Farge fire department! Just to name a few! #publicforestschool #charterschool #kvfs #lafargewi #alwayslearning #optoutside #learningoutdoors #firerescue #musicclass

KVFS chomped some yummy apples last week for the Great Apple Crunch! Which celebrates farm to school programs, healthy snacks and local farmers. #greatapplecrunch #farmtoschool #forestschool #localfarms #kvfs #kvr #lafargewi #kickapoovalley #healthyschoolsnacks

How much can you see? There earth is teaming with life and KVFS students love discovering! There are so many living being to come across while out on a hike and even indoors as beetles will slip in under doorsills and ride in upon shirt sleeves. Sometimes nature will land on your arm in the form of a large, furry looking moth called Hyles Lineata, also known as the white-lined sphinx moth or hummingbird moth because of its bird like size! #natureschool #fieldguides #forestschool #charterschool #learningoutside #forestkindergarten #firstgradeintheforest #lafargewi #kickapoovalley #kvfs #kvr

"Learning, thought, creativity and intelligence are not processes of the brain alone, but of the whole body....Memory is not stored (solely) in the brain (but in) neural pathways that fire together as patterns throughout the entire body." - Dr. Carla Hannaford, author of Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head #forestschool #publicforestschool #kvfs #kvr #lafarge #learningoutdoors

Making friends in the forest. From shrieks of joy and delight to tears and hurt feelings. It's all part of learning how to express care and concern for ourselves and others. Teachers at Forest School will use language like "I see that our friend is upset, let's check in with them." and "let's wait for all our friends to arrive and then we will start our hike". With support from their teachers students will learn that it's okay to experience a range of emotions. It's okay for friends to take space or alone time and that friends will return to play when they are ready. #makingfriends #socialemotionallearning #forestfriends #forestschool #charterforestschool #publicforestschool #kvfs #kvr #lafargewi

Our intrepid 1st graders are out exploring! Discovering trails, critters, rock formations, new games and so much more! #firstgradeintheforest #kvfs #outdoorlearning #puclicforestschool #charterschool #optoutside #lafargewi #kickapoovalley #kvr

Enjoying acorn pancakes around the fire with the beginning of the fall leaves dancing around us! #schoolsnackprogram #forestschool #farmtoschool #americorps #wildedibles #forestkindergarten #forestfirstgrade

From ABC's to climbing trees Forest School is a great place to be :) #kvfs #forestschool #lafargewi #kickapoovalley #driftlessregion #learningoutdoors #optoutside #forestkindergarten #firstgradeforestschool

Working hard or hardly working? Purposefully unstructured free time in nature provides space for all sorts of creative play and play is a child's work. You'll find them excavating decomposing logs, building detailed townscapes out of pieces of nature and asking lots of questions as they come across new bugs, plants and natural materials. They are definitely hard at a work :) Happy Friday and first day of Autumn! #forestschool #unstructuredplay #kvfs #lafargewi

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!