There are many different types of outdoor learning from bushcraft to gardening. Forest School is run by a qualified forest school leader and ‘offers children and young people the opportunity, over repeated visits, to engage with the rich natural diversity of the woodland environment to help build confidence, sensitivity, resilience and curiosity’ Forest School Training.
Credit: Alexandra Tandy Photography
Buckinghamshire Forest Schools
Here’s a round up of all the forest schools and outdoor nature sessions for children in Buckinghamshire. As well as regular pre-school toddler sessions, many also run holiday clubs, special events, family bushcraft sessions and parties.
Little Muddy Boots (held in the orchard at Hogshaw Farm & Wildlife Park)
Little Muddy Boots is a unique garden and nature club. The sessions aim to inspire outdoor play, hands on learning and time spent as a family making memories. The sessions involve lots of free play as well as a great variety of guided activities. Check out the Little Muddy Boots review
The Nature Club (Chesham & Little Chalftont)
The Nature Club is a weekly toddler class immersed in nature. Inspiring a love for wildlife and the outdoors. Each week there are different nature activities, crafts, songs and a story. Each week there’s something new to learn and explore making it a great interactive session for tots, toddlers and pre-schoolers to enjoy. Termly or pay as you go available.
Fox and Cubs Forest School (High Wycombe)
Fox and Cubs provide inspirational outdoor learning and fun forest school sessions for schools, nurseries, pre-schools and parent & toddler groups across the Wycombe area. Toddler forest school sessions run regularly at Wycombe Museum. There will be hammocks, swings, a mud kitchen, seasonal craft and we always end with a campfire snack and singing.
Muddy Feet (Evenley Wood Gardens, nr Brackley)
There are lots of fun sessions and events run by Muddy Feet from Evenley Wood Garden or Newbottle woods in Northamptonshire. They have a well established weekly Forest School preschool adventures, which is a fun parent and toddler session as well as family day events through the year. During the school holidays they also run a Muddy Explorers Club for 4-11 year olds and Muddy Adventures for teenagers aged 12 and over.
Tots Go Wild (Black Park Country Park, Wexham)
These Forest School style sessions are aimed at 2-4 year olds (but children welcome younger once they can walk). There are a variety of activities, including the mud kitchen, digging pit, water play, bug hunting, weaving, balancing and more.
Forest Tribe Friends (Chorleywood & Chalfont St Giles)
Experience playing in a mud kitchen, using ropes for scrambling and balancing, den building, age appropriate craft activities and much more. All activities are based on seasonal, natural resources and using the beautiful woodland.
Tales and Trails (Leighton Buzzard)
Pre School Forest School sessions are carefully planned around nature themes awith children’s curiosity leading the way. Experience playing in a mud kitchen, using ropes for scrambling and balancing, den building, age appropriate craft activities and much more.
Old School (Wolverton, Milton Keynes)
Bring the kids to the Old School for Forest School-style fun. Activities will be set up in the Wildlife Garden for children to discover and engage with as they like – these are not guided sessions, so all children must be accompanied by a parent or adult. Families with children of all ages are welcome to take part, though activities are especially suited to little ones.
Forest Tots at Wood End Pre-School (Stantonbury, north Milton Keynes)
For children aged 1 year+, join the Wood End Pre-School Forest School Leader for a ‘nature play’ session in the private Forest School area. Sessions incorporate various activities, such as: leaf-printing, bug hunts, den-building, wood craft, painting, pond-dipping – and free play in muddy puddles is always available. Open to all, not just children currently attending Wood End Pre-School.
Treelings Toddlers & Saturday Stick Kids (Wootton, Marston Moretain & Ampthill)
The toddler sessions aim to start with a story at 10am followed by activities for the morning. The session will run as free play with activities set out around the woods and we will end the session with a few songs. Saturday Stick Kids is a 2-hour session aimed at re-connecting children to the fun of the outdoors. This session is aimed at children 5+ with NO ADULTS ALLOWED
Find more forest school adventures in Oxfordshire.
