I went on fab outdoor training

[Donkey]

which was ran by the forest schools people via a company called Kindling

Lady who runs it Lily, is awesome, she had us building rope bridges and she showed us how to teach children how to use tools safely... and even thought I wont be teaching the kids how to light fires anytime soon, even if it was with a dragon sneeze (flint and steel) and a fairy bed (cotton wool pad) I feel so much more confident take the kids out to explore the woods...

she talked us through risk assessments, what to take, we discussed the practicalities and problem solves multiple ages of children

baby, crawler and toddler...

this is her facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/Kindling1

and website

http://www.kindlingplayandtraining.co.uk/

[christine e]

Sounds great!

Cx

[RachelE]

just looked at her fb page.

Its very inspriring! We live close to woods and its given me a few ideas.

Thanks,
Rachel x

[miffy]

Sounds very good - thanks for the link, I'll take a look

Miffy xx

[Susana0600]

It looks great, thank you for the link.

[Ripeberry]

Looks good. Reminds me of what I used to do as a child, lighting fires in the wood, cooking toast and bacon, making dens, making bows and arrows, all when I was only about 10yrs old
All by myself mind you. Maybe I should start my own school ?

[kindlinglily]

Thanks again to Joy for being such a wonderful advocate for playing outdoors and the training we did.

I hope it inspires some more of you to play out too. There is such a wonderful opportunity for children to play and learn with the stimulation that natural environments offer and I hope more childminders take the opportunity.

Here's another fab email I received from a childminding participant on training:

"We tried the potato peeler (for whittling sticks), children thrilled (and repeated in the garden all afternoon), ropes and masking tape (natural pigments). All incorporated into a role play Narnia game. The 20 month old enjoyed pottering about throwing small stones in the river and watching. When he was tired he climbed onto my knee for a cuddle and sleep. PARENTS RESPONSE: Parents expressed surprise when I mentioned the potato peeler and then as I went on realised how good an idea it was and went off to try at home. One very liberated 8 year old boy who will grow up to be an experimental scientist. Probably one of the most effective courses I have been on for direct input into the quality of provision for the children."

This makes me so happy as hearing how training has an impact on children is the best!

Lily x