Three children scramble over rocks in a low-level Brisbane creek bed when four-year-old Jasper finds a yabby. At least, he thinks it’s a yabby – it could be a crayfish or possibly some other unlucky creature caught in his small, handheld net. More children run to join the debate, their gumboots slipping on the creek’s muddy banks as shrieks of excitement match those of the cockatoos in the leafy canopy above. The children, aged three to six, crowd around their educator to theorise about the discovery – what could it be? Where did it come from? Should they let it go or bring it out of the creek?
It’s this kind of hands-on learning that proponents of forest school say can only be found in the great outdoors. Over the course of three hours, the class of 24 explores the suburban creek and bushland, with small hands kept busy collecting sticks and digging in the mud; worlds created in complex games between tree logs and boulders; and little bodies stopping to rest on colourful blankets by the creek to eat, read or join in a nature-based craft activity (today is lantern-making to celebrate the winter solstice).
