Have you ever had an experience in Nature that was just so awesome that you were bursting to tell someone about it?
Ever shared that story with the ‘wrong’ person? The person who rolls their eyes in disbelief or gives you a vague ‘huh?’ Remember how that felt? Ouch!
Perhaps that experience shut you down, and made you feel like your stories didn’t matter or were silly? Perhaps you stopped sharing your stories completely?
Sharing our ‘story of the day’ is a natural human instinct and one half of the Nature Connection circle – It’s how we fully integrate the experiences we have in nature.
Sharing and reliving our stories with full sensory memory takes practice, and support from elders who can notice where we are at and use careful questioning to draw out our stories and mentor us to grow our awareness the next time we step out into nature.
At Forest School we can be that sort of Elder – we can be fully present to ‘catch’ the stories of the day from our learners and ask careful questions to stretch that individual to their next step.
But we can only do it well if we have the opportunity to share our own stories, to connect with nature, others and ourselves.
If you would like to explore how we can share the ‘story of the day’ as a cultural element to support deep nature connection at Forest School, join us for our next Community Connection Call (CCC):
September CCC - ‘Story of the Day’ – Tuesday 10th September 2024, 8-9.15pm (UK time)
Find out more and register for FREE - http://www.buymeacoffee.com/forestschoollou/e/299576
Join us live online to connect, chat, share (and laugh!) with other groovy Forest School folk.
Wishing you many wild early-autumnal adventures!
Lou & Lily-Roe
P.S. If you are new to Jon Youngs work and the ‘Cultural Elements’ here is a 20 minute video introducing the model - https://youtu.be/Oo-HyjwrsLM?si=JLNXNU-XFM1bsrlQ
P.P.S. Do you have any helpers looking to train as Forest School Assistants? We’re excited to announce that our winter season Level 2 Forest School Assistant training course in Norfolk is now open for booking! You can find out more here on my website - http://www.birchwoodlearning.com/what-is-a-forest-school/ Please spread the word! :-)