The Forest School Podcast
By Lewis Ames and Wem Southerden
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Image by Lewis Ames and Wem Southerden
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Subscribers: 9
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 239
Description
Wem Southerden & Lewis Ames have run Forest School and training centre Children of the Forest since 2017. The Forest School Podcast was born when they wondered if their daily wafflechats and reflections about pedagogy, play and nature connection might be of interest to others.
The podcast aims to inform and support educators, parents, outdoor and play practitioners and anyone interested in nature and the outdoors.
Through book reviews – interviews with experts, practitioners and authors – sharing our experience as educators and business owners – deep dives on fascinating topics –
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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Ep 235 - PARS Playworking with Dr Shelley Newstead
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Dec 12, 2025 |
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Ep 234 - Ludobotany 1: Tree Climbing
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Dec 05, 2025 |
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233 - Who can be a Failure at Forest School and What can they fail at? W Lily Horseman
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Dec 01, 2025 |
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Ep 232 - Biodiversity on our Bodies!
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Nov 03, 2025 |
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Ep 231 - Planning Experiments and Japanese Nursery Architecture
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Oct 18, 2025 |
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Ep 230- We Need Your Art: creativity, failure, and celebration in Forest School
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Oct 10, 2025 |
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Ep 229 - Save Ringsfield Hall with Mell Harrison of Kinda Education
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Oct 04, 2025 |
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228 - Creating Play Taxonomies with Max Alexander
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Sep 22, 2025 |
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Ep 227 - Inconvenient Resilience
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Aug 29, 2025 |
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Ep 226 - Bog Fashion at Forest School with Nicole DeRushie
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Aug 22, 2025 |
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Ep 225 - What defines 'Ready for School'? w/ Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg
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Aug 16, 2025 |
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Ep 224 - Green Burials and Forest School Farewells w/ The Modern Mortician
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Aug 09, 2025 |
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Ep 223 - Combating Ash Dieback w/Dr Richard Buggs from Kew Gardens
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Aug 01, 2025 |
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Ep 222 - The Joys and Shapes of Autistic Play by Max Alexander
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Jul 25, 2025 |
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Ep 221 - Post-Humanism in the Woods: With Dr Jo Hume
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Jul 18, 2025 |
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Ep 220 - Is 'Leave No Trace' denying us a place in nature? with Danny English
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Jul 11, 2025 |
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Ep 219 - Giants and Beasts with Ruth Webb: Part 2
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Jul 04, 2025 |
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Ep 218 - Giants and Beasts with Ruth Webb
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Jun 27, 2025 |
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Ep 217 - Tangents, Shrews and Robin Ince
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Jun 21, 2025 |
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Ep 216 - Ecology and Wildlife Legal Protections with Tilly Tilbrook
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Jun 14, 2025 |
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Ep 215 - Culture Soup and a Catch-Up
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Jun 10, 2025 |
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Ep 214: Consistency is a Myth
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May 23, 2025 |
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Ep 213: Is making kids tidy up a part of Forest School?
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May 09, 2025 |
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Ep 212: Does Forest School need more 'Clean' Language?
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Apr 25, 2025 |
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Ep 211: 'Total Observation' isn't helping childhood
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Apr 05, 2025 |
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Ep 210: 👥🧠Groups have memories, but communities have history. 🌲📚
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Mar 22, 2025 |
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Ep 209: ‘Forecasting’ or being ‘Triggered’? How do you react to uncomfortable play?
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Mar 15, 2025 |
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Ep 208: 🌳A review of Sandi Toksvig’s Great British Woodland Project!
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Mar 03, 2025 |
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Ep 207: The Art Of Folk Traditions: A Conversation with Ben Edge
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Feb 21, 2025 |
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Ep 206: Nature Saturation: Can You Have Too Much?
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Feb 14, 2025 |
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Ep 205 - How Schools Push Kids to Burnout: A Conversation with Dr Naomi Fisher
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Feb 07, 2025 |
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Ep 204: Season 2 Begins: Lone Working, Weird Job Titles & Fart Consultancy
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Jan 31, 2025 |
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Ep 203: How Transparent Should You Be With Your Planning? With Lily Horseman
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Jan 04, 2025 |
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Ep 202: Can Rory Sutherland's 'Alchemy' Transform your Forest School Business?
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Dec 13, 2024 |
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Ep 201: Should YOU Know A Tree As An Individual Or A Species? w/ Casey and Alex from Completely Arbortrary
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Nov 29, 2024 |
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Ep 200 BONUS: Oops, All Song Wars!
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Nov 23, 2024 |
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Ep 200: Listener Questions and looking back over 6 years and 200 episodes.
|
Nov 22, 2024 |
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Ep 199: How to Handle Unsafe Play in Your Sessions
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Nov 18, 2024 |
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Ep 198: Is YOUR Outdoor Provision just résumé building for children?
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Nov 08, 2024 |
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Ep 197: Is Verbal Language Bias Shaping Your Forest School?
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Oct 31, 2024 |
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196: Why YOUR School Needs More Stories Like Jojo & Gran Gran with Laura Henry-Allain
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Oct 24, 2024 |
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Ep 195: How Scripts Can Transform Your Toughest Parenting Moments With Kirk Martin
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Oct 17, 2024 |
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Ep 194: How YOU Can Run Intergenerational Projects That Work with Kendra McWilliam
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Oct 10, 2024 |
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Ep 193: 10 Hacks to learn bushcraft faster than I did!
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Oct 05, 2024 |
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Ep 192: Unconventional Essentials for Mud Kitchens
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Sep 26, 2024 |
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Ep 191: What Neurodivergent Kids Gain from Nature with Dr Sam Friedman
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Sep 20, 2024 |
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Ep 190: The Art of Saying No at Forest School
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Sep 13, 2024 |
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Ep 189: A Conversation with Emma Brockes
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Sep 06, 2024 |
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Ep 188: An Owl Based Info-Dump
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Aug 30, 2024 |
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Ep 187: Unleashing Nature's Gym: Movement Reimagined with Andrew and Gill from Wildstrong
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Aug 23, 2024 |
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Ep 186: Can false memories actually enhance our connection to nature?
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Aug 16, 2024 |
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Ep 185: Creating Non-Judgmental Spaces in Forest School
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Aug 10, 2024 |
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Ep 184: How do you make adults be friends?
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Aug 03, 2024 |
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Ep 183: The positive and pitfalls of being lifelong learners as leaders with Nicki Farell from Raising Wildlings PART 1
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Jul 30, 2024 |
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Ep 182: Is Encouragement Ableist?
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Jul 27, 2024 |
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Ep 181: I wasn't Finished With That Yet
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Jul 21, 2024 |
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Ep 179: Queer Planet with Lizzie Wild
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Jul 14, 2024 |
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Ep 178: International Forest School Reasearch Symposium 2024
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Jul 03, 2024 |
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Ep 177: Interview with Dr Mark Leather
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Jun 24, 2024 |
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Ep 176: Unconventional Essentials #1: Dressing Up Clothes
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Jun 08, 2024 |
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Ep 175: Why do teenagers disconnect from nature and what can we do to help?
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Jun 02, 2024 |
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Ep 174: The Biophilia Effect - Book Review
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May 11, 2024 |
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Ep 173: Renaturing School Playgrounds: The Challenges and Opportunities Engaging Children with Nature in Urban Areas with Nina Lovelace
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May 03, 2024 |
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Ep 172: Where do Retired Forest School Leaders Go? With Sara Knight and Jon Cree
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Apr 26, 2024 |
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Ep 171: Matrescence and Forest School with Lucy Jones
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Apr 16, 2024 |
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Ep 170: Measuring a Springboard's Success
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Apr 14, 2024 |
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Promoting Play in Schools: A Conversation with Michael Follett of Opal Outdoor Play and Learning
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Mar 25, 2024 |
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Reggio and Forest School with Jessie Zhao
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Mar 19, 2024 |
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Embracing the Pause: A Conversation on Improvisation, Leadership and Discovering Your Flow with Robert Poynton
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Mar 11, 2024 |
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Corvid Corrections & The Pulse of Play
|
Mar 01, 2024 |
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Exploring Spirituality, Death, and Nature with Rachel Summers
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Feb 23, 2024 |
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Confronting Childism: A Conversation with Gentle Parenting Author Sarah Ockwell-Smith
|
Feb 19, 2024 |
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Modeling the value of land-based and ancestoral knowledge in a modern education setting, with Peter Kindfield.
|
Feb 09, 2024 |
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Bonus Ep: Surprise Student #1
|
Jan 29, 2024 |
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Bonus Ep: Pedagogy Surgery #1
|
Jan 29, 2024 |
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Bonus Ep: Pop Culture Pedagogy
|
Jan 29, 2024 |
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What can we learn from Nature Disconnected people?
|
Jan 22, 2024 |
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Loose Parts Part 2: Even Looser Parts. Dangerously Loose Parts
|
Jan 20, 2024 |
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The 200 things you need to run FS. PLUS song wars collaboration!
|
Jan 13, 2024 |
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Join us for a Live New Years Quiz episode!
|
Dec 28, 2023 |
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Yule Celebration and 2023 Review
|
Dec 22, 2023 |
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Interview with Heather Shumaker. Author of 'It's OK not to share' and 'It's OK to go up the slide'
|
Dec 09, 2023 |
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Practitioner Spotlight: The Elves and Fairies Woodland Nursery in Verwood, Dorset
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Dec 03, 2023 |
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'Learning Stories' as a tool for assessment at Forest School
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Nov 21, 2023 |
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Interview w/ Dr Naomi Fisher
|
Nov 13, 2023 |
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FSA Conference 2023 Part 3!
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Nov 02, 2023 |
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FSA Conference 2023 Part 2!
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Nov 02, 2023 |
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FSA Conference 2023 Part 1!
|
Nov 02, 2023 |
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Chatting Almanacs with author Lia Leendertz
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Oct 21, 2023 |
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Setting up 'Quests' for kids. Is it joyful role-playing or rail-roading free play?
|
Oct 07, 2023 |
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The concrete has failed! Do we know how to design outdoor schools?
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Sep 16, 2023 |
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I need more than my 'fair share'. Resources Part 2.
|
Sep 10, 2023 |
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Should you let kids break equipment in the name of play?
|
Sep 04, 2023 |
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'Do we make kids move too much?' and 'Are we encouraging aggression at Forest School?'
|
Aug 01, 2023 |
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Play is More Playful When it is Age-Mixed - by Peter Gray
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Jul 11, 2023 |
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'The Autistic Guide to Adventure' with Allie Mason
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Jun 25, 2023 |
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Rituals and Ceremonies with Isla Macleod
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Jun 19, 2023 |
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Should you say 'Sorry'? - Social Conditioning vs Socialisation
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Jun 19, 2023 |
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"Do you HAVE to help cook, or can you just eat it?"
|
May 27, 2023 |
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The Educator's Experience of PDA with author Laura Kerbey
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May 19, 2023 |
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The Co-Regulation Handbook by Linda K. Murphy
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May 07, 2023 |
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Does Forest School support Attention Restoration Theory?
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Apr 17, 2023 |
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Do you have to do nature connection seperately from socialising?
|
Mar 28, 2023 |
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"Cowstails and Cobras II" - An Obstacle Course Curriculum?
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Mar 24, 2023 |
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"15 minute parenting" guides. Game changers or Gimmicks?
|
Feb 25, 2023 |
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Do Boardgames have a place at Forest School? w/ Cat's Little Geeks
|
Feb 07, 2023 |
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Can AI Chatbots write your Forest School coursework for you?
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Jan 28, 2023 |
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Do we "Parent like Leaders" or "Lead like Parents"?
|
Jan 22, 2023 |
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Winter Welfare: Looking after yourself and the learners
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Dec 17, 2022 |
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Trust Kids! - Book review
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Dec 10, 2022 |
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What does it mean to be 'physically educated'? w/ Richard Whall
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Nov 29, 2022 |
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Space Holding and Holding Space at Forest School
|
Nov 29, 2022 |
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FSA Conference 2022 Part 2 - Celebrating Neurodiversity in the Woods
|
Oct 29, 2022 |
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FSA Conference 2022 Part 1
|
Oct 09, 2022 |
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War (Play)! What is it good for?
|
Sep 18, 2022 |
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Interview with Lara from 'Out to Play' in Ottowa, Canada
|
Sep 10, 2022 |
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Protectors of Play and Childhood with Greg Botrill
|
Aug 24, 2022 |
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"Earth Colour : An eight week art course for Nature Connection" Book review with author Emma Burleigh
|
Aug 09, 2022 |
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Validating Emotions & Creating Emotional 'Safe Spaces'
|
Jul 10, 2022 |
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Is Forest School just 'Dungeons and Dragons' Pedagogy?
|
Jun 07, 2022 |
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Moral Compass Development Opportunities at Forest School
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May 20, 2022 |
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Beltane! + Song Wars!
|
May 02, 2022 |
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Are we the 'Magical Bacon Fat'?: Transformational forests w/Nik Elvy, Sunny & Rudy
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Apr 22, 2022 |
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'Smart Moves : Why learning isn't all in your head' Book Review
|
Mar 26, 2022 |
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Behaviour Support W/Sam Harris of Neurodive
|
Feb 22, 2022 |
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Hierarchies at Forest School
|
Feb 07, 2022 |
|
'Wild Magic' Book Review
|
Jan 17, 2022 |
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Winter Stories and Storytelling w/Chris Holland
|
Dec 23, 2021 |
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Winterising For Wildlife
|
Dec 18, 2021 |
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Sociocracy in Forest School
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Nov 26, 2021 |
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Why Weren't We Taught This At School? - Interview with Alice Sheldon
|
Nov 16, 2021 |
|
Content Addiction
|
Nov 14, 2021 |
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Neurodiversity and Neurodiverse Leaders with Emily Edwards and Bex Allen
|
Oct 23, 2021 |
|
FSA CONFERENCE
|
Oct 18, 2021 |
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CPD with Sarah Lawful and Sarah Walker
|
Sep 10, 2021 |
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Play Affordances and Hidden Camera Glasses Research Articles
|
Sep 04, 2021 |
|
FS and Nature Pedagogy w/Jon Cree & Marina Robb
|
Sep 01, 2021 |
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Poverty-Proofing the Outdoors w/Nik Elvy
|
Aug 05, 2021 |
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The Vagus Nerve and Polyvagul Theory
|
Jul 02, 2021 |
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The 'Low Arousal Approach' for learners
|
Jun 13, 2021 |
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Book Review - Primitive Technology by John Plant
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May 22, 2021 |
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The Play Cycle: Theory, Research and Application by Pete King and Gordon Sturrock
|
May 08, 2021 |
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Ep 98 - Maintaining a Work/Life Balance
|
May 02, 2021 |
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Ep 97 - John Dewey’s “Experience and Education”
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Apr 16, 2021 |
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Ep 96 - Woodworking at Forest School
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Apr 04, 2021 |
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Ep 95 - The Declarative Language Handbook - Book Review
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Mar 26, 2021 |
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Ep 94 - Braiding Sweetgrass - Book Review
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Mar 12, 2021 |
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Ep 93 - Foraging with Lea and James from Woodland Classroom
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Feb 25, 2021 |
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Ep 92 - Forest School in Catalonia w/ Vicky Mateu
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Feb 18, 2021 |
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Ep 91 - Act now on the government's plan on young people's mental health!!
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Feb 10, 2021 |
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Ep 90 What best explains children’s connection with nature? by Miles Richardson
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Feb 07, 2021 |
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Ep 89 - Forest School Maths!
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Jan 23, 2021 |
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Ep 88 - If a child learns in the forest, and there are no adults there to see it, did they really learn at all?
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Jan 16, 2021 |
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Ep 87 - Winterising our site & 'Yearly Theme' setting
|
Jan 09, 2021 |
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Ep 86 - 2021 New Years Quiz!
|
Jan 02, 2021 |
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Ep 85 - Rituals and Magic w/Jenny Archard
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Dec 20, 2020 |
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Ep 84 - Vaguely Talking about Professional Responsibilities
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Dec 12, 2020 |
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Ep 83 - The Explosive Child by Dr Ross W Greene
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Nov 22, 2020 |
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Ep 82 - Democratic and Sociocratic Education
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Nov 14, 2020 |
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Ep 81 - Wide Games
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Nov 09, 2020 |
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Ep 80 - Procrastinating
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Oct 24, 2020 |
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Ep 79 - Conversation with Merlin Sheldrake
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Oct 09, 2020 |
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Ep 78 - Practitioner Spotlight w/ Fran of Woodland Pack Company
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Oct 05, 2020 |
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Ep 77 - The FUNgi Guy & British Mycological Society
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Sep 29, 2020 |
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Ep 76 - Exploring Gender with Dr Chris Begeny (part 2)
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Sep 25, 2020 |
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Ep 75 - Exploring Gender with Dr Chris Begeny (part 1)
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Sep 18, 2020 |
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Ep 74 - Nature Premium Campaign
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Sep 05, 2020 |
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Ep 73 - Bad Birdwatching & Rewilding. Review of books by Simon Barnes
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Aug 15, 2020 |
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Ep 72 - Bird Girl conversation A.K.A. Mya-Rose Craig
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Aug 15, 2020 |
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Ep 71 - The Vestibular System and Sensory Inputs!
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Jul 29, 2020 |
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Ep 70 - Clay Play!
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Jul 21, 2020 |
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Ep 69 - Reflections on going back to work!
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Jul 08, 2020 |
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Ep 68 - Exploring CPD with Staś Pstrokonski
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Jun 22, 2020 |
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Ep 67 - Feral - George Monbio - Book Review
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Jun 11, 2020 |
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Ep 66 - Building Communities
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Jun 04, 2020 |
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Ep 65 - Grief, Trauma and Challenging Behaviour after Covid-19 w/Jon Cree
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May 30, 2020 |
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Ep 64 - Autism at Forest School w/ Michael James & Andy Smith
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May 22, 2020 |
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Ep 63 - SDL and Choice Theory w/ Froo Signore (FSA Director), Emma and James.
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May 07, 2020 |
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Ep 62 - 'The Storytelling Animal' & 'Therapeutic Storytelling' - Book Review
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Apr 29, 2020 |
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Ep 61 - Mental Health Check!
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Apr 22, 2020 |
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Ep 60 - The Power of Showing Up - By DANIEL J. SIEGEL and TINA PAYNE BRYSON - Book Review
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Apr 10, 2020 |
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Ep 59 - Online Resources during Lockdown! W/ Nik Elvy and Charly Crump
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Apr 03, 2020 |
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Ep 58 - I Like Birds! (Live on Youtube)
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Mar 31, 2020 |
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Ep 57 - Playwork Principles & FSA Principles
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Mar 06, 2020 |
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Ep 56 - Birdwings Forest School (Queensland, Australia) Conversation
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Feb 25, 2020 |
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Ep 54 - Conversation with Tom Bardon - Can curricula work in Forest School?
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Feb 14, 2020 |
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Ep 53 - Curiosity!
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Feb 07, 2020 |
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Ep 52 - Tristan Gooley - The Natural Navigator Interview
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Jan 24, 2020 |
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Ep 51 - Nature Connection with Lily Horseman
|
Dec 20, 2019 |
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Ep 50 - "You can't say 'You can't play'" - Book Review
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Dec 13, 2019 |
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Ep 49 - Deep Play vs Shallow: A Case for Boredom
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Dec 06, 2019 |
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Ep 48 - Failure and Resilience: Hitting the ZPD.
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Nov 29, 2019 |
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Ep 47 - 'Why Schools Don't Educate' - John Taylor Gatto
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Nov 15, 2019 |
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Ep 46 - Should children play in the rain??
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Nov 08, 2019 |
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Ep 45 - Getting Kids doing Woodland Management
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Nov 02, 2019 |
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Ep 44 - Democratic Play!
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Oct 19, 2019 |
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Ep 43 - Is activism a part of Forest School?
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Oct 11, 2019 |
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Ep 42 - Picture Books!
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Oct 04, 2019 |
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Ep 41 - Looking after your Physicality!
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Sep 28, 2019 |
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Ep 40 - Book Review: The Whole Brain Child
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Sep 10, 2019 |
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Ep 39 - Wilderness Gathering Live Podcast!
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Aug 17, 2019 |
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Ep 38 - The Midnight Waffle Chat
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Aug 06, 2019 |
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Ep 37 - Summer Reading Recommendations!
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Jul 20, 2019 |
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Ep 36 - Bird Quiz #1
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Jul 15, 2019 |
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Ep 35 - Rites of Passage!
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Jul 05, 2019 |
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Ep 34 - Tracey Maciver Interview
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Jun 29, 2019 |
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Ep 33 - Working with Adults
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Jun 21, 2019 |
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Ep 32 - Side Effects May Include....
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Jun 07, 2019 |
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Ep 31 - Den Building!
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May 24, 2019 |
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Ep 30 - Springboard Activities!
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May 17, 2019 |
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Ep 29 - Essentialism
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May 03, 2019 |
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Ep 28 - Pay to play: Is outdoor play a class issue?
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Mar 29, 2019 |
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Ep 27 - 'It's OK not to share' - Book Review!
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Mar 22, 2019 |
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Ep 26 - Play is Stressful!
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Mar 15, 2019 |
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Ep 25 - Richard Irvine Interview
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Mar 01, 2019 |
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Ep 24 - Home Education Groups - Tips and Tricks!
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Feb 23, 2019 |
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Ep 23 - Book Review: "Evolutionary Playworking"
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Jan 25, 2019 |
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Ep 22 - Planning
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Jan 18, 2019 |
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Ep 21 - Setting Goals!
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Jan 11, 2019 |
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Ep 20 - 2018 Review!
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Dec 28, 2018 |
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Ep 19 - 'Non-Violent Communication' Book Review
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Dec 21, 2018 |
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Ep 18 - Feminism and Gender Roles in Storytelling!
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Dec 14, 2018 |
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Ep 17 - It Doesn't Have to be Perfect!
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Dec 07, 2018 |
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Ep 16 - Practitioner Burnout!!
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Nov 30, 2018 |
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Ep 15 - Mixed Age Groups!
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Nov 16, 2018 |
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Ep 14 - Pulling the legs off a spider
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Nov 09, 2018 |
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Ep 13 - Cooking
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Nov 02, 2018 |
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Ep 12 - FSA South West Gathering!
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Oct 21, 2018 |
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Ep 11 - Training
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Oct 14, 2018 |
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Ep 10 - Storytelling
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Sep 29, 2018 |
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Ep 9 - Rhythms and Routines
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Sep 14, 2018 |
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Ep 8 - Observations and Endings
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Jul 27, 2018 |
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Ep 7 - Flora at Forest School
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Jul 20, 2018 |
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Ep 6 - War Play
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Jul 13, 2018 |
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Ep 5 - Physical Games
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Jul 08, 2018 |
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Ep 4: Long Term Benefits
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Jun 29, 2018 |
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Ep 3 - Music at Forest School
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Jun 22, 2018 |
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Ep 2 - Talking to ourselves in the past!
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Jun 08, 2018 |
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Ep 1 - Adults at Forest School
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May 25, 2018 |