FAQs

So what do you need to know about booking your child into our Forest School?  If your question isn't answered below, you can get in touch and we'll do our best to help. 

Is my child old enough?

The way we like to rephrase this question is by asking "is my child ready for Forest School?".

To figure this out, here are some additional questions I ask parents to get a sense of where where their child is at in terms of their experience of spending hours outside in the woods.

"Has your child ever attended an outdoor kindergarten?" if they have been to outdoor kindergarten for a couple days a week over the course of a few months, they will be well accustomed to spending hours outside in all weathers and this is fantastic physical preparation for joining Forest School. If they haven't I ask "How much time do they spend outside during a week? Do they like going on walks and playing outside?" This usually helps us get an idea of how accustomed your child is to being outside, and what their fitness and tolerance for less-mild weather will be.

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If your answer to this is "not very much" please don't let that put you off bringing them along, if you feel it's right for them. We work with many children who haven't been out much, and we find they usually settle into things over the course of the weeks they're with us. Being outside is natural for all of us, and our bodies adapt well as long as we've got decent packed lunch and a bit of shelter when the weathers' damp. 

"Does your child know how to pee outside?"

We have a toiletting system where children are asked to do wild pees in a specific allocated area of the woods, and we require children are able to go for a wild pee themselves with no adult assistance. Our leaders can't assist every child in the toilet they need to be able to go themselves, and we can't teach them how to wild pee. However, this is not a deal breaker, if your child is happy to use a pop-up tent to go to the toilet, whether that's number one or number two's, there is always a toilet tent with a camping toilet available on site.

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We have had children as young as four at Forest School sessions during our holiday programs and we can see their confidence increasing day by day as they master their independence in the short time there with us in the woods - we've discovered that being able to go to the toilet by yourself in the woods is a big part of this process.

What should my child wear?

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Here are some rough guidelines on what to get your child to wear during the different Seasons in the year:

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We tend to treat Spring or April sessions as winter months in terms of clothing - let's face it, we live in Scotland after all. If we get too hot for any reason we can always take off a layer to cool down but we usually find we need to put them back on fairly quickly. We often have heavy rain showers during these months so waterproof trousers and waterproof jacket are essential.

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Summer Clothes

June to end of August

Long cotton trousers or leggings, or shorts if they want. Wearing shorts puts children at greater risk of being bitten by ticks which sometimes carry disease. Please be aware there are ticks in Pollok Country Park and you can find more info about ticks here.

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Sturdy waterproof shoes that they don't mind getting muddy. For example, strong watherproof shoes, hiking boots or wellies are recommended year round. In summer, when it's exceptionally dry, children do come in trainers, but, be warned, any sneakers needing to be kept fresh should be left at home. 

At least two layers under a waterproof jacket. For example, a long sleeve cotton shirt and  a a light cotton jumper either on or in their bag

Waterproof jacket and trousers can be worn or carried in their bag, but they should bring them every day, just in case the weather turns. They are great on windy days too as they can block the wind from reaching our skin. Strong wind is common in Scotland and we use more energy keeping warm in wind, even in summer.

Winter Clothes

September through to the end of April/May here in Scotland.

Think LAYERS! Priority for clothes in winter should be layering thin natural fibre longsleeve tees, jumpers and leggings.

We recommend two layers on the legs. For example, at least one cotton/wool blend layer underneath waterproof trousers as a bare minimum. Waterproof trousers cut the wind down which can really help us keep that part of our body warm.

For top layers we usually recommend three layers at least underneath the waterproof jacket. For example, longsleeve tee, short sleeve tee, wooly jumper or fleece and waterproof, padded/insulated coat on top. Second-hand ski or snowboard jackets are useful, and if you cant get those, a fleece jacket over their wooly jumper, plus a thin waterproof will do. 

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Hats. When the temperature dips below 5 degrees, Sophie has been known to wear double hats at forest school. We lose a lot of heat off the top of our head and a hat can keep help us maintain our body heat really well in winter.

Gloves are useful however we work with our hands a lot in forest school, and find cutting the tips off some gloves can be a good way to keep active hands warm. Fingerless gloves for children who especially enjoy the small woodcraft work with us.

Thick socks or double up?

The debate rages. Two pairs of thin cotton socks a inside boots an often provide more insulation than one pair of thick socks, the key is avoiding squeezing the feet with too much padding that the blood can't circulate. 

Clothing - top tips from Sophie

Think layers! A vest under multiple layers will probably do more heat capture than a thick winter coat that restricts movement.

Cotton vests or if you can manage it the wool and merino vests will do the most heat retention for your child in winter. 

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Any kind of wool jumper is going to be a better insulator than polyester, however, a polyester microfleece over a wooly jumper is an ideal layer combination for winter sessions. 

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Under 5 degrees, we need to be wearing at least 5 layers before we put on our coats, and double hats!

What should my child have in their packed lunch?

We recommend high-energy food such as whole grain breads and pasta, cheese and dried fruit and nuts, raw veggies, and anything else that will give your child long lasting energy (tattie scones anyone?!). We allow peanut butter and peanuts in all sessions unless we get a notification of an allergy. All food allergy information is collected in the medical Media Consent form that we send you after booking.

Many children bring thermal food flasks with hot food such as pasta, rice and soups even in summer months to help them stock up on energy for playing in the woods for long periods of time. For children who are not used to being outside for 5 hours a day, please bear in mind it's likely their bodies will need more food than usual to regulate and adapt to their new environment.

We often cook a snack on the fire during sessions so children have the opportunity to get some experience of cooking on the fire. However, its not replacement for lunch.