One of the wonderful things about being a facilitator in a program with a philosophy centred on a play-based, child-led curriculum is that I'm continually learning new things. As facilitators, we hold space for the children and provide them with certain boundaries, rit...

A child called me over. "Look!" she exclaimed. "I found ice shaped like a heart."

Everyone gathered around to admire the heart-shaped ice. We are social creatures, pattern-noticers and meaning-makers. We delight in discovery and sharing our discoveries with others. The...

Another year in the forest has ended and it is time to say goodbye to all of the friends we have made, all the activities we have enjoyed and all of the places we have loved. Immersed in the local environment, the children have been engaged in long-term place-based edu...

This spring at Fresh Air Learning has been filled with the wonders that occur when children are given the time and space to play. 

Through our play, we have watched as the forest changed around us.  New plants sprouted from the ground, old deciduous plants have grown n...

Lately we have been delighting in watching the forest wake from its long winter slumber. It is so good to feel the sun on our backs and faces, and to hear the birds singing again. The signs of Spring have been everywhere; in new leaves sprouting on shrubs which have be...

 As we move through the year and the seasons in the forest, we notice changes in our environment as well as changes in the children. Many of the children have been playing and creating with us for over six months now and we have noticed subtle shifts in their attitudes...

It has been an eventful return back to Fresh Air Learning after our holiday break.  Over the last few weeks we have watched the forest transform before our eyes; from having a touch of snow in our first week back to watching fresh new buds form on the trees and shrubs...

The forest is changing, it is always changing. Wind brings down leaves and branches that once hung out of reach. Rain creates streams and rivers and puddles where there was once dry earth. Frost glistens on the ground and turns to mist as the sun warms it. The sun sits...