Top Ten Posts of 2016…

February 14, 2017

Despite having a bit of a break these last few months on the blog, readers have been great about coming back to posts and keeping us virtual company, so to speak. While January is typically the time you would do year in review roundups, I’m going to call better late than never on this one. If nothing else, just to see how much we’ve all grown.

And as always, a huge thank you to those who read along, who take time to comment and write notes and letters, and of course, to those who support the mission of forest schools and outdoor education for children – this blog wouldn’t be possible with your support.

Here were the top posts of 2016!

7 Questions to Ask When Considering Forest Schools

When we first considered a forest school, we didn’t know much about them and there wasn’t all that much information out there. They’re a completely different take on primary education, and I would choose them all over again if I could. That being said, if you’re thinking about a forest school, here’s a quick list of things to know and keep in mind as you decide if it’s a good fit for you.

6 Reasons I’m Worried About Returning to U.S. Schools

Man, returning back to the US caused a lot of angst for us all. Not because we don’t love home, but we also loved our new home and grew quite attached to our way of life in Denmark. I had been away for three years and didn’t know all that much about US schools, save for what I would read in the papers and headlines have a way of bringing out the worst. As reported in our update, we’ve had a great experience in our public school here in DC, but in advance of the transition, there was a lot that was keeping me up at night, making me wonder if I could make the best decision. Turns out this list resonated with a lot of others too.

How I stopped Being an Outsider in My Child’s Danish School

One of the hardest things about moving to Denmark is that for a long time, you will feel like an outsider. More so than in many other places that we have lived. I was able to reflect on our three years there and figure out what helped me actually cross over to feeling part of the community, which I hoped could be helpful to this coming to Denmark either temporarily or permanently.

Q+A: How Do I Enroll My Child In a Danish Forest School?

This was a mother of a logistics post that took forever to write, but made me so happy as I got a ton of mail and notes about this one from a number of people saying it helped to demystify the process of getting in on the forest school game! For people who are from Denmark, they seem to know just fine how everything works, but a little process map doesn’t hurt if you’re coming into this from the outside and for the first time.

Yes, She Has an iPad…

This one turned out to be a surprise for some people – we’re huge proponents of the forest school system but we still make room for technology. This article shared a bit of the parameters within which we allow that to happen and why I don’t feel guilty about it.

Q+A: Where Do They Go To The Bathroom?

You know toddlers love to talk about the bathroom but did you know adults do too? The number one question we always got about forest school is where they go to the bathroom so this post reveals all the secrets. Hint, there is also a part two and it involves a bucket.

Valby Nature Playground

By far one of the coolest playgrounds we’ve ever seen and I wish more cities would build places like these. If you’re visiting Copenhagen, this playground is a bit of a trek but a magical experience for kids and a great place to picnic.

5 Cool Things In Helsingor

Helsingor was a favorite day trip of ours year round and there are great ways to fill day winter, rainy days as well as the summer days full of sunshine. This was a list of some of our favorite spots that were in regular rotation.

Q+A: How Can We Get a Speech Therapist in our Danish School?

This was another big logistics post but one of the greatest opportunities for my daughter’s development in Denmark was that the school assigned her a speech therapist (despite not actually having a speech impediment). To this day, I think access to this therapy and safe space to practice language has a lot to do with her diligence in diction in both languages. A lot of people wrote in asking for help in navigating towards this resource so I actually went out to several therapists to ask their tips for securing speech therapy in the Danish system.

So where have we been anyway and other FAQ’s…

February 10, 2017

Naturally a lot has happened over the past six months – well, a lot other than actual writing about it. So as we were getting through our move and getting used to being back in the US – settled in work, and school, and in a new house, there have been a lot of questions that came in about what we were up to. So I thought maybe we could catch up a bit?

Where are we living now?

We are living in Washington, DC. DC has been our home off and on for about the past 15 years or so, although it didn’t quite feel like home to either one of our children right away. Our daughter was only two and a half when we left, and our son was born abroad. While my children have always known they are American, and have visited America while we were in Denmark, it’s never been in their actual memory to live in America.

What’s living in DC like right now?

Well, it’s not boring. I’ll leave it at that for now.

Does your daughter still attend forest school?

No, she does not. She completed nearly three years in a Danish forest school, as part of the Danish public school system. I looked at forest school possibilities for her here in the US but given where we live, logistically and financially, it would have been incredibly difficult.

Where does she go to school now?

In the spirit of giving it a try, we enrolled her in DC public schools, in kindergarten. It’s been a transition for sure for her, but that being said, we couldn’t be happier. Both the school and specifically, her teachers, are truly wonderful. It’s been an amazing experience for her. I’d like to talk more about that transition here on the blog and give a bit of perspective about why we chose to go this route, what’s been great about it, what’s been hard about it and other stories that come up from our day-to-day experience, if people would find it interesting.

Does she still love the forest?

Absolutely. We recently found a once-a-week, outdoor forest playgroup for her to be part of, right smack in the middle of winter… and she couldn’t be happier. She doesn’t get as much exposure to the forest now as she used to, but we still give her outdoor time and play time, and we picked a green neighborhood to give her some familiar grounding that she relies on. What’s been great is that she’s kept up that love of the forest while developing new loves in parallel, like art and drama. And she still can climb a tree like no other.

Why did you leave Denmark?

Good question. And the answer is because we couldn’t stay forever, that’s the gig of diplomacy which is what allowed us to be there in the first place (a little bit about what that feels like as a way of life). At the last minute, I did contemplate “going native” as we call it in foreign service life, to see if I could stay for another year or two. I would have loved that little bit of time so that our daughter could continue on with her friends, and so that the next generation could get the forest school experience too. But it wasn’t meant to be, and it was our time to go. We had a very special time during our post in Denmark, and were lucky to have three extremely wonderful years which we will always be grateful for.

Was it hard to leave Denmark?

Yes.

Do you miss Denmark?

Yes.

Why are those answers so short?

Because they’re both still hard to talk about. It’s a weird feeling to leave someplace that you call home, but that is not actually a home, especially when you live a life that has you building many ideas of home around the world. For the record, we also love our life here in DC very much. Loving “here” doesn’t have to be in conflict with missing “there”. It was a big transition for our daughter, who didn’t know any other place as home. And it was a big transition for me, because our experience really redefined for me what I wanted out of my children’s upbringing and education. We also left behind a community of friends that remain quite special to us. We had a wonderful experience and we still have so much more so share about it, which is why I started writing here again. It was a lot of change, and it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to get it all down at once. The perspective of time – not to mention not being in the constant chaotic state of packing and unpacking – is a good thing.

Have you been back to Denmark?

Yes. We went for a week in November and it was just wonderful. We had that time to revisit favorite places, spend time with friends, let my daughter be surrounded by the familiarity of the Danish language, and also get the opportunity to get a bit of closure. More on that to come, because we did it in a unique way with the forest school that is actually a tradition in the Danish system. We also, fingers crossed, have plans to try to go back for a bit this summer. If that works out, I hope it makes a tradition going forward for us.

Did your husband return from Iraq?

Yes, safely and soundly at the end of this past year. A lot of people wrote some very kind words and notes regarding his departure last year, and I again wanted to acknowledge how appreciated those were. Thank you. We’ve been enjoying life as a family again these past few months, and are thrilled to have him home.

What’s next?

Isn’t that always the question? Short answer is that we’re here in DC for a while. Long answer, eventually we’ll be trading in a life where greenery has been plentiful to one where it might be a little less so (a little preview here).

Where’s the picture from?

It’s our daughter in her most traditional pose, meaning, she’s either leaping up from something or leaping off of something. In this case, it’s the deck of the Queen Mary 2, the ship we took when moving home this summer from Denmark. It turned out to be a fantastic experience, and I’d like to share a bit more about that here, too, if readers are interested what it’s like to cross the Atlantic over 8 days with two kids in tow!

The Next Generation…

February 9, 2017

One of the things I worried about most – and continue to worry about – after our departure from Denmark, is that I wouldn’t be able to give both of my children the same outdoor preschool experience.

I came to the forest school experience a bit of a skeptic but I’m a convert for life, that’s for sure. And I have been trying to think about how to give my son the same experience. He is two now, and I’m starting to think of what’s ahead. How do we give him the experience that is equal parts adventure and independence that was so ingrained in Danish forest schools? There are a handful of forest schools here in the US of course, but they are hard to find, they’re far out-of-town and well, they’re quite expensive.

But I have to remind myself that while the actual forest is a big part of forest school, it is not at all the only part of it. There is also fresh air, and unstructured time, and comfort in the elements, and the ability to get a little dirty without enduring a lot of adverse reactions. I don’t know what will be next for him exactly, but I do know that we can work in many of those other elements.

Even just this weekend, we took care of an unseasonably warm spot of sunshine and walked across the street to the park. I’ve been working a lot lately, so I don’t see the children right now as much in the morning or in the afternoon, and it was so lovely just to not be in a hurry for once. My son is just now growing more into playgrounds, wanting to do everything like his big sister. And even though the playground by our house isn’t huge, it’s almost Danish to some degree with sand being the main component and lots of communal toys lying around for neighborhood kids to enjoy. Those toys might be a little worn, but mostly they are well-loved. Once he picked up a shovel and a bucket and got lost in his own focus for nearly half an hour, doing nothing more than exploring how sand flows out of the shovel and into his containers, well, that’s when I knew, that while it might not be the Danish experience exactly, he was still going to be drawn to the same experiences as his sister, just in his own way.

Six months later…

January 27, 2017

Six months, almost…since we’ve moved back. Four months since I’ve posted on the blog… And I have no idea when the last instagram was. Somehow, time has been getting away from me.

It’s not for lack of wanting to write. In fact, there have been more topics than I can count sometimes. But they’re not about toddlers – she’s no longer one of those. And they’re not about trees – at least, not in the forest school sense. She’s not in one of those any more either. But growing up, making the transition, adjusting to life in the US…adjusting to life in public school…adjusting to life with homework and a different culture that’s home but foreign…those are all things on my mind, and eventually words that I’d like to share.

We were busy doing all this adjusting when the day-to-day kind of took over. Our daily life changed at work, and at home, and most recently, it feels like it’s changing in every dimension. And the hours went by, without me managing to share how it was all going.

In all honesty, I’m not sure what to do with this writing space now that I’m not traditionally mother to neither a toddler (at least not the original one) nor a forest schooler, and we’re not even in Denmark. I’d like to continue to share, but it seems sometimes out of sync with the title. And sometimes, it seems like a natural evolution.

I’m not ready to shut down just let, so let’s see how it goes. And if you have comments or questions, please feel free to post them below. While this blog isn’t a big one, I’ve always appreciated the close audience we have here of those like-minded enough to want to come along – or at least hear about – the journey. Let’s see where this takes us from here on out.