How to Bring Forest School Ideas into Your Garden | Jaques o

A puddle, a fallen branch, a handful of damp leaves. To a child under five, these are the raw materials of an entire morning. You do not need a woodland to give them that experience — the corner of a back garden will do.

Forest School began as a nursery practice, and much of it translates neatly to home. The idea is simple: let small children explore the outdoors on their own terms, with sensible support and real, tactile things to handle. Wooden tools and toys sit at the heart of it, which is why the timber matters. The wooden toys we make are crafted from FSC-certified timber and tested to UKCA and CE safety standards, so what ends up in a toddler's hands has been checked for the way toddlers actually play.

What follows is a practical guide to recreating a little of that spirit at home, whatever the size of your garden.

What Is Forest School and Why Are Nurseries Using It with Under-Fives?

Forest School is an approach to outdoor learning that gives children regular, sustained time in a natural setting, with freedom to explore, take small risks and lead their own play. It was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1993, when a group of nursery nurses from Bridgwater College in Somerset visited Denmark and observed the Danish approach to outdoor early years education.

Nurseries took to it because it fits the way very young children learn. Rather than sitting still and being told things, under-fives make sense of the world by touching, lifting, digging and doing. A woodland or a garden offers endless variety for exactly that.

There is a formal reason it has spread, too. In England, the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, which governs learning and development from birth to age five, identifies seven areas of learning, of which three are 'prime areas': Communication and Language, Physical Development, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Forest School activities support all three directly.

A child balancing along a log is developing physically. A child inventing a game with a friend is developing socially and emotionally. A child describing the beetle they have found is developing language. None of it looks like a lesson, which is rather the point.

If you would like the fuller picture before you begin, our parents' guide to Forest School explains the ethos and the practicalities, and there is a companion wooden games guide written for educators that carries across neatly to home use.

Why Outdoor Play in Nature Matters So Much in the Early Years

Young children are built to move. Long stretches of sitting rarely suit them, and the garden gives their bodies room to do what bodies of that age want to do: run, climb, crouch, carry and fall over safely.

Outdoor play also invites a kind of risk that indoor play cannot. This is not recklessness. The Health and Safety Executive published guidance in 2012, 'Children's Play and Leisure: Promoting a Balanced Approach', which states plainly that keeping children safe does not mean eliminating all risk, and that risk-taking in play is beneficial to child development.

A toddler who learns to judge whether a log is too high to jump from is learning something no adult can teach by warning. That judgement, practised in small doses, is how confidence and competence grow together.

Nature adds sensory richness that a living room struggles to match. Wet grass, rough bark, cold mud, the smell after rain, the sound of wind in a hedge. All of it feeds the developing brain with information to sort and describe.

There is a wider point about screens and time indoors, which our piece on the Australian social media age limits touches on. The garden offers an easy, daily alternative that asks nothing more than open air.

Movement also underpins later skills. Gripping, throwing and balancing build the strength and coordination a child will one day need for a pencil. A simple session with a kids' skipping rope — even one held loose on the ground to jump over — does more than burn energy. It rehearses rhythm, timing and gross motor control, quietly.

How to Set Up a Forest School Space in Your Back Garden

You do not need much space, and you certainly do not need to landscape anything. A Forest School garden is mostly about what you allow, not what you build.

Start with a base. A patch of ground the child can call their own — under a tree, beside a fence, in a corner — gives play a home. A groundsheet or old blanket marks it out and keeps things dry enough to sit on.

Then add loose parts. These are the movable, open-ended objects children love: logs, pebbles, pine cones, sticks, a few pots and an old wooden spoon. Loose parts have no fixed use, so a child decides what they are, which is where the real thinking happens.

Build in a little manageable challenge. A low log to walk along, a small slope, a shallow tray of water. Watch how your child copes and adjust rather than removing every obstacle. The HSE's balanced approach applies just as well to a back garden as to a nursery.

Keep a weather box by the door: wellingtons, a waterproof, spare socks. Forest School runs in most weather, and the willingness to go out in the wet is often what separates a one-off from a habit.

Sturdy, tactile toys anchor the space. Many of our wooden toys handle garden use happily, and our outdoor games add structure on days that need it. If you are combining garden time with learning at home, our guide to setting up a home school may help you join the two.

What to Actually Do: Hands-On Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

The best Forest School activities are simple, repeatable and led as much by the child as the adult. Here are a few that suit under-fives.

Mud kitchen. A few pots, water, mud and natural odds and ends make a whole world of pouring, mixing and 'cooking'. It builds language as children name their creations, and fine motor skills as they scoop and stir.

Nature hunt. Ask your child to find something round, something rough, something yellow. Collecting and sorting sharpens observation and vocabulary, and gives you both a reason to look closely.

Log balancing and stepping stones. Lay flat stones or short logs and let your child cross. Start low, keep it forgiving, and let them decide how brave to be. This is coordination and confidence in one.

Stick building. Twigs, string and imagination make dens, boats and towers. Tying and threading are surprisingly demanding for small hands, which is exactly why they help.

Water play. A tray, a jug and a few floating objects will occupy a toddler for a remarkable length of time while teaching volume, cause and effect and patience.

Traditional games translate outdoors well, too. Skipping, throwing and target games from our traditional games suit older siblings joining in, and on wetter afternoons our board games carry the same spirit of shared, screen-free play back indoors.

Whatever you choose, resist over-directing. Set the scene, offer the materials, then step back. The learning happens in the doing, and a child left to work things out is a child working hard.

What to Buy to Get Started with Forest School at Home

You can begin Forest School at home with almost nothing, and that is genuinely true. Sticks and mud cost nothing. But a few well-made pieces make the habit easier to sustain and give play more shape.

Start with one all-rounder. A kids' skipping rope at £5.99 earns its place quickly: it is a jumping challenge, a marker for games, a 'river' to leap and a rope for tying dens. Few things do so much for so little.

From there, choose by material. Look for FSC-certified timber and toys tested to UKCA and CE standards, so what your child handles outdoors is safe and built to last. The wooden toys we make are held to exactly that, which matters when a toy is going to be dropped in mud and left in the rain.

Browse our wooden toys for pieces that suit small hands, and our outdoor games for activities that draw the whole family into the garden. For a wet-weather back-up, our board games keep the day going indoors.

If you are planning a whole stretch of time at home, our ideas for turning the house into a staycation pair well with garden Forest School.

Buy slowly. A rope, a set of wooden toys and a patch of ground are more than enough to begin. Add to it as your child shows you what they love, and let their play lead the shopping list rather than the other way round.

Frequently Asked Questions About Forest School Nursery

What is forest school for toddlers?

Forest School for toddlers is a child-led approach to outdoor learning that takes place in a natural setting, encouraging young children to explore, take manageable risks, and engage with the natural world at their own pace. Rooted in a Scandinavian educational tradition, Forest School was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1993 after nursery nurses from Bridgwater College in Somerset observed Danish early years practice. For toddlers, sessions typically involve sensory play, den building, mud play, and nature observation, supporting communication, physical development, and social skills.

What age can children start forest school?

Children can begin Forest School-style learning from birth, as the approach is adapted to suit any developmental stage. In practice, many nurseries introduce structured outdoor sessions from around age two or three, when children are mobile and increasingly curious about their surroundings. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, which governs learning for children from birth to five in England, fully supports outdoor, child-led exploration throughout the early years, making Forest School principles appropriate from the very earliest stages of a child's life.

How do you do forest school at home?

Bringing Forest School into your back garden involves creating regular, unhurried outdoor sessions where your child leads their own exploration. Provide natural, open-ended materials such as sticks, stones, leaves, soil, and water. Encourage activities like digging, building dens with branches or sheets, observing minibeasts, and collecting natural objects. Adopt a supportive rather than directive role, letting your child set the pace. The UK's Health and Safety Executive (2012) notes that risk-taking in play is beneficial to child development, so allow manageable challenges such as climbing and balancing rather than removing all difficulty.

What activities do they do at forest school nursery?

At a Forest School nursery, children typically engage in den building, fire-safety observation, whittling (with appropriate tools and supervision), mud kitchen play, minibeast hunting, nature art using leaves and sticks, foraging for safe natural materials, and seasonal activities such as planting or collecting autumn seeds. Sessions are child-led and repeated regularly in the same outdoor space, allowing children to build confidence over time. These activities directly support the three prime areas of the EYFS framework: Communication and Language, Physical Development, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

What do children need for forest school?

For Forest School play, children need weather-appropriate clothing above all else — a good-quality waterproof suit, wellington boots, and warm layers in cooler months. Sun protection, including a hat and sunscreen, is needed in warmer weather. Gloves are useful for colder sessions or when handling rough materials. Beyond clothing, children need access to natural, open-ended materials such as sticks, soil, water, and leaves. No specialist equipment is required for home sessions; a willing adult to supervise, and time set aside regularly outdoors, is far more valuable than purchased resources.

Is forest school good for under-fives?

Yes. Forest School is widely regarded as highly beneficial for children under five. Regular outdoor, child-led play directly supports all three prime areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework — Communication and Language, Physical Development, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development — which the UK Department for Education identifies as foundational to children's learning from birth to age five. The Health and Safety Executive (2012) further confirms that managed risk-taking in play supports healthy development. Outdoor natural environments also encourage curiosity, creativity, resilience, and independent thinking in young children.

How do you make a garden safe for forest school play?

Making a garden safe for Forest School play does not mean removing every hazard. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE, 2012) explicitly states that eliminating all risk from children's play is neither necessary nor beneficial. Instead, carry out a simple assessment: check that fencing is secure, remove toxic plants such as foxglove or nightshade, ensure any water features are covered or supervised, and store sharp tools out of reach when not in use. Provide age-appropriate challenges such as low logs for balancing, and supervise actively without intervening unnecessarily, allowing children to manage small physical risks themselves.

What are the benefits of outdoor learning for preschoolers?

Outdoor learning supports preschoolers across multiple areas of development. Physically, it builds gross motor skills, coordination, and strength through climbing, digging, and running on uneven terrain. Socially and emotionally, shared outdoor play develops cooperation, communication, and confidence. Cognitively, natural environments stimulate curiosity and problem-solving. The EYFS statutory framework (2021) recognises all three of these as prime areas of development for children from birth to five. Regular time outdoors has also been associated with improved attention, reduced stress, and greater creativity, making it a well-rounded foundation for early childhood learning.

Can you do forest school without a forest?

Yes, entirely. Forest School is an approach and ethos rather than a specific location. A back garden, a local park, a school field, or even a small paved outdoor area with planters and natural materials can all support Forest School principles. What matters is regular access to outdoor space, child-led exploration, and engagement with natural materials. Mud, sticks, stones, water, and plants can be introduced into almost any outdoor setting. The approach was developed to be adaptable, making it accessible to families and settings without access to woodland.

How do I keep my toddler engaged playing outside in the garden?

Toddlers stay engaged outdoors when given open-ended natural materials and the freedom to explore without being directed. Try setting up a simple mud kitchen using old pots and spoons, creating a digging patch, hiding objects in sand or soil for discovery, or collecting natural items on a simple scavenger hunt. Rotate materials to maintain novelty — add water to mud, introduce pine cones or conkers seasonally. Follow your child's lead rather than setting tasks. Short, frequent sessions outdoors with a consistent routine tend to build enthusiasm and help toddlers develop a lasting confidence in outdoor play.