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2018-2019 program details
are listed on the Registration Page! 
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About UpstreamAt Upstream Forest School, we are connecting to nature and experiencing the outdoors with all our senses in the Sunnyside neighbourhood. Instead of following a set curriculum, we observe and document daily what the children are interested in each class, and build on that interest in the following classes. The philosophies of Reggio Emilia and Reflective Playwork speak to our teaching. We have a strong belief that the child is capable, and that is translated into how we treat them. There are core routines we are developing over the course of the classes, for example Story Telling, Sit Spots (quiet time in nature), Empathy, Field Guides, and more!
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Who We Are |
Lea Komaromi (BEd) has been a teacher in different capacities for 15 years. She graduated from the Forest School Canada's training program and is a member of Child and Nature Alliance and the Outdoor Council of Canada; she feels most fully alive when she is outside. Lea loves teaching and being a part of the growth and development of children, especially when they are setting challenges for themselves. She is a believer in children being outside as much as possible and in listening to their ideas and voices. She works with them individually and as a group to find their highest potential in all areas: intellectually, socially, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Teaching to the whole child is one of her passions!
When she's not running, you'll find her swimming, doing anything on the Bow River (especially trying new things on the Paddleboard), biking, nordic skiing or reading in the hammock. She has three children of her own, and they have taught her immensely about enjoying the journey, and slowing down. Ashley Dunham is a bird-watching, veggie-gardening, globe-trotting Early Childhood Educator who loves joining children in exploring their natural habitat- the outdoors. As a child she read her “Little House” series of books until they fell apart, and she still lives by the moral of those pages: find delight in what is wholesome, simple, and enduring. She derives joy from close encounters with wild creatures, whether witnessing baby magpies take their first flight, startling a black wolf along a mountain trail, or hearing bees at work in her raspberry patch. It’s her wish to nurture in others the ‘skill’ of delighting in the natural world. Watching a child’s eyes light up with a new discovery, or seeing them furrow their brow in concentration over a new task- such sights keep Ashley young at heart. Ashley has her Early Childhood Education diploma from Mount Royal University, and has worked as a preschool teacher and program director for all ages of children, and has specific experience in supporting the development of children with diverse special needs. She lives in NE Calgary with her family and a grouchy old cat. 
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Forest School
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What is Forest School? In a nutshell, it's children getting outside, feeling fully alive because their voices are being listened to, while they are listening to their deepest selves. For a detailed answer, see below!
"Forest School [FS] is an educational approach that has existed worldwide since the late 1950s, with over ten thousand Forest School programs in the UK alone. In FS, children spend anywhere from a half day to a full day outdoors in various urban and near-urban parks, natural spaces adjacent to or on school grounds, or natural playgrounds and outdoor classrooms. Children attending FS have the opportunity to learn in a natural environment on a regular basis, ranging anywhere from a half to a full day. For instance some programs are offered to students half a day per week, whereas other schools and early years centers have embraced this approach on a more full time basis, resulting in students spending the majority of their days outdoors. FS is both a pedagogical approach, as well as a program of delivery. Although it has many different names, (ranging from Nature Kindergarten, Outdoor School, Waldkindergarten, Rain or Shine School, Bush School, etc.), there are two main features that separate it from other outdoor and environmental education programs. As described above, it can happen on a part time or full time basis, but it can also take place in a variety of contexts, environments, with varying age groups, and in different climates. Despite this, all Forest School programs adhere to: regular and repeated access to a natural space, as well as child-directed, emergent and inquiry-based learning. The defining feature of this type of nature-based education program is that children are provided with opportunities to build an on-going relationship with the land, to a dedicated educator, to one another, and to themselves through this educational lens. The activities that happen in FS also vary, depending on the season, climate, landscape, animals that have visited the night before, trees that have blown down in the wind, the kinds of provocations elicited by the educator, various tools and loose parts for building and creating, the children who are in attendance, how long the group has been formed, and most importantly, what interests the child. Sometimes children will work independently, finding solace in their own world and creations and ponderings. Other times children will work collaboratively to create something, problem solve, support one another, dream of a bigger and better world. FS can often be described as a ‘magical’ thing to witness, as it’s often a microcosm of collaboration, communication, trust building, and a working model of consensus building." www.forestschoolcanada.ca Check out the Registration Page for information on classes. Contact me anytime with questions or comments! |
