Forest School is a long-term, child-led approach to learning outdoors in a natural setting, in which the same group of children returns regularly, often weekly over months, to the same woodland or green space with a trained practitioner. It grew from Scandinavian forest kindergartens and outdoor traditions and was developed into a defined approach in the United Kingdom from the 1990s; its principles stress regular sessions, a natural environment, child-led learning, holistic development, supported risk-taking and qualified practitioners.
Most schools in Ho Chi Minh City have no forest, a hot climate, a long rainy season and limited outdoor space. That does not put nature-based learning out of reach; it means the principles have to be separated from the northern European scenery. This article sets out what the approach actually is, what distinguishes it from a nature walk, how risk is managed, and how a city preschool in the tropics can build a genuine version of it.
Roots: from Scandinavian forests to a defined approach
Nature-based early education has several overlapping roots, and teachers often meet the terms used interchangeably. A short timeline helps separate them.
- Friluftsliv, often translated as open-air life, is a Norwegian and wider Nordic tradition of spending time outdoors in nature as part of everyday life, long predating any school programme.
- Danish forest kindergartens (skovbørnehave) are usually traced to the 1950s, when parents and educators began spending the whole kindergarten day outdoors; the model spread across Denmark in the following decades.
- Sweden developed outdoor programmes for young children from the late 1950s, and later whole outdoor preschools where children spend most of the day outside in all seasons.
- Germany saw its first state-recognised forest kindergarten (Waldkindergarten) in Flensburg in 1993, and forest and nature kindergartens grew into a large movement there.
- United Kingdom: in 1993 staff from Bridgwater College in Somerset visited Danish forest kindergartens and brought the idea home, developing what became known as Forest School, with training qualifications for practitioners.
- Principles: in the early 2010s the UK Forest School community agreed a set of six principles, and the Forest School Association was formed as a professional body to promote them.
The distinction matters for practitioners. A forest kindergarten is a whole setting that operates outdoors. Forest School, in the UK sense, is a programme of regular sessions that many schools and nurseries add to their ordinary week. Nature-based learning is the broader umbrella. A city preschool in Vietnam is most likely to build something closer to the second or third than the first.
The six principles, in plain terms
Long-term and regular. Forest School is a process, not a one-off trip. Sessions happen frequently and over a long period, ideally across seasons, so children can build familiarity, confidence and a relationship with the place.
A natural setting. Sessions take place in a woodland or natural environment, which provides changing, open-ended material and supports a relationship between children and the natural world. Care for the site is part of the learning.
Child-led, holistic learning. Children’s interests and choices drive what happens. Learning is understood broadly: physical, social, emotional, cognitive, spiritual in the sense of wonder, and creative.
Supported risk. Children are offered opportunities to take appropriate risks, such as climbing, balancing, using tools or exploring, with adults assessing the setting and the child rather than removing every challenge.
Qualified practitioners. Sessions are led by practitioners trained in the approach who maintain and develop their practice, and who know the site, the children and the procedures well.
A community of learners. The approach builds relationships between children, adults and the wider community, and treats reflection as part of every session for children and adults alike.
What a genuine session looks like
A typical session follows a loose shape. The group gathers at a base camp, often a circle of logs or a marked area, where adults recall the boundaries and agreements, and children may share what they hope to do. Then there is a long period of free exploration within the boundaries: building dens, collecting, climbing, digging, watching insects, playing imaginative games. Adults observe, join in when invited, offer tools or materials when an idea needs them, and keep a quiet eye on safety. The session ends back at the base with food or a drink and a short reflection, where children talk about what they found or did.
What distinguishes this from a nature walk or an outdoor lesson is ownership and repetition. On a nature walk the adult leads and the route is fixed; in Forest School children choose, and they return to the same place again and again. A child who builds a shelter one week may come back the next week to see whether it survived the rain, extend it, or abandon it for a new idea. That continuity is where much of the learning lies.
Practitioners plan, but loosely. They prepare tools, materials and possible provocations based on observations from the previous session, and they adjust to the weather, the group’s mood and what the children bring. Observation notes and photographs are reviewed afterward and inform the next session, in much the same way as documentation in Reggio-inspired settings.
Risky play and risk-benefit assessment
Supported risk is the principle that most often worries families and school leaders, and it deserves a clear explanation. The idea is not that children should be exposed to danger. It is that some risk is necessary for development: children who never climb never learn how high is too high, and children who never use a knife never learn to use one safely. Research and professional guidance in several countries now recognise risky play, such as climbing, balancing, rough-and-tumble play and using tools, as valuable when it is appropriately supported.
Forest School practitioners use risk-benefit assessment rather than risk elimination. For each activity, the team considers the benefits to children, the realistic hazards, and the controls that make the risk acceptable. Tool use, for instance, usually starts with one-to-one teaching, a clear tool area, specific safety rules and close supervision, and expands as children show competence. The site is checked before each session for hazards that are not part of the intended challenge, such as broken glass, unstable branches or animals.
For schools introducing this for the first time, two practical steps help. Write down the assessment for each regular activity, so every adult works from the same understanding. And explain the approach to families before the first session, with examples of what children will be doing and how adults will support them. Families who understand the reasoning are far more comfortable with a scraped knee than families who were never told.
Adapting to heat, rain and a small city garden
The forest is not the essential ingredient; regular, child-led time in a natural space is. In a tropical city, that natural space might be a school garden, a shaded courtyard with trees and planting beds, a nearby park, or a green area visited on a regular trip. What makes it suitable is that it contains living things, loose natural materials and room for children to choose.
Climate shapes the timetable. In southern Vietnam the hottest hours are best avoided, so outdoor sessions usually happen early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Shade is a priority, whether from trees, sails or roofs. Hats, light long sleeves and frequent water breaks are part of the routine, and teams watch for signs of overheating in younger children. The rainy season, roughly from May to November in the south, brings sudden heavy showers rather than all-day rain, so a covered area near the garden allows sessions to continue through a downpour and resume as soon as it passes. Rain itself becomes material: puddles, running water, mud and the changes the storm leaves behind.
Mosquitoes and dengue are a real consideration. Schools typically address them by removing standing water around the site, scheduling sessions away from peak mosquito times, and agreeing with families on clothing and repellent policies in line with local health guidance. Snakes, fire ants and certain plants also need to be part of the site check.
Small spaces call for creativity. A strip of soil can become a digging and planting area; a single large tree can anchor a base camp; a wall can hold a vertical garden; potted plants can be moved to change the space. Native and fruiting plants, such as banana, papaya, lemongrass and morning glory, attract insects and birds and provide material for cooking and play.
Linking nature-based learning to the curriculum
Nature-based sessions connect naturally to the rest of a preschool curriculum. They support physical development through climbing, balancing and digging; language through conversation, storytelling and new vocabulary; mathematics through collecting, sorting, comparing and measuring; science through observing growth, weather and animals; and social-emotional development through cooperation, negotiation and resilience. In the Vietnamese national programme’s terms, sessions contribute to physical, cognitive, language, social-emotional and aesthetic development.
In a bilingual school, outdoor time is also a rich language environment. Children who are reluctant to speak in a formal circle often talk freely while digging or building, and teachers can model vocabulary in both languages naturally: the names of plants and insects, verbs of action, words for texture and size. Observations from outdoor sessions feed the same documentation that teachers use indoors, so learning outside is recorded and valued as seriously as learning inside.
The Global Nexus framework’s emphasis on real experience over drills fits nature-based learning well, and garden and outdoor time are among the places where its six dimensions, language, emotion, life skills, independence, creativity and thinking, are easiest to observe together.
Starting small: a first term of nature-based sessions
Schools that want to begin often wait for the perfect garden or a fully trained practitioner. A more realistic path is to start with what exists and grow. In the first weeks, choose one outdoor space, however small, and one group of children, and commit to a fixed weekly session at the same time. Keep the structure simple: gather, explore within clear boundaries, come back together to share. Resist the urge to fill the time with planned crafts; the point is to see what children do when given time and natural materials.
In the middle of the term, introduce one new element at a time: a digging area, a tarpaulin for den building, magnifying glasses, a single tool taught one to one. Keep brief observation notes after each session and review them as a team. Patterns usually emerge quickly, such as a group that returns every week to the same ant trail, or a quiet child who talks freely while watering plants. These observations become the basis for the next session and for conversations with families.
By the end of the term, the team will know what the space can support, what training would help most, and how families have responded. That is a sound basis for deciding whether to extend sessions to more groups, invest in the garden or send staff for formal Forest School training. Calling the programme nature-based learning inspired by Forest School, rather than Forest School itself, is honest while the team is still developing.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Do children need a real forest for Forest School?
A woodland is the traditional setting, but the essential ingredients are a natural space, regular visits over a long period, child-led activity and trained adults. Many urban schools use gardens, parks or green corners for nature-based programmes inspired by Forest School, while being careful not to claim more than they offer.
How often should nature-based sessions happen to make a difference?
The approach emphasises regularity and duration. Weekly sessions over several months are a common pattern for programmes added to a school week, while forest kindergartens spend most of every day outside. The more consistent the routine, the more children build confidence and deepen their play.
Is tool use safe for preschool children?
With appropriate support, many preschool children can learn to use simple tools such as peelers, small saws or hand drills. Practitioners introduce tools one at a time, teach one to one, set clear rules and keep close supervision. The decision depends on the child, the tool and the setting, assessed by trained staff.
What should children wear for outdoor sessions in a hot climate?
Light, breathable clothing that covers arms and legs, a wide-brimmed hat and closed shoes suitable for mud and uneven ground are common choices. Schools usually ask families to send a change of clothes and a water bottle, and agree on sun protection and insect protection in line with local health guidance.
How does Forest School differ from outdoor play time?
Ordinary outdoor play often happens in a playground with fixed equipment and limited adult involvement. Forest School uses a natural space, follows a regular long-term programme, includes planned support for risk-taking and tool use, and involves trained adults who observe, reflect and plan from session to session.
Can nature-based learning work in the rainy season?
Yes, with planning. A covered area near the garden lets sessions continue through short heavy showers, and rain itself provides material for play and investigation. Sessions are paused during thunderstorms or flooding, and teams check the site for new hazards after heavy rain before children go back out.