FOREST SCHOOL OUTINGS
FOREST SCHOOL OUTINGS
Taking children to learn through play in the forest is a great opportunity to develop new skills, create a connection with nature and experience a fun adventure in the forest with schoolmates.
Explore our Exciting, New School Outing Themes
Cape Town’s Indigenous Flora
Imagine Cape Town like a big, colorful garden with lots of special plants that only grow here. These plants are not just pretty to look at; they play a huge role in keeping the environment healthy and happy!
This is a beautiful opportunity to let your class look and learn about the amazing world of Cape Town’s indigenous plants and why they’re so important for our environment.
We take children on a walk around Deer Park to explore the plant kingdom, we discuss the alien vegetation vs indigenous vegetation, we look into: proteas, fynbos, cycads, pelargonium (and they’re local name “Kruidjie-roer-my-nie”). We also take time to use the magnifying glasses, stop, teach about and taste the edible plants and smell the aromatic ones. We open our senses and familiarise with this type of vegetation. We discuss why these plants matter as a home for animals, healthy soil, clean air and, vitally important, as water savers. At the end, we play an enjoyable quiz game with fun facts about indigenous plants on our way back down to base camp!
Wetlands: River habitats
Bring your class into the heart of the greenbelt to discover what a wetland actually is and why they’re so important. We explore the nearby river terrain, collect natural elements like soil, sand, grass, leaves and water and use these to make our own ‘mini wetland world’ in a container. We also extend our learning into discovering about wetland animals like frogs, ducks, turtles, flamingoes and fish and their adaptations to these environments.
Your children will get the chance to create a magical ‘sensory bin’ to play and discover how a wetland looks and feels.
Rainforests: From canopy to forest floor
Did you know that every single plant in a rainforest has its own unique strategy and adaptation on how to survive there? Some rainforest plants have smooth, waxy leaves with special tips to help them easily drain extra water. Other trees have special roots which give them extra support in shallow, wet ground. Certain plants have adapted to have bright colours, large flowers, or fruit to attract animals and spread their pollen or seeds.
Give your class the opportunity to learn why our earth’s rainforests are so vitally important and – now that they are threatened habitats – what we can do to help them thrive. We teach the kids about the different layers of the rain forest: canopy, understory and forest floor as well as how the animals living there use camouflage to blend in. We play a rainforest matching game with the different animals and try to locate them to their respective layer!
We also make our own rainforest in a bottle, which is a terrarium the kids can take back to school.
Popular School Outing Themes
INSECTS: Bugs & their habitats
Allow your class to learn about insects first-hand, and discover bugs from our forest environment. They will learn about insect and minibeast anatomy, make their own bugs from clay, learn about insect’s habitat, and make bug hotels. Let your learner develop their awareness of Earth’s big world of small creatures while they have fun and learn in the forest together.
INSECTS: Bugs & their habitats
Allow your class to learn about insects first-hand, and discover bugs from our forest environment. They will learn about insect and minibeast anatomy, make their own bugs from clay, learn about insect’s habitat, and make bug hotels. Let your learner develop their awareness of Earth’s big world of small creatures while they have fun and learn in the forest together.
Shelter building: Constructing dens
Empower your learners to work together as a team! They will collaborate in teams to design and build a shelter structure out of nature materials. We prompt questions about why we need shelter, different kinds of homes for animals and humans, what materials work well and how we can work effectively as a group.
All about birds:
Did you know there are around 10,000 different species of birds? Let’s learn about our local South African birds. Our bird session features a bird-spotting walk, real feather and egg interactive discussion. Make your own nests with natural materials or make a bird-feeder to take home.
All about birds:
Did you know there are around 10,000 different species of birds? Let’s learn about our local South African birds. Our bird session features a bird-spotting walk, real feather and egg interactive discussion. Make your own nests with natural materials or make a bird-feeder to take home.
Seeds: plants & growth
Bring your class to explore and learn about the world of seeds! From the smallest sesame seed to the giant sausage seed we will examine different seeds, the plants
they grow into and how they grow. For a hands-on learning experience, we go on a seed walk, children will paint their own pots, and plant indigenous seeds to take home and watch them grow. We grow our environmental and botany knowledge and develop an awareness about plants and seeds.
Water: Our footprint and cycle of this precious resource
Our water session is available all year round. We chat to learners about the water cycle and water conservation. Learners have first- hand experiences of river creatures like tadpoles and crabs. We play a game to find out or water footprint and discuss ways to reduce our water footprint. In the rainier seasons, learners make their own rain gauge to measure rainfall.
Water: Our footprint and cycle of this precious resource
Our water session is available all year round. We chat to learners about the water cycle and water conservation. Learners have first- hand experiences of river creatures like tadpoles and crabs. We play a game to find out or water footprint and discuss ways to reduce our water footprint. In the rainier seasons, learners make their own rain gauge to measure rainfall.
Our country: We are proudly South African!
Local is Lekker! We are lucky to live in such a naturally beautiful country, and we believe the forest is a great place to experience this beauty and diversity. We invite the class to learn about South Africa in a dynamic and energetic way! Learners engage in our Big Five scavenger hunt, make an artwork of our national flag together and craft their own clay pots or bead necklaces to take home.
We conclude with a story about Ubuntu and celebrating our differences!
Let’s go hiking: mindfulness in nature
Join the experienced Nature Plays team on a forest hike for school learners. Get out into nature with us and learn about the local flora and fauna ecosystem, forest climates and weather patterns, navigation and compass-work, and hiking safety. Learners will make and decorate their own hiking stick! Our aim is to ignite a deep care and love for the natural environment in children.
Let’s go hiking:
Join the experienced Nature Plays team on a forest hike for school learners. Get out into nature with us and learn about the local flora and fauna ecosystem, forest
climates and weather patterns, navigation and compasswork, and hiking safety. Learners will make and decorate their own hiking stick! Our aim is to ignite a deep care and love for the natural environment in children.
Recycling: caring for our environment
Educating young people about environmental sustainability is vital to their future! Recycling is a big part of this awareness. We learn about climate change, pollution and learn how WE can make a difference. Learners make their own musical instruments out of 100% recycled materials, or be part of the “ trash to art” movement and make 3D art sculptures made out of recycled matter. Let’s empower our young Earth-savers!
Navigation: Compass & landscape reading
What better way to learn about navigation than by experiencing it outdoors? Our Navigation outing allows children to learn and apply the relationship between directions, landmarks and graphic representations on maps while working as a team! During the compass adventure hunt, learners use compass directions and landmark pointers to find clues and complete the route. We discuss manufactured vs natural landmarks and look at various types of maps. Learners then apply their knowledge to create a 3-dimensional map as a team, using recycled materials.
Navigation Outing
What better way to learn about navigation than by experiencing it outdoors? Our Navigation outing allows children to learn and apply the relationship between directions, landmarks and graphic representations on maps while working as a team! During the compass adventure hunt, learners use compass directions and landmark pointers to find clues and complete the route. We discuss manufactured vs natural landmarks and look at various types of maps. Learners then apply their knowledge to create a 3-dimensional map as a team, using recycled materials.
School Outing Rates & Times
- Our school outings can be booked for a minimum fee of R3000, which covers up to 20 children for the session.
- For every additional child the fee is R150 per child.
- We run them on Wednesdays from 9:30am – 11:30am (or on Fridays for an additional call out fee of R500).
- We offer a high child to learner attention ratio and engaging learning activities in the heart of the forest.
They sell out fast, so please be sure to book in advance.
“The girls learnt a lot of interesting facts that they didn’t know before. I especially enjoyed that the children were divided into smaller groups so that no one could fall through the cracks or disengage from the learning.”
“The booking process was super simple. Students loved the experience and as teachers, we thought the content was very beneficial. They had rich nature explorations, connection and learning as well as soft skills development like teamwork, creativity and communication and all activities were planned in a way to have all students actively engaged and involved in the learning process. Thank you for a fabulous field trip!”
