Outdoor Learning in Milford: What’s a Forest School?
We spent a few months living in Oslo, just after my wife and I got married. She’s Norwegian, born and raised. I’m the American who fell in love with her and, over time, with her country too.
Norway is where I learned how to slow down. How to pay attention to the way kids learn when the world around them is their classroom. I started to understand that education doesn’t have to look like desks and whiteboards. It can look like boots in the mud. Cold fingers wrapped around thermoses. Kids in bright snowsuits building lean-tos out of birch branches.
That’s where I first learned about forest schools.
We were near the edge of the city when I saw a group of four- and five-year-olds hike down a trail with their guide. No backpacks. No worksheets. Just laughter and big questions. They stopped to look at mushrooms growing out of a stump. One girl pulled a sketchpad from her coat and started drawing. Another knelt down to compare leaves. Their guide stood nearby, not directing but watching. She didn’t tell them what to do. She let them discover.
That moment stuck with me.
Now back in Goshen, Ohio, raising our three kids and working on the farm school we’re building, I think about that group of children all the time.
Especially when someone asks: “What is a forest school?”
What Is a Forest School?
A forest school is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an outdoor school where kids spend most of their time learning outside, in all weather, through hands-on exploration and play. But it’s more than just school in the woods.
Forest schools are built on a different philosophy. One that sees nature not just as the setting, but as the teacher.
The idea goes back to Norway in the 1950s. After World War II, families there began organizing outdoor preschools. Over time, the model spread across Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Today, countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland rank in the top 15 of world leaders in education. Forest school programs play a big part in that.
The approach is simple. Let children explore. Let them move. Let them lead. Let them get wet, cold, muddy, and curious.
It’s not just for preschoolers, either. While you’ll often hear about outdoor preschool or forest kindergarten programs, the model supports learning for children of all ages.
Studies show kids in forest school programs often develop stronger motor skills, better emotional regulation, longer attention spans, and more resilience. They also tend to be more engaged and motivated.
What Makes a Forest School Different?
The biggest difference? Unstructured play.
In most schools, play is squeezed into recess or used as a break between subjects. In a forest school, play is the learning. Children follow their interests. They build dens. Watch ants. Dig holes. Ask questions. Get answers. Fall down. Get up again.
This is what’s known as child led learning and it’s at the core of the forest school model.
The adult guide doesn’t control the flow. They observe, support, and step back when needed. This helps kids grow in independence and confidence. It gives them the freedom to try and the space to fail safely.
Some people hear “unstructured” and think “chaos.” But forest schools are far from chaotic. They’re deeply intentional. Boundaries are clear. Risks are real but managed. And every moment has the potential to turn into a lesson.
How Forest School Principles Will Show Up at Our Farm
We’re not building a traditional forest school. But we’ve borrowed a lot from the model.
When families around Milford and Loveland ask about an outdoor learning option for their kids, this is often what they mean: a place where their children can breathe, move, think, and explore.
At Mission Farmstead’s Farm School, kids will:
- Develop emotional intelligence through peer relationships and guided reflection.
- Build resilience through nature-based challenges.
- Follow their curiosity into real world projects.
- Explore freely through unstructured play.
- Spend most of their day outdoors, no matter the weather.
Eventually, they’ll help care for animals. Build fences. Tend to a regenerative farm. We’re not just teaching about nature. We’re inviting kids to become stewards of it.
And because our kids are outside, learning with their hands and hearts, they’re more connected. Not just to the world, but to themselves.
Why This Matters to Me
As a dad, I’ve seen what this kind of learning does for my own kids.
Aria, our oldest, notices tracks in the woods before I do. Ellie, our middle child, turns sticks into fairy villages. Theo, our two-year-old, already knows worms belong in the garden, not on the porch.
They’re learning more than facts. They’re learning how to wonder.
And that’s why forest school principles matter.
Because they remind us what childhood is supposed to feel like: full of movement, meaning, and discovery.
If you’re curious what forest school principles might look like in your child’s life, come visit our farm with 28 acres of forest. Ask questions. Take a walk. Let the place speak for itself.
Let your child lead. We’ll help guide the way. Is this your call to adventure? Click here to learn more.
