Spain Ames European Solidarity Corps

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Between 8.30 and 9.30 in the morning the children arrive at the rehabilitated school, which serves as a refuge and as a meeting and farewell point. Once the whole group is assembled, they decide by consensus to which part of the forest they want to go. Once decided, they prepare with the necessary equipment: boots, rain bib, raincoats … depending on the weather. All of us at Menais are clear that there is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. In Galicia it rains often, but the rain has never been an impediment to being in nature. The group goes into the forest, ready to start a new adventure. There is a time for free play, to get dirty, to let the imagination fly … and the companions take advantage of the learning opportunities to work on content such as literacy, logic-mathematics, expression, psychomotor skills … always with respect and interest of the little ones. Around 2:00 p.m. we return to eat and from 3:00 p.m. the families come to pick up kids.

ACCOMMODATION, FOOD AND TRANSPORT ARRANGEMENTS

Accommodation is in a shared apartment with university students in Santiago de Compostela (19 km from the project). Participants will have a public transport card to be able to move from their place of residence to the school. The money assigned to each volunteer will cover the living expenses and will be at their own expense (shopping, cooking, etc) From Monday to Friday they will have to bring their food to school. There is also the possibility of buying the food in a local store.

TRAINING DURING THE ACTIVITY

The training at the beginning of the project will deal with key aspects of the forest schools methodology, with theoretical foundations, and then move on to the practical part, first as an observer and progressively gain autonomy. Both the professional team and the volunteers propose the necessary training to improve the project and seek the resources to carry it out; some examples of the training are the environmental education workshops (mycology, bird watching or survival techniques in nature). Volunteers will be welcome in the upcoming training sessions.

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

The volunteer we are looking for should be a respectful individual who is excited to work with children (2-6 years old) in a natural environment, in accordance with the forest school methodology. Familiarity with alternative pedagogical approaches (such as Montessori, Waldorf and emotional education) is not necessary but would be deeply appreciated. A good command of English and any other skill that the volunteer could share with the children (e.g. yoga, music, drama, buschcraft, art, bio-construction) would be an asset.