Friday Sept 11; Forest Friday Recap: Teen Adventures, Long-Term Projects & Learning New Bushcraft Skills
Bushcraft skills, hiking and troll bridge riddles!
September 11 was another great Forest Friday with our teen group.
It's only our second week together, but we're already seeing this group begin to gel. There are inside jokes, lots of laughter, kids encouraging one another, and the beginnings of a really fun group culture.
We spent the day hiking, learning navigation and knots, experimenting with fire-starting, building things, beginning long-term projects, and—of course—stopping at a few very important troll bridges along the way.
And honestly, one of my favorite parts of the day was watching the kids simply enjoy being together.
“If You Could Ride Into Battle on Any Steed...”
We started by circling up and spending some time getting to know each other.
One of our questions was:
“If you were to ride into battle on any steed, what would it be?”
The answers were pretty amazing.
We had a giant ladybug, a dragonfly, a T-Rex, a tiger, a lion, and a slug.
Yes.
A slug.
And honestly, it was a pretty good answer.
Questions like this are a fun way to help everyone loosen up and get comfortable with each other. And by the second week, it's been really fun to see how quickly this group is becoming a group.
They're already sharing laughs and developing their own inside jokes.
That's a pretty good sign.
Welcoming Chris & Mira
We've also really enjoyed introducing our new staff members, Chris and Mira, to the teen group.
Both have been incredibly solid, kind, and patient with the kids.
Teenagers need adults who can lead without constantly directing, teach without talking down to them, and give them enough freedom to figure things out for themselves.
Chris and Mira have been great at that, and we're really happy to have them as part of the team.
🪵 The Log Game & a First Bow Drill
We headed down the trail and stopped at our cross-log spot for a quick break.
Of course, the break immediately turned into the log game.
That's pretty much how Forest Friday works.
A "quick break" has a funny way of becoming its own adventure.
Mira also brought out her bow drill, and it was fun to watch one of the students try it for the very first time.
There's something really rewarding about seeing a student experience that moment when a skill goes from:
“I've never done this before.”
to
“Wait... I think I can do this.”
That's one of the things we love about hands-on learning.
The kids aren't just hearing about a skill.
They're actually trying to do it.
🧌 Welcome to the Troll Bridge
We also continued a tradition that we accidentally started last week.
Every once in a while, we'd reach a bridge and declare it a Troll Bridge.
Nobody could cross until someone came up with a riddle and the whole group solved it.
It started as something we came up with on the fly last week.
Somehow, it became a major part of the hike this week.
And it was hilarious.
At several points, I found myself wanting to say:
“Okay, guys. Let's go.”
But then I had to remind myself:
What's the hurry?
They're laughing.
They're making up riddles.
They're solving problems together.
They're enjoying being outside.
It's okay to take our time.
Sometimes Forest School means learning a skill.
Sometimes it means learning that you don't have to rush through everything.
And sometimes it means accepting that you're probably going to spend a surprisingly long time at a troll bridge.
💦 Water, Wildlife & the Animal Game
We continued up the trail, passing one of the group's favorite spots where the kids like to get into the water and get wet.
Along the way, we also found a giant slug, which naturally became an exciting discovery.
There were a couple of intense rounds of the animal game, too.
The hike itself becomes part of the adventure at Forest Friday.
We're not simply trying to get from one location to another.
The trail is a place to talk, play, notice things, tell stories, laugh, and explore.
Eventually, we made our way up to the springs.
🧭 Three Stations, Three Different Skills
Once we reached the springs, we split the teens into three groups and rotated them through three different stations.
Each group spent about 40 minutes at each station.
This gives us the opportunity to work on more specialized skills while keeping the groups small enough that everyone can participate.
🪢 Knots & Applied Rope Skills
Mira continued her knot-tying lesson from the previous week.
But this week, the kids got to apply those skills.
Some began making hammocks.
Others worked on a trap.
Another group started constructing a swing.
One group wove and braided paracord to create a net-style seat for their swing.
That's the progression we're looking for:
Learn a skill → practice the skill → use the skill to make something.
Once kids begin using the skill to accomplish something they actually want to build, it starts becoming their own.
🧭 Learning Navigation With Maps & Compasses
Chris came prepared with a lesson on compasses and basic navigation.
Each student had a printout of the area along with a topographical map.
They began learning how to use the map and compass together rather than simply relying on a phone or GPS.
Navigation is about much more than knowing which way is north.
It's about learning to understand the landscape.
Where are the steep slopes?
Where are the valleys?
Where does the trail go?
How far have we traveled?
What features should we expect to see?
And perhaps most importantly:
How do I figure out where I am if I don't have a phone telling me?
If your teen wants to practice these skills at home, REI has a great Intro to Navigation series with resources on maps, compasses, and navigation.
You can also explore How to Read a Topographic Map and Navigation Basics.
Try a Family Navigation Challenge
Take a map of a familiar area and go outside.
Have your teen identify:
North
Trails
Streams
High points
Low points
Major landmarks
Approximate distances
Then see if they can match what they see on the map with what they see in the real world.
It's a simple way to turn a walk into a navigation lesson.
🔥 Long-Term Projects Begin
Last week, we introduced the idea of long-term projects.
This week, the teens had to choose one.
The idea is simple:
We don't want these to be projects they can finish in an afternoon.
We want them to be difficult.
We want them to take at least a month.
And we want them to be connected to bushcraft, wilderness skills, creativity, or natural materials.
We had a bunch of books available with different project ideas, and the kids spent time looking through them and brainstorming.
Some of the ideas included:
Baskets
Traps
Primitive tools
Detailed nature journals
Clay projects
Knives
Shelters
Cordage projects
Other bushcraft creations
And one student has a particularly ambitious goal:
He wants to make lava.
We're still working on figuring out how to make that happen without melting anybody—or the forest.
Stay tuned.
😂
The Projects Belong to the Kids
One of the things we love about these long-term projects is that the kids choose them.
If a student wants to make something difficult, we're going to help them figure out how.
If they need supplies, we'll work to get them.
For example, one student wants to make a knife with a bone handle. We'll work on getting her a piece of bone that she can incorporate into the project.
That's a very different kind of learning than:
“Here's the project we're doing today. Here's what you need. Here's what it should look like.”
Instead, we're asking:
“What do you want to make?”
“How are you going to make it?”
“What do you need?”
“What do you need to learn?”
And then:
“Let's figure it out.”
That's a huge part of what we want our teen program to become.
🪤 Yes, They Built a Trap
One group of boys decided they wanted to build a trap.
And they got pretty creative.
They told us they had built a shelter and convinced us to pull a string.
We did.
And the trap activated.
A net dropped on us.
They got us.
😂
That's the kind of creativity we love seeing.
Of course, these projects are done within clear safety boundaries and with appropriate supervision. The goal isn't to create dangerous traps or weapons.
The goal is to understand how things work, use materials creatively, solve problems, and learn how to build responsibly.
🪢 From Knots to Swings
Another group began working on a swing.
They wove and braided cordage to create what will eventually become a paracord-style net seat.
This is another example of how skills build on one another.
A knot isn't just a knot.
A braid isn't just a braid.
A piece of paracord isn't just a piece of rope.
Once you understand what those things can do, you can start creating things with them.
And that opens up an entirely different level of problem-solving.
🥾 A Strong Finish to a Strong Day
After rotating through all three stations, we started our hike back.
And these kids were fast.
They hiked faster and stronger than they have on previous days, which was incredibly impressive for only our second week.
But more than their hiking ability, we were impressed by their attitude.
This is a good group.
They're funny.
They're fun.
They're respectful of each other.
They're willing to try things.
They're already developing their own group culture.
And that's exciting to see.
❤️ Forest Friday With Our Younger Group
While all of this was happening with our teen group, we were also having a pretty special day with our younger Forest School group.
Almost everyone in the younger group had been with us last year.
One family wasn't able to make it to the first Forest Friday, so this week was the first time many of the kids had seen one another since the summer.
And the reunions were so sweet.
Kids who hadn't seen each other all summer were genuinely excited to see their friends again.
There were smiles, conversations, and the immediate return of friendships that had been built over the previous year.
It's one of those things that reminds us that Forest School isn't just about what happens in the forest.
It's about the relationships that are built there.
Kids need places where they can develop friendships over time.
They need communities where they can be known.
They need opportunities to work, play, laugh, struggle, and grow alongside the same people week after week.
Seeing those friendships continue to grow is one of our favorite parts of Forest School.
🌲 A Strong Second Week
There was a lot packed into this Forest Friday.
But underneath the maps, knots, bow drills, long-term projects, traps, swings, riddles, and miles of hiking, something even more important is happening.
Kids are becoming capable.
They're learning to trust themselves.
They're learning to trust one another.
They're learning that difficult things can be figured out.
They're learning that skills take practice.
They're learning to be patient.
They're learning to make things.
They're learning to ask questions.
And they're learning that they belong in the outdoors.
That's what we're after.
Not just kids who know how to tie a knot.
Not just kids who can read a map.
Not just kids who can start a fire.
We want kids who know how to learn.
And we can't wait to see what they build next.
Keep exploring. Keep learning. Keep making. Keep growing wild. 🌿
