Article: “Eva Sivill, a Catalan forest school teacher: In Oakland, I have fulfilled my life’s purpose.”
Do you want to make some soup?
Eva Sivill Marimon (Vilafranca del Penedès, 1984) lives and works as a teacher and co-owner of Roots y Ramas Forest School, a forest school in Oakland, California, for children ages 2 to 6.
Before making the leap to the Americas, she lived in Ireland and the Netherlands. Trained as an Elementary school English teacher, she moved to the United States through an exchange program for Spanish teachers.
Now based on Lisjan/Ohlone land, in what is also known as Oakland, California, she first worked as a Spanish teacher at the public Global Family Elementary School. After completing her Forest Kindergarten Teacher Training, she became a teacher at a forest school teacher.
In an interview with Exterior.cat, Sivill reflects on her life project: being a teacher in a forest school.
Article: “How do you learn at a forest school? by Eva Sivill”
It all begins with an idea.
In this article, Eva Sivill explains how children learn in a forest school. She works at Early Ecology Forest School in Oakland, California (United States).
Eva shares the origins of the forest school concept, the context in which she discovered it, and what life is like at Early Ecology Forest School.
In the article, she explores the following topics:
What is the history of the forest school?
What is the philosophy behind it?
Why is it important to connect with nature?
What benefits does learning in the forest bring to children?
How is the curriculum approached in a forest school?
What habits and routines are practiced there?
What is free play?
What is the role of the teacher in a forest school?
What materials are used?
How is learning assessed in a forest school?
Many thanks to Eva Sivill for sharing her knowledge and experience — it’s a great pleasure to discover how you work in your school.
If you’d like to learn more about forest schools, you can find a talk by Eva Sivill on Docents.cat Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.