Diary of a Playworker
Pictured (from left): Ellen, Kate, Hannah, and Lindsey
Have you Ever wondered what we get up to behind the scenes at forest school?
Come with me as I take you through a week in the life of a playworker, leading holiday programs here on the Sunshine Coast.
Monday
Morning: Primitive Weapons
What an awesome way to kick off the holidays – it was such a warm sunny day, it didn’t feel like winter at all! It was also really nice to see some team members that we hadn’t seen since last holidays. Pete, a talented tailor and relief primary school teacher; Jane, our big-hearted early childhood educator; Ash, a plant and animal whisperer; and Izzy, an ex-youth worker and all-round fabulous human. I love coming to work at Wildlings on any day, but even more so when I get to do it with such a great team by my side.
There’s such a different energy to holiday programs compared to term programs. The kids come to the forest with so much energy and enthusiasm, and this was really evident in our morning session. It was great to see some familiar faces from previous holidays and also to make some new friends. The children were so focused on their whittling that we didn’t have any cuts (winning!) and by the end of the session everyone had made something new. The group got along really well and it was a nice gentle way to start the holidays.
Afternoon: Fire-Striking & Sweet Treats
An afternoon of cooking over the fire with children never gets old. With my trusty fire guardian, Pete, I knew this would be a pleasant afternoon, and it was. We had a handful of kids stay through for the afternoon session and some wonderful families joined us. I love when there are three generations of Wildlings in the forest, it’s so special to have grandparents come along. I can see how the activities remind them of their own childhood; there’s a nostalgia and a simple happiness that comes out in them when they watch the children running around covered in mud, skipping stones in the creek and toasting damper over the fire. Having the fire in the centre of basecamp evokes this warm village feeling. Even though we might have started the day as strangers in a new space, very quickly it feels like we belong here together, running and laughing, eating damper and drinking hot chocolates, sharing jokes and playing games.
Once we’d finished with our treats, we dowsed the fire and played a game of ‘123 where are you?’. The forest echoed with ‘cooee!’ as the kids ran around trying to find where people were hiding. We finished with gratitude, which is probably my favourite part of the day, where we invite everyone to reflect on something they loved about their experience. It’s heart-warming to see children who were quiet, shy and uncertain when they arrived looking energised and engaged at the end of the day, sharing how grateful they are to have made new friends and do things they didn’t know they were capable of, like using a flint and steel to make fire.
TuesdaY
Winter Wonderland Full-day adventure
I was looking forward to today, I really enjoy the connection that comes from spending a full day in the forest together. We were joined on the team by Kurt, our Wildlings Mascot, who came through our adventure programs in the early days and who is now one of our most valued team members. I left the team to set up the space and headed up to the oval to welcome the group. I’ve been part of the holiday programs for three years now, and sometimes you just know from the beginning of the day how things are going to be. This was one of those times, not in a bad way, but in a prepare-yourself sort of way.
If you’ve been following our social media and blog posts recently you might notice that we’ve been reflecting on rough-and-tumble play and play-fighting with weapons. That’s partly driven by me! Days like today are the reason that I’ve been wanting to learn more about this. I’ve spent hours reading journal articles and research trying to get better informed about how to relate to this sort of play, because every now and then I get a group where, no matter how much we might try to redirect their focus elsewhere, the vast majority of kids get completely engrossed in battle play.
Even though we had the fire going in the morning and most of them had a go fire-striking and making damper, mostly they were focused on playing war with each other. They went stick hunting and built forts and then created a game of hunters vs the queen which they could have happily played all day. I don’t want to offend anybody by enforcing gender stereotypes, I only speak from my observations, but when there’s a group made up of majority boys aged 8-12 years old, I know there’s a good chance I’ll witness some battle play. In this group, there were two girls and the rest were boys, two younger ones who came with their dads, but mostly they fell into this age group. The ringleaders quickly emerged, and today some of the riskiest play was led by an 11-year-old girl, who proclaimed herself the queen and challenged the hunters to kill her.
It all sounds harsh writing it down, but doing the research has helped me see that this is all play, and kids need safe spaces like this in which to discharge pent-up energy. Yes, there were moments when things got a bit tense, and I spent the afternoon monitoring their play in a subtle way, supporting the kids who thought it was a bit intense and didn’t want to be involved, and making sure that those that were involved were respectful towards each other. I think knowing some more about the developmental value of rough play helped me to feel more comfortable with it, even though I’ll admit I prefer it when the games are a bit less aggressive.
There’s a saying, ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’, and I think it applies here (excuse the pun). If we narrow our focus to the actions, attitudes and behaviours that we see kids embodying during battle play, then we could have a field day saying it’s disrespectful, they shouldn’t treat friends like that, they shouldn’t risk poking each other with sticks.
But when I zoom out, I see that these kids were fully present, deeply connected to themselves and each other, immersed in a world they’d dreamt up together, moving energy through their bodies, breathing fresh air, testing their boundaries, and making the most of the opportunity to do things that adults normally restrict them from doing.
Here's the other thing – at the end of the day, when we’d changed out of our muddy clothes and gathered in basecamp with our weapons and creations, most of the kids thought the war was the best part of the day. They were grateful for the playfighting and for having worthy adversaries. When they were working as a team to get the queen, they felt like they belonged to something bigger than themselves. The game was completely child-led and they’d spent most of the day immersed in imaginative play and they were very, very happy. So really, how I feel about it is irrelevant, because today they had the chance to be themselves unashamedly, to let their wildest and most feral instincts out to play, and I have no doubt that they will treasure that feeling for a long time to come.
Wednesday
City Makers - Loose Parts Workshop, Maroochydore
This was our first sold out City Makers workshop of the holidays and I was keen for it! It’s really fun to see what the kids create out of old bits and pieces, and I’m always amazed at the stories they weave around their creations. I met Eddie the Robot, saw a royal procession passing in a horse and carriage, and was privileged to be invited into some epic cubbies. The magic of cardboard boxes!
Thursday
Morning: Bows and Arrows
Brrr, it was a chilly start to the day. It felt properly wintry in the forest this morning. Today our team consisted of Ash, Izzy and Angela, who is such an asset to our crew having run her own forest kindy before; she brings a range of skills to the forest and we love having her. For our bows and arrows session we are joined by mostly new faces, only a handful of kids have been before, so that means that most of the group are using whittling knives for the first time and they are keen! It got a little hectic when I’d finished the safety briefing because everyone wanted to do everything right away, which was lovely because they were so excited, but it also meant we had to have eyes in the back of our head and we were fielding requests from all directions. Luckily, we had lots of parents who stayed for the session and we all found our groove eventually.
Like I said, I love how enthusiastic kids are in the holiday sessions. During term, once the kids have got a sense of what our term programs look like they do a lot more free play, and their focus turns to friendships and collaborative projects. They still whittle, use tools, and do fire-striking, but they know those activities will be available to them week after week, so there’s not the same urgency to get it all done in three hours. During this bows and arrows session every child made something, several somethings, and then they practiced their archery at an ochre target that we drew on a tree.
We had some younger ones in this session, children under seven years old, so some of them started out with peelers to get the hang of the movement before using the sharper whittling knives. One friend was determined to whittle on his own and got a couple of cuts on his finger, but these were minor and we got him fixed up with bandaids. We spoke with some other kids about how sometimes these experiences help us to learn respect for the blade, and I’m honest with them about how I’ve cut myself with the whittling knife before as well. After that, I learnt to wear a protective glove when cutting notches, and I have a greater respect for how sharp the knives are, and the kids agreed they felt the same way.
Afternoon: Fire-striking and sweet treats
This afternoon I decided it was a good opportunity for me to step back and delegate to my team mates, and allow them to learn by doing. There’s always something to do in the forest but experience has taught me how to manage the fire so it has good coals for cooking damper, the importance of having enough kindling to keep the Kelly kettle alight so the water can boil, and the most difficult thing – how to make gluten free damper that isn’t a disaster, because it’s much stickier than regular flour! At the same time, I was allowed to make mistakes and that’s how I learned, so I realised I had to create the space for my colleagues to have those experiences as well. So Izzy was the fire guardian for the afternoon and Ash and Angela coordinated damper, and they did a great job. I floated, supervising the creek play, chatting with parents who were interested in coming along to our term programs, and then weighing in on the debate of jam vs honey.
While we sat around the fire waiting for our damper to cook, I invited the children to share jokes, riddles and stories, which is one of my favourite things to do. I love the jokes kids share, some are ridiculous and some are really clever, and sometimes I’m blown away by how they’ve memorised riddles and stories.
Yarning here by the fire, cooking food on a stick, watching the yellow leaves fall from the forest canopy, I think there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
Friday
Admin
Today I’m at my computer, writing this blog about all the wonderful things that happened this week. I’m also planning ahead for the term programs that are about to start and coordinating repairs to our Wildlings wagon which needs some love from Kurt, who’s got the mechanical know-how to repair the faulty bearing. I’ve designed some social media posts and once this diary entry is done, I’ll post it on the website and design the graphics for the email newsletter. Then this will land in your inbox, and I will run myself a hot bath.
School holidays are busy but rewarding, and it wouldn’t be possible without you, whoever you are, here supporting this wild business. I can’t sign off this diary entry without acknowledging all the parents and guardians who send their kids along to our programs – THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. We literally couldn’t do what we do without you.
Thank you for prioritising nature and risky play for your children, thank you for the hard work that you do to send your kids to these programs, thank you for raising such incredible humans and bringing them to the forest so we can play and explore together. Personally, I am deeply grateful and in awe of you. I am not a parent myself, so it’s extra special for me to spend these precious days alongside your children, soaking up the magic of nature. They give me so much hope, and I feel so privileged to be in a position to facilitate new experiences for them. I hope that you’ll come back and visit us in the forest again sometime soon.
Until next time, Stay Wild!
Ellen x
We hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into the diary of a playworker.
If you’re curious about seeing our playworkers in action, or if you’re feeling like you need a little encouragement and support on your journey with risky play, come along to one of our forest school programs and join a community of like-minded families putting the dirt back into childhood. Spaces are available in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast here https://www.wildlingsforestschool.com/bookings.
Written by Ellen Nesbitt. Ellen is a nature play advocate and creative writer with a passion for helping families connect with the outdoors. She is dedicated to exploring ways to nurture children's creativity, independence, wellbeing and love for nature.