Transitions and Thresholds

As forest school leaders we are part of many kinds of transitions and thresholds with those we work with. This workshop will explore how having the curiosity to notice, and courage to mark these events can make a substantial difference to these children, young people or adults in our settings. A transition, in this context, could be when a child loses their first tooth, completes a tricky task, moves to a new class, or has friendship changes. Or when a young person talks about a challenging or wonderful thing in their life that has not yet been acknowledged- such as a relationship change, or courageously moves through a fear. As facilitators we want to actively support their human journeys of growth and be-coming through practices like deep listening, reflecting what we hear and/or simple ceremonial marking. We will: Explore our existing experiences of thresholds and transitions; discuss how we notice these using our senses; learn ways to reflect what we see and hear; find what kinds of small (and big!) ceremony markings can work in our settings. Diving deeper we will practise by taking a walk alone, and bringing back a story of a threshold crossed. We will draw upon the practices of rites-of-passage, the work of the School of Lost Borders and recent research.