Family Outdoor Activities
Module 1: Making a Fire
Bring the Family Together to Light a Fire
Fire is at the centre of a family outdoor experience, especially if you can make the time to cook fun recipes together around the fire.
Our videos will give you inspiration and confidence, and fill you with ideas and activities to enjoy together.
We will teach you different methods of fire lighting and guide you through all the stages from setting up your space, gathering your firewood, extinguishing your fire and how to 'leave no trace' when you finish.
What's Included in the Making a Fire Online Course?
Making a Fire
- 9 video lessons on making a fire, full of tips, inspiring ideas and essential safety knowledge designed for anyone who wants to learn about fire making including key safety features, sourcing wood and how to light fires using fire steels & cotton wool
Downloadable Resources:
- 2 Risk and Benefit Assessments for Fire Making and Fire Steels - read about all the benefits and the ways professional practices keep us safe.
- A 5 page guide about Key Fire Safety Considerations explaining different types of wood, fire set ups, lighting methods and lots more, Guide to Best Wood for Campfires and a Guide to Gathering Resources & The Law
Each module includes a 'Certificate of Completion' issued by The Outdoor Teacher
The Family Outdoor Activities Course
Are you a parent looking for activities to enjoy as a family in the outdoors? This professional online course has 36 step by step Forest School inspired video lessons that mix fun and games with crafting and skills. Single modules are £29.99 +vat or save £20 when you buy the 4 module bundle
Get All 4 Modules For £99 +vat
Making a Fire Sample Lessons
Foraging Firewood
The key thing that enables success in fire-making is the preparing, gathering and sorting of resources. The ‘kindling’ – the thinnest wood you gather, needs to be as dry and thin as possible and you often need quite a lot of it!
Fire Making in a Garden
In this video we talk about how you can adapt the activities from our Making a Fire course to a garden or urban setting.
Using Fire Steels
Whilst matches or lighters can be very useful, we love to use first steels in the outdoors. Some of the great benefits of a fire steel is that they can get wet and last a very long time! The rod is made up of ferrocium which includes iron (ferrum) and cerium (rare-earth metal).
Testimonials
Katie O’Connell
Drama Teacher
"The course was great, very simple to use and really informative. The course gives individuals the confidence and clear safety guidelines to equip you to just get outdoors and enjoy nature in a fun and engaging way."
Evalynne Charmer
Paediatric & Family Hypnotherapist & Parent
“I found the content and videos very accessible, fun to watch and try out, and Marina inspires me to want to get outdoors and build a fire! Easy to follow instructions, with really helpful visual demonstrations that support the written information beautifully, with bite-sized chunks which don’t overwhelm or patronise!”
Amy Shorten
Parent & Blogger
"This course contains lots of helpful advice about safely building, lighting and putting out fires. I particularly enjoyed learning the tips for gathering firewood, and how to put out a fire without a trace. Thanks to the expert guidance, I feel more confident about safely enjoying this activity with my kids."
The Lessons
- Welcome to the Making a Fire Online Course
- About the instructor
- How can I set up a fire in a more urban space (3:12)
- Fire making in an urban space or garden (1:09)
- How to forage firewood (4:05)
- Get prepared - what do you need in a woodland? (1:40)
- Key safety considerations (3:28)
- Making a spark - how to use a fire steel (3:18)
- Making a fire with cotton wool, a fire steel and a shell (5:17)
- Look after your space and leave no trace (9:54)
- Gathering Resources: What do we need to think about and the law (1:50)
- Where can I buy or find wood for fire making? (4:52)
- Downloadable resources
- Course Feedback
What Will You Learn?
- To safely support responsibility and risk taking. This will increase your child’s confidence and sense of achievement
- To explore various types of fire making and lighting
- To safely site, build, light and manage a fire
- To learn how to safely extinguish of fire with your family or group
- To encourage environmentally supportive practice
Featured Courses
About the Instructor
Marina Robb (Bsc; PGCE; MA; Msc; Author) is Founder and Managing Director of Circle of Life Rediscovery Community Interest Company and The Outdoor Teacher Ltd, both leading organisations that aim to transform education and health through nature.
Marina is co-author of ‘Learning with Nature’ (foreword by Chris Packham), a must-have book for Forest School & Outdoor practitioners, and ‘The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy’ (foreword by David Sobel) which contains everything you need to know from theory to practice
Marina has more than 30 years experience in outdoor learning and nature connection. She provides a deep understanding of effective nature education at all levels and for a range of diverse backgrounds.
Marina is a qualified teacher (PGCE) and since 1989 has studied Environmental Education (MA), Environmental Management (BSc) and Social Research (MSc). She is a leading Forest School endorsed trainer and practitioner (UK and International). Her aim is to share her knowledge and experience with teachers and others wishing to work outside the classroom.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
If you are not happy with the course you can contact us with an explanation for a full refund within 30 days.
The Family Outdoor Activities Course
Are you a parent looking for activities to enjoy as a family in the outdoors? This professional online course has 36 step by step Forest School inspired video lessons that mix fun and games with crafting and skills. Single modules are £29.99 +vat or save £20 when you buy the 4 module bundle
Get All 4 Modules For £99 +vat
The Forest School Activities Training
Our foundation training course comes with lifetime access to over 100 step by step inspirational videos and resources. Designed for teachers and practitioners. Single modules are £49.99 +vat or save £100 when you buy the 8 module bundle
Get All 8 Modules For £295 +vat
FAQs
When does the course start?
The course starts as soon as you register. You work at your own pace and you will receive a certificate when you complete.
How long do I have access to the course?
You will have lifetime access to the course! Unlimited access to the lessons and videos for as long as you like, across all your devices.
Is my instructor qualified?
Yes, Marina Robb is a parent of 3 children and a UK Forest School Association Endorsed Trainer and has been training Forest School Leaders since 2011. She has been working with groups in nature since 1995 and you can read more here.
Can I access the course on my mobile?
Yes, the course can be accessed on all devices. If you have an iPhone, you can also download the free ‘Teachable’ app from the Apple Store and complete the course using the app, downloading any videos you like onto your device.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
If for some reason you are not happy with the course, contact us in writing within your first 30 days for a full refund. You will need to include an explanation of why you want the refund.
We don't have access to a woodland - can we do these activities in a garden, playground or park?
Yes, you can. Whether you are near a woodland or park or have an outside space or garden - all the activities can be adapted for different circumstances.
These are also great activities to do on a family camping holiday and maybe your campsite will allow fires or you may need to use a fire bowl to lift the fire off the ground.
We have run activities using fire, tools, games, wild food, crafts, swings & ropes, shelters in school yards, playgrounds and parks.
You will need permission to build a fire if you are not on your own property.
We have also taken many groups on short walks throughout the seasons to gather some plants for many activities.
Posts can be put up to replace trees, so that children can still set up various rope bridges or constructions and with a little thinking you can easily set up a rope swing and tarpaulin shelters.
Can I share my course with my colleagues or friends?
No - the license is granted for 1 user to view the contents of the course. This access must not be shared with any other person and only the named user will receive the certificate and be able to answer the assessments.
Can we purchase multiple licenses for our staff team?
Yes, please contact us for bulk purchasing discounts. We can set up the user accounts for you and send you access codes and you can pay by invoice.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes, all our courses come with a ‘Certificate of Completion’ from The Outdoor Teacher Ltd. You can view a sample certificate HERE
How can we contact you if we have a question?
Yes feel free to call or email us with any questions - our contact details are on the contact page.
Our commitment to Nature & People:
The Outdoor Teacher, alongside its sister organization Circle of Life Rediscovery CIC aim to transform health, education and family through nature.
We are whole-heartedly concerned about the safeguarding of future generations, human and non-human alike, and the growing understanding of reciprocity between humans and nature. Whilst we are advocates for all people accessing nature and its benefits, we know that this is only healthy if we prioritise the care for the natural world and address issues of equality.
The Outdoor Teacher is working towards becoming a certified B-Corp. Certified B Corps are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. We aim to be part of this community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using businesses as a force for good.
We are using Monzo Business Banking which is listed as an ethical bank: https://monzo.com/ethics.
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