Forest School vs Outdoor Camp
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By Nicole Hughes, founder of The Sunhouse Method™ and co-founder of Sunhouse Camps
If you have searched for outdoor early childhood programs in Vancouver, you have probably come across two phrases: forest school and outdoor camp. They are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. The difference matters when you are choosing where your child will spend their summer.
This article explains what each term actually means, where they overlap, and how to choose the right program for your child.
What Forest School Actually Means
Forest school is a specific educational tradition that began in Scandinavia in the mid-twentieth century and was formalized in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. The original forest school model is built around three core ideas:
- Long-term and regular. Traditional forest school is not a one-week summer program. It is a weekly practice that runs over months or years.
- Child-led. The child sets the pace and direction of learning. Adults observe and support rather than direct.
- Risk-aware, not risk-averse. Children are taught to use real tools, climb real trees, and navigate real terrain with appropriate scaffolding.
In Canada and the United States, the term forest school is now used more loosely. Some programs are faithful to the original tradition. Others use the label as marketing without the underlying practice. There is no licensing body that polices the term in British Columbia.
What Outdoor Camp Means
Outdoor camp is a broader, less specific term. It usually refers to a program where children spend most of their day outside, typically during a school break (March Break, summer, holiday weeks). Outdoor camps vary widely in quality, pedagogy, and intent. Some are essentially supervised play in a park. Others are deeply intentional educational programs that happen to run outside.
The phrase tells you the setting (outdoor) and the format (camp, meaning a short, immersive program). It does not tell you anything about the educational approach.
Where the Two Overlap
A high-quality outdoor camp can include many forest school principles: child-led play, risk-awareness, real engagement with the natural world. The opposite is also true: a forest school program can include camp-like activities. The labels are less important than the practice.
What actually matters is what the educators believe, how they are trained, and how they respond when a child is upset, struggling, or curious.
How to Tell the Difference Between Programs
Rather than getting caught on the labels, ask these questions about any outdoor program you are considering:
How structured is the day? Forest school traditions lean very unstructured. Some children thrive in this. Others, especially younger children, need more rhythm and routine. Ask for the typical day, hour by hour.
How long do educators stay with the same children? Forest school traditionally builds long-term relationships between educators and children over months. Camps often have a different educator each week. Continuity matters for younger children.
What is the approach to children’s emotions and behavior? This is the most revealing question. Some programs default to managing children. Others practice co-regulation. Some negotiate; some hold firm limits. The answer tells you what your child’s daily experience will actually be.
What is the child-to-educator ratio? Anything higher than 8:1 begins to compromise both safety and individual attention. 6:1 is the standard for genuine outdoor education with young children. Sunhouse Camps operate at 6:1, always.
Is there a documented framework or pedagogy? Many programs operate on the personality and intuition of individual educators. This works when the educator is good. It falls apart with staff turnover. A documented pedagogy means every educator delivers the same quality.
What Sunhouse Camps Are
Sunhouse Camps are seasonal outdoor day camps for children ages 4 to 7. We are not a forest school in the traditional Scandinavian sense, because we run as week-long seasonal sessions rather than year-round weekly practice. We are an outdoor pedagogy delivered in a camp format.
Every Sunhouse interaction is shaped by The Sunhouse Method™, a documented five-principle pedagogy developed by founder Nicole Hughes over twenty years of working with children. The Method takes the firm structure of traditional education and the deep emotional regard of contemporary developmental science, and it inhabits both at once.
Our approach borrows from forest school traditions:
- Children spend the entire day outside, in real natural settings (Trout Lake, Pacific Spirit Park)
- Free, child-led play is treated as essential, not as filler
- Risk is held with scaffolding, not avoided through over-protection
And from intentional educational design:
- The day has rhythm and routine
- Adults are trained to read body language and intervene before escalation
- Boundaries are firm, warm, and consistent
- Every educator is trained in the same documented framework
How to Choose for Your Child
If your child is in preschool or kindergarten and you want a year-round outdoor program with the same educator for months, a traditional forest school may be the right fit, if you can find one near you that runs continuously.
If you want an outdoor experience during school breaks (March Break, July, August) that is more than babysitting, with a documented pedagogy and trained educators, look at outdoor camps that can articulate their approach. Sunhouse Camps are one option for Vancouver families.
Either way, the label matters less than the practice. Ask the hard questions. Visit if you can. Trust your read of the educators.
Common Questions
Is Sunhouse a forest school?
Not in the traditional sense. We are an outdoor pedagogy delivered as seasonal camps. We share many practices with forest school traditions.
What ages do you serve?
Currently 4 to 7. The Sunhouse Method™ itself was developed for ages 3 to 12 and will expand to other age groups in future programs.
What if the weather is bad?
We run rain or shine. We modify only for extreme weather or poor air quality. Children come dressed for the day.
Where are you located?
Trout Lake in East Vancouver and Pacific Spirit Park on the West Side.