Dear Parents,
Celebrating Culture, Community & Wild Exploration
What a joyful week it has been across our Early Years Campus! From hands-on cultural learning in the classroom to meaningful local traditions beyond the school gates—and plenty of muddy, magical adventures through our Wild Explorers (Forest School) sessions—our children have been learning in the most authentic way: by doing, tasting, exploring, and wondering.
Last Week’s Highlights
Chinese Cookery Day with Lu Laoshi – Culture You Can Taste!
A huge thank you to Lu Laoshi, our wonderful parent volunteers, and our Facilities team for coming together to create such a memorable Chinese Cookery Day.
The children absolutely loved being part of the process—mixing, shaping, preparing, and (best of all!) eating the delicious Chinese food they helped create. This was more than a special event; it was a powerful learning experience that brought culture and tradition to life.
Reception Trip to the Wishing Tree (Lam Tsuen) – A Beautiful Hong Kong Tradition
On Friday, our Reception children enjoyed their annual trip to the Wishing Tree at Lam Tsuen, and what a special day it was.
This tradition is rooted in hope and community. The children learned about the custom of writing a wish, tying it to a mandarin, and then tossing it high into the branches of the ancient banyan tree—a symbolic gesture of sending your hopes upward, in the belief that a wish that reaches the tree may one day come true.
Visiting the Wishing Tree gave children a meaningful connection to Hong Kong’s cultural heritage, while also encouraging thoughtful reflection and empathy as they considered, “What do I hope for?” and “What do I wish for others?”.
Forest School & Our ‘Wild Explorers’
This week, I also wanted to share more about one of the most special parts of our Early Years experience at NAIS HK, Sai Kung: Forest School, known here as Wild Explorers.
We are incredibly fortunate to be so well positioned in Sai Kung, surrounded by natural beauty. This allows us to make the most of both our on-site outdoor learning spaces (including our Secret Garden) and our off-site sessions at Lion’s Nature Park, where children experience nature in a wider, wilder setting.
Forest School is not simply ‘outdoor play.’ It is purposeful, child-led learning that nurtures the whole child—confidence, independence, teamwork, problem-solving, and connection to the natural world. Mrs. Mertz and Ms. Lewsey have led the sessions for every year group across the campus, whilst completing their qualifications for becoming Forest School Leaders – a huge thank you to both Mrs. Mertz and Ms. Lewsey and who would have thought that so much learning and fun could come from a tree that was blown into our Nursery Garden during a Typhoon!
To watch the children and adults is so delightful, the freedom to be curious and explore, the joy of discovering something new or developing a new skill is quite magical.
Wild Explorers are full of purposeful adventure and hands-on learning. Each session begins with children stepping into nature with curious eyes—spotting patterns in leaves, listening carefully for birds and insects, noticing textures under their fingers, and following trails as they go on mini expeditions and adventure hunts.
It’s joyful, child-led exploration that builds real scientific thinking and wonder, as one child beautifully shared: “I love Forest School. It is so much fun and I like exploring!” Along the way, children also take on growing responsibility, from managing routines outdoors to making healthy choices as they help prepare and enjoy snacks— “I like the snacks, but they are healthy ones.” These moments strengthen independence and confidence in ways that feel natural and meaningful.
As the sessions unfold, children collaborate to solve real problems together—especially when building dens and shelters to keep dry in rainy weather. They plan, test ideas, adjust structures, and negotiate roles, developing early engineering skills alongside teamwork and perseverance.
Children also learn practical outdoor skills such as knot-tying, strengthening fine motor control, focus, and pride in what they can do: “I know how to tie knots—so when I go camping, I can help to put up the tent!”
Trust and communication are woven throughout Wild Explorers too, including team challenges like guided blindfolded nature walks, where children learn to listen, give clear instructions, and care for one another. A particularly memorable highlight for many is learning about fire safety and responsibility with close adult guidance— “We lit a fire with Ms. Lewsey, we helped her by collecting thin sticks to start the fire.” These experiences teach respect, patience, and calm self-control.
Adding to the sense of belonging, children take great pride in their Wild Explorer identities and special names— “We have our own Wild Explorers names—I am Evania Flower.”
Altogether, Forest School nurtures confidence, resilience, collaboration, wellbeing, physical development, and a genuine connection to the natural world. As one child summed it up perfectly: “Wild Explorers helps us to learn about nature.” Most importantly, it gives children something truly precious—a sense of wonder, a sense of capability, and a sense of connection to each other and the world around them. We can’t wait to see Wild Explorers blossom across the campus.
Looking Ahead
