“We see nature not as a garden but as a classroom; technology not as a screen but as a tool for making; and academic success as the natural result of a strong learning system.”Serpil Orman Okulları, Forest Primary School approach
Grades 1–4Our Lessons
Forest Hour (Earth Workshop)
From Scandinavia to England, in schools around the world where forest pedagogy (Forest School) has deep roots, the forest lesson is not an “activity”; it is the backbone of a programme that builds a child’s character, resilience and problem-solving skills. At Serpil Orman Primary School, the Forest Hour runs as an uninterrupted two-lesson block every week and is our most valuable learning space, where the living ecosystem around our campus becomes a true “school of life”.
In these lessons, held outdoors in all weathers, our children:
- Real Tools and Natural Materials: Experience, under supervision and in a way suited to their age, using basic tools such as hand saws, rope-tying techniques and pocket knives, building shelters and making structures with natural materials.
- Risk Management and Decision-Making: Gain risk-assessment skills first-hand in the field, such as sensing how much weight a branch can carry, keeping their balance on rough ground and safely testing their own physical limits.
- Applied Ecology and Field Science: Follow the turning seasons through soil temperature, lichens on tree bark and traces of water; through identifying flora and fauna, mapping the land and tracking, they work out nature’s cycles in practice rather than in theory.
- Leave No Trace and Deep Cooperation: Taking responsibility for every step they leave in nature, children internalise helping one another, patience, resilience and an unshakeable respect for nature, whether carrying a log together or building a forest set-up as a team.
The Forest Hour is the most transformative lesson of the primary years, where children step out from between four walls and put down roots in their own potential, their teammates and the soil.
Language Studies
Turkish
In Turkish lessons, students discover the richness of the language and grow into people who think, question, express themselves effectively and have strong communication skills. They acquire a reading culture at an early age and make thinking through writing a habit.
In a programme supported by interdisciplinary work, students meet original works of children's literature at every stage from kindergarten onwards; they learn the depth of the words they read and meet authors and expert guests.
English
In the Serpil Orman Okulları English programme, English is taught as a second foreign language from the kindergarten year, and students' English skills are developed up to Grade 4. The aim is to give children a love of English at an early age.
The programme is communication-based and built around themes. Over the years, children develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, grammar and vocabulary step by step. Lessons use English as a Second Language (ESL) coursebooks, storybooks, digital resources, authentic literary works and materials prepared by our teachers; activities are varied to meet children's different needs.
Mathematics
We turn mathematics from an abstract subject into a field of discovery connected with nature and real life. Our students learn the concepts of Numbers and Operations, Geometry, Measurement and Data Handling with classroom materials as well as by touching, measuring and modelling on our campus and in the forest.
Starting from their own experience, our children explain their reasoning with ease as they solve problems, and they develop a strong curiosity and lasting confidence in mathematics.
Science
Our children do not only read about science in books; they discover it by asking questions, investigating and making direct contact. Learning takes place beyond the classroom: in the research workshop, in the campus vegetable garden and in the natural ecosystem of the forest. Core scientific skills such as collecting data, analysing, synthesising and drawing conclusions are reinforced through group work, ecological projects and presentations.
Art
Music
At Serpil Orman Primary School, music is a living space of expression that is not confined to four walls and is nourished by nature’s own rhythm. Through listening activities, body percussion and rhythm work outdoors and in the forest, our children discover the sound patterns around them and create their own melodies with natural materials and instruments. With recitals, forest concerts and musical storytelling in our campus amphitheatre and on our open-air stages, every child gains stage experience and embraces music as a natural part of expressing themselves and creating together.
Visual Arts
At Serpil Orman Primary School, visual arts are not only a field of aesthetic production but a universal language in which children freely reflect their inner worlds, their curiosity and their bond with nature. In our workshops, with an environmentally minded approach that creates rather than consumes and embraces upcycling, natural materials gathered from the forest, plant-based pigments and recycled surfaces become artistic expression. Through individual and shared projects outdoors and in the workshop, our children gain cooperation, patience and aesthetic sensitivity, and with their original work they experience expressing themselves on national and international platforms.
Information Technologies and Software
Our school follows the Ministry of National Education's Information Technologies and Software curriculum (Grades 1–4). Students learn basic computer science concepts and coding, and develop logical thinking, problem solving and creativity.
Alongside the lessons, there is production-focused work based on robotics programming. Code Week, Safer Internet Day and IT Week events, together with national and international coding events and competitions, give students the chance to follow new developments, try things out and share. This work is enriched by interdisciplinary projects.
Physical Education and Play
Children learn by moving, playing and experiencing together. We link our physical education lessons with daily life and other areas of learning, and plan activities that children can join with enjoyment and energy.
Basic movement skills, simple rule-based games and team activities support children's physical development, coordination and self-confidence. Through games they learn to follow rules, wait their turn, cooperate and meet competition with a spirit of fair play.
During the year, we introduce students to athletes they can take as role models. Through panels and talks, they meet these people and draw inspiration from them.
Club Activities
Clubs are where students discover their interests and talents. Working together, taking responsibility and creating skills grow here.
At the start of the school year, the clubs are introduced to students and each student chooses a club according to their interests. The work continues throughout the school year with our teachers and expert instructors. At the end of the year, students share what they have created in exhibitions, performances and events.