Keeping pace with the growth of BEA children and the arrival of new families in the region, we started BEAmaxi in the fall of 2021 for school-aged children. We aim to support families with homeschooled children in the region who wish to educate their children in nature.
The educational methodology is based on respect for the child’s natural curiosity and on making use of natural elements for learning. We combine nature, art and free play. We follow an outdoor education model based on forest school pedagogy.
Alongside the contents related to this approach, we also develop the contents of the Portuguese curriculum. The study methodologies in our project are based on the relationship between adults, children and nature, seeking to promote and support children’s active learning processes.
Every month we trek a route of the territory where we live, the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park. As well as exploring our mountain, we also go on two trips a year: the winter snow trek and the summer camp.
Some of the BEA maxi activities:
- Multidisciplinary projects
- Learning survival skills (identifying local flora and fauna, ecological construction, agriculture, …)
- Learning life skills (cooking, sewing, cleaning, …)
- Involvement in community projects
- Non formal education
- Excursions to forests / farms / museums…
- Free play in nature
- Arts and crafts activities with natural elements such as wood, clay, stone, cork, wool.
Some of our principles:
- Stimulating creativity
- Tapping into children’s various language skills
- Promoting emotional literacy
- Caring for all living things
- Encourage healthy eating and physical movement
- Cultivate a sense of personal and collective responsibility
- Encourage self-reliance and autonomy
- Democratic and efficient decision-making
- Inclusion and gender equality
We follow the Portuguese school calendar adopted by the municipality of Marvão and adapted to the pedagogical needs of our project.
Bosque Pirata
Every Friday, between 9am and 3pm, in Castelo de Vide, the BEA in partnership with the community project Oficina Pirata, promotes handicraft workshops open to all children in the community between 5 and 12 years old.
This space has a carpentry workshop and a pottery workshop for children. Here, every Friday, the children, apart from learning these two skills, develop many other
They visit the village, museums, the market and take part in the community pizzeria.