From fruit picking to forest crafts: Sheila Sim’s daughters get a taste of Japan’s ‘forest classroom’

SINGAPORE – Model-actress Sheila Sim is giving her daughters a different kind of school holiday experience by trading traditional classrooms for forests, farms and hands-on learning in Japan.

The 42-year-old Singaporean posted snippets of her Japan adventure on Instagram on June 22, showing her daughters Layla, six, and Skyla, three, taking part in outdoor activities like fruit picking, forest crafts and exploring nature.

They are attending a two-week school programme near Mount Fuji, where “the classroom is in the forest”, she added. She did not reveal the name or location of the school.

Sim showed her children getting involved in hands-on activities, from observing nature to making crafts using materials found outdoors.

According to the Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story (2025) actress, the school programme focuses on encouraging children to learn through exploration and play, rather than in a traditional classroom setting.

She said her daughters do not know Japanese, but she insisted that they learn one important phrase: “Toilet wa doko desu ka?” (Japanese for “Where is the toilet?”)

Sim, who took three months off work to spend time with her daughters, also shared that the trip was the first time the three of them were travelling without her banker husband Deon Woo, 45.

She documented the realities of travelling alone with her young children, including adjusting to a new environment, cooking for them, setting new schedules and managing the challenges that come with parenting on the road.

“I chose a half-day forest school. No kitchen, no walls, no lunch provided,” wrote Sim. “Mornings are hectic: breakfast, packed lunch, sunblock and two girls learning to dress themselves.”

Sim, who is also a certified positive psychology coach, said she and her husband signed up for the programme for their children to “build character, empathy and manners”.

“In Japan, students do not take formal academic exams until they are around 10 years old. The first three years of elementary school focus on building character, empathy and manners, rather than evaluating academic knowledge,” she wrote.

“And this is exactly why we are here. Not for the food, language, academic education – but character building, empathy and manners.

“We intentionally chose a forest school that spoke only Japanese, a language they don’t understand. Hopefully, they build some grit, resilience and get uncomfortable,” she added.

Layla, who will be starting Primary 1 in 2027, could not wait to go to school after the first day, Sim said.

Seeing her children’s excitement and happiness, the actress added that she is “grateful that they are loving it” and the experience “is all worth it”.