Beech Class started their session at Forest School today by sitting around the fire circle: we recapped on the ways to be safe while having a fire. Some children chose to stay and practice their fire lighting skills. They did this by striking a flint and steel to create a spark that would then light a piece of cotton wool, this was rather tricky but a few of the children managed to get a flame. Unfortunately our fire didn’t take and as a class we talked about why the fire was unsuccessful “the wood is wet” and the wood needed to be dry to be able to burn.
There was lots of bug hunting happening and the children found all sorts of creatures hiding under the logs. One Woodlouse that was found was given the name Fred and they even found a few newts. Using bug catchers to collect them. They were then able to look at an ID sheet to help them to identify what they had found “I have a Devils Coachman”.
Some children chose to practice their tool skills. They started by using some secateurs to cut some Hazel, then using a peeler they stripped off all the bark. They then used wool to decorate their sticks by wrapping it round one end before tying it off, some children choosing to try learning a new know called the whipping knot.
We finished our session today with a game or spirit of the forest. The children had to make it from one side of the forest to the other without being caught by the spirit, if they were caught they then became a tree and part of the forest.
