This term the children have been looking at all the different colours of autumn that can be spotted on the woodland floor or high up in the trees. We talked about how the leaves changing colour and why they fall off the trees. The classes also noticed that there are some trees with leaves that don’t change colour and that hold onto their leaves. They observed how the fallen leaves come in many different shapes and sizes, some of the Sweet Chestnut leaves found were as long a child’s arm! Gathering up as many different coloured leaves as they could find the children were able to use what they had gathered to make themselves a leaf crown.
As a group we have talked about how tricky it can be at this time of year for birds to find food. The children have been able to help the birds out by making bird feeders to hang up around the woods. This was done by first filling the gaps of a pine cone with lard and then rolling it in bird seed. With a piece of string the bird feeder was hung from a branch ready for a hungry bird to come along for a little snack!
Both in the woods and on the school ground the classes have been making some very creative dens. They have worked together to collect and transport all the materials needed. There were also a selection of swings made, one of them worked in a way that as you swung it lowered you down and dunked you in the mud!
The classes have been joined at Forest School by a selection of woodland teddies, a Badger, a Hedgehog and a Squirrel. These teddies have gone off with the children to explore the woods and have little homes built for them. Badger is low down on the floor and Squirrel’s home is high up in the trees.
Sycamore class have been exploring the new pipes that are in the Forest School area on the school grounds. They first tested how many children you can squeeze inside one pipe (only 3 as they are all rather tall). They then placed the two pipes together and covered the ends of the pipes with tarpaulins creating their own form of pot holing.
