On the way to the woods the Hedgehogs class looked out for birds and commented on some of the features of the woodland which might be animal habitats. They spotted bat boxes and talked about how bats hang on upside down when they are sleeping. They noticed some bird boxes and nests and listened out for birds in the trees.
Hedgehogs developed their session by talking about the story they have been reading in class this week-‘The Three Little Pigs’. We talked about the different materials which the houses were made of and how, why and if they were good materials for house building.
The children then had a go at using straw, sticks and clay to explore and create with. Some children made a ‘soft play area’ for the three little pigs. Some made a woodland garden with trees and plants and there was lots of creative clay making in pairs and groups.
There was time for the children to have a go on the slack line; carefully balancing along the line with the help of a guiding rope. It was great to see the children’s risk taking and how in such a short space of time, that their confidence in climbing and balancing grew.
The children explored freely in the woodland. There was lots more sensory exploration of the clay, starting with digging it out of the ground. The Hedgehogs had buckets, spades and forks to dig with and were really observant, noticing the difference between the mud and the orangey coloured clay below.
The children found an animal hole, with a large pile of clay around it and enjoyed digging and exploring and making up imaginary stories about what might live in the hole and the woods.
The Hedgehog class ended their session by each talking to each other about what they had enjoyed about the session.
“I really liked the slack line, it is really fun”
“The hammock is really nice, I like swinging and looking at the trees”
“I really like making my fairy village garden it had lots of plants”
“I liked digging in the hole, and there was a root we were trying to get out, and we saw a spider in the hole, it might have been a poisonous one”
“I liked looking in the holes, I think there might be a mouse living in there”
There was time to all climb up on the dinosaur tree on the way back to school. Well done Hedgehogs class and again a huge thank you to the parent volunteers who came and supported the children so fantastically.
