First session back and all of Chestnuts were very keen to get going and explore forest school. We set off onto the field and started with a game of beetle tag followed by a woodland whisper that ended up a little muddled but the time it got to the end.
The Impact of Forest School for the children is the knowledge the children have gained from the Forest School experience.
The impact can be seen through the skills gained, tools used, art and craft activities, observations and knowledge of the fruit, plants trees in relation to the seasons and the skills involved in learning how to play Forest School games.
Using cups they collected blackberries ready to make paint. We talked about what colour they have to be that means they are ready to be picked. Chestnuts then squashed their collected berries into a paste add-ing a little water and painted some cotton, some children decided to crush charcoal into their paint to change the colour. Some blackberries were placed inside a large piece of cotton which we folded and they took it in turns so stomp on creating a beautiful picture.
Some of chestnuts worked hard in clearing some of the nettles and brambles that were growing over the paths. They put on gloves and used secateurs to clip them back.
Chestnuts used some of the natural materials they had collected to make potions and food creations in the mud kitchen.
There was a lot of great teamwork going on within Chestnuts today, helping each other to find and pick blackberries, balance along the slack line and when gathering materials for their potions.
Chestnuts ended their session by sitting round the fire circle and sharing what they had had enjoyed about the morning.
“Making potions”
“Playing beetle tag”
“Picking blackberries”