The class started their afternoon with a game of ‘fox and rabbits’ to warm themselves up on the chilly afternoon outside. They took it in turns to chase the rabbit and try to make themselves ‘safe’ by creating pairs of children to be ‘burrows’.
The children had two challenges this after-noon. Firstly to light a fire to warm them-selves and to boil a kettle to make hot ap-ple juice for the end of the session.
The children sorted the sticks into widths and learned how to lay a fire. They then used fire strikers to create sparks to ignite cotton wool, which lit the fire. It is a tricky challenge, requir-ing motivation, persistence and quite sophisti-cated fine motor co-ordination. It was fantastic to see the perseverance and to enjoy a warm drink together as a reward for the hard work.
The second challenge for the children was to have a go at sawing a wooden willow slice to decorate. They learned to hold the wood securely for each other and how to work as a team to pull the bow saw and cut a thin slice of wood. They then used palm drills to make a hole to thread string through. This required lots of persistence and concentration and Maples showed their determination and focus with this. Having threaded the slices onto string, they set about decorating them to create necklaces and Christmas decorations.
Along with their challenges, Maples moved some more resources in the Forest School area to add to the bug hotel which was started last week.
They also spent time taking turns on the tyre swing and hammock and using seca-teurs to cut back brambles to create a den together in the overgrown part of the space.
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 and trees in relation to the seasons and the skills involved in learning how to play Forest School games.
At the end of the day the children shared what they had enjoyed and want to do next time.
“I liked lighting the fire”
“I liked swinging on the hammock”
“I liked sawing best of all”
“I liked using the cutters to cut back the brambles to make our den”
“I like the decorating”
Well done for such a productive and engaged afternoon at Forest School and for working so well together and completing your two challenges!
