We headed out to start our session with a game of beetle tag. Four of the children were birds, catching the other children and turning them into little beetles wiggling on their backs. The little birds tried very hard to catch all the beetles but there were too many.
Once we were down in Forest School we had a quick refresh on how to keep ourselves safe. Mr Lulham was told off by the children for walking through the fire circle, they then demonstrated how to move safely by the fire circle ‘round the outside’.
Some of the children worked to build the fire, starting with the bigger logs at the bottom and finishing with small twigs on the top. They then used a striker to light some cotton wool to add to the fire; with some great perseverance they were successful. They then cored many apples, sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar and wrapped them in foil. These were placed on the fire to cook. The result was very popular with many coming back for seconds – ”wow, it tastes like apple pie”.
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.
Maples worked really well together to make a tarpaulin shelter ready for it to be tested on its waterproof ability. They then hid inside their den while a bucket of water was thrown over it; they are very good at den construction, none of them got wet!
There was some great free play in the mud kitchen with all sorts of meals being prepared.
We finished the session off by sitting round the fire circle telling each other what we had enjoyed at Forest School today.
“Balancing on the slack line”
“I liked the apples”
“Building the den”