Once Maples were ready we headed out onto the playground for a game of Keeper of the Keys. In this game, the children have to sneak in, take the keys and run back to their seat before the keeper catches them.
Once we were at the Forest School site, a group of children helped to lay the fire. To get the fire going, they used the fire lighting skills they had learnt from their previous session. The kettle was placed over the fire to boil ready for hot chocolate. Maples then took it in turns to toast a marshmallow, which was put between two biscuits ready for eating – “it’s so gooey”.
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.
The hammock was put up as a swing and the class took it in turns to climb inside and push each other.
There was some great team work when rebuilding the den in the corner of Forest School. The children worked together to push wood through the fence to create a roof.
With all the rain we have had there was a rather large puddle that needed to be explored. The class waded through it, splashed in it and also got stuck in it!
We finished the session with a woodland whisper; it got a little muddled so I think we may need to try this again.
These are some of the things that Maples class said they enjoyed about Forest School today-
“I liked the fire”
“All the water”
“S’mores”
