After making their way down to Forest School, Maples sat around the fire circle to talk about what was available for the children to explore today. While doing this, the children were given a container of cream to shake as hard as they could. We were hoping that all the shaking would make butter. This didn’t take too long and once it was ready the children had the opportunity to try the butter on a cracker. It was enjoyed by most of the class with many of them wanting more!
In small groups, some of the children used a peeler to whittle a small length of hazel. Some of the group found this a little tricky but they persevered until they had managed to remove all the bark. They were able to use the same method of peeling on one end of their stick to create a point which made a ‘pencil’. Using wool, the children added a soft holding decoration to their pencil. Then they placed some charcoal into a saucepan and crushed it into a fine powder. They add a little water to create a black paste. The pencils they had made were dipped into the paste and some beautiful pictures were drawn.
The class also enjoyed creating many yummy dishes in the mud kitchen, using a selection of grasses, leaves and of course MUD! The children were very good at taking turns as they pushed their friends on the tyre swing and practiced their balancing on the slack line. Some children chose not to hold on to the support line but instead used sticks to help themselves balance. Others chose to transport natural materials across our site to construct dens.
The Impact of Forest School for the children is the knowledge the children have gained from the Forest School experience, this 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.
