Oaks started their session today with a discussion about some of the signs of Spring that they may spot in and out of the school grounds. They mentioned daffodils, bluebells and buds on the trees that have new leaves inside them. Next, a bowl was handed around with something in for the class to smell. It was something that they would have the opportunity to try later on in the session once the fire was ready.
A few of the children helped to lay and light the fire. They remembered from previous sessions that the sticks for the fire have to be stacked with larger ones at the bottom and smaller ones at the top. Then using a flint and steel they lit a piece of cotton wool, which they placed on top of the wood they had just stacked.
While waiting for the fire, the children prepared some garlic butter for everyone to try. First, they cut the wild garlic up as small as they could before adding some butter. The mixture was squashed all together to form a green buttery paste. They spread the butter onto some toast, which was enjoyed by everyone. Lots of the children liked it so much they came back for a second and third helping!
Oaks found that the den they had created against the large Oak tree in their last session had been dismantled and moved by another class. This did not bother them and they soon got stuck in moving all the materials to a different location to create themselves a new and improved base camp.
Someone found an old bird nest that had fallen from a tree. The children added some hay to fix the side of the nest, before decorating some stones to use as eggs to place inside the nest. While decorating their stones they could hear a bird singing. They
thought it was one of the bird teddies on the table in front of them, however it turned out to be a real bird that was singing in response every time the teddy bird sang.
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.
