Due to the recent torrential rain and its effect on the Forest School area, Oaks Class walked up to the Upper Dicker Park this afternoon for their Forest School session.
On the way each of the children had a stick, which they used to collect fallen leaves. They had to try to find as many different leaves as they could to make a leaf kebab.
The whole class explored the playground together. They showed great confidence and personal challenge trying to climb from one end of the climbing structure to the other without touching the ground. There were some great acrobatics, along with problem solving, when working out how to manoeuvre themselves through and over areas they found tricky.
Some of the class went on the see saw together, shifting their collective weight from one side to the other and even trying to balance in the middle of it.
We put up a balancing rope between some of the trees in the wooded area and the children had a go at taking physical risks and challenges by walking along it. Some of them used each other to steady themselves and some used sticks to help them balance along the length of the rope.
Some children made up their own games and enjoyed playing hide and seek in the wooded area.
There were lots of accessible climbing trees, and it was great to see the individual capabilities of the children with their climbing. Also to hear how they felt by being up high and the change in perspective it gave them.
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, 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.
Oaks ended their session on the playground, with an energetic game of ‘fox and rabbit’. Then they thought about the activities and wrote a fact and an opinion about the things they had enjoyed and achieved during the afternoon.
“I liked playing hide and seek with my friends”
“I liked hanging upside down on the climbing frame”
“We went to the park for Forest School this afternoon and I liked balancing on the ropes”
“I didn’t like the rain…the wooded area was like a huge umbrella sheltering us from the rain”
“We went to the woods at the park…I liked it when my friends swung me really high in the hammock”
“It is my birthday today…going to the park for Forest School was great”