Willows have been spotting birds throughout the winter and have created their own bird feeders with pine cones. They topped up the seeds on the bird feeders to continue to feed the birds.
This week Willows started using tools to create ‘log dogs’. They worked with an adult to cut some hazel into lengths with a folding saw. They were very good at helping each other by holding the wood as others sawed it to length. The children then drew faces of dogs on the wood. With support they measured string to length and were supported to tie the string onto their dogs to create a ‘log dog’. There was much enjoyment in taking their dogs for a walk and showing them all around the school. They thought about how to look after their dogs by keeping them safe, taking them for a walk, and teaching them to ‘sit’, ‘jump’ and ‘stay’.
Then the children played independently with their dogs on the playground area.
The class played a game in groups. They had to go and collect a number of items they could find, such as sticks, pine cones, leaves, grass. They came and counted them on the playground and then had a go at recoding numerals with chalk on the playground. Some children showed their phonics knowledge by writing labels and captions beside their findings.
‘3 pinecones’
‘2 sticks’
‘4 leaves’
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.