This term Willows topic is all about growing. Today the children learnt how to identify buttercups and daisies at school. We talked about the importance of not picking wild flowers and plants unless an adult had said it was safe to do so. The children talked about how some plants might sting and prickle them, how they might be poisonous and how important they are to insects.
On the way down the school field, the children played a game of ‘beetle tag’, taking it in turns to be beetles and birds to chase and tag each other.
The children collected buttercups and daisies, along with different leaves, green alkanet, forget me not, herb robert and periwinkle flowers, all from the grounds of Park Mead School. They then printing them onto fabric. They thought about where to place the leaves, folded their fabric in half and tapped carefully with hammers to print the pattern and colour from the leaves to make some lovely designs. The children then went on to cut holes in the fabric to make flags by attaching them to sticks.
We looked at how the wildflower seeds that the children had sprinkled around the site previously had developed. We then watered them, along with the trees the children planted during our last session. Some of the class spent time exploring, climbing trees and playing games with their friends. They spent lots of time in the mud kitchen cooking and had much enjoyment on the slack line and the hammock swing. What a busy afternoon, well done Willows!
At the end of the session, the children took it in turns to hold ‘Stick Man’ and share what they had enjoyed about the afternoon.
“I liked balancing on the rope….yes and swinging on the hammock”
“I liked making cheese sandwiches and coffee in the mud kitchen”
“I liked making hot chocolate in the mud kitchen, I mixed in buttercups, mud and grass with the water”
“I liked printing with leaves and making a flag…I made 2!”
“I liked watching the game of ‘beetle tag’, all the children played really well”
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.
