We started today by having a look at pictures of different birds we may spot while at Forest School. We talked about what they look like and I asked the class to describe them to me – “they have feathers and they can fly”.
We sat around the fire circle and reminded ourselves how to keep ourselves safe around a fire. The class practiced swapping places by going round the outside of the circle. They also learnt that they shout ‘red dragon’ if someone walks into the fire circle without being asked in by the Forest School leader.
A few children stayed to help lay the fire. They learnt that you start with larger sticks at the bottom, stacking up to smaller sticks on the top and then adding a handful of wood shavings. Using a flint and steel they tried to light a piece of cotton wool to add to the fire. This can be a little tricky but with some help it was lit and added to the fire.
Once the fire was going the children took it in turns to toast a marshmallow, this was then placed between two biscuits ready to be eaten – “so yummy”.
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 gained, tools used, art and craft activities, observations and knowledge of the fruit, plants and trees in relation to the seasons and the skills involved in learning how to play Forest School games.
Some children chose to make toilet roll bird feeders. First they made holes at one end of the roll and posted a stick through, this is so the bird has something to land on. Then they covered the roll in lard and sprinkled it with seeds. The last thing to do was to make holes at the top and add string so it could be hung in a tree ready for the birds to enjoy.
There was some great independent play at Forest School today, some children choose to swing in the hammock with others adding sticks to an existing den and then climbing on top of it. Others chose to create their own pretend fires, which they pretend to light.
We finished today’s session by asking the children what they had enjoyed about their afternoon at Forest School.
