We started Forest School today by meeting a real hedgehog called Harry who had come to Park Mead to meet the children. They learnt lots of different facts about hedgehogs and were amazed when he curled up into a ball – “you can still see his nose”.
There were six bird teddies hiding in the classroom for the children to find once they were ready for Forest School. They found a robin, blackbird, jay, blue tit, goldfinch and green woodpecker. We then set off in the rain on the hunt for puddles, taking the birds with us. It wasn’t long before we found a puddle, the children walked in it slowly testing how deep it was – “I’m stuck in the mud”.
Some children chose to make toilet roll binoculars, wrapping them in string to fix the rolls together and adding string so they could wear them while looking for birds. Others chose to refill the toilet roll bird feeders that they had made before half term and re-hanging them in a tree ready for the birds to enjoy. While these were being made we looked at the bird teddies taking it in turns to listen to the sounds that the different birds make.
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.
There was a lot of water at Forest School today – “I found a waterfall”. Some of the children gathered up branches and other materials to try and stop the waterfall but the water always found a way through. One child tried using their wellie – “we need more boots”. We all placed our boots in the way to try and block the water but if flowed over the top or our wellies. The children worked as a team to try and empty the puddle that was feeding the waterfall, they did this with saucepans. They also spent a bit of time splashing their way through the rather large puddle.
The hammock was put up as a swing today, however this proved very tricky to use as the wind blew it around. The children had to chase it and jump to catch it before they could climb inside to have a swing.
There was some great free play in the mud kitchen with all sorts of creations being made. They walked around Forest School foraging through all the new vegetation that has started to grow, running back and forth with saucepans full of water to add to their cooking.
