Willows set off in their waterproofs and wellies ready to explore the Forest School area for the first time.
Willows were shown around the site, looking at areas that are safe to explore on their own and the areas that we don’t go to without an adult. They also learnt how to be safe around the fire circle and that they should never eat or pick anything up unless an adult has said it is ok to do so.
The impact of Forest School for the children is the knowledge they 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.
Many of the children chose to create some wonderful dishes in the mud kitchen. They gathered pans of mud and acorns, which they mixed together with some water. When asked what they were making, one child replied, “I’m making soup”.
The children were very good at balancing on the slack line, holding on to the top rope and making their way to the other side. Some of the children also discovered that they could bounce themselves quite well by jumping up and down. This however made it a little tricky to stay on the slack line.
Some children chose to decorate a wooden disc using pens to create a picture. They they used a palm drill to make a hole in the wood, which they found a little tricky but really tried hard. They practiced their threading skills by pushed some wool through the hole and knotting it to make a necklace. The necklaces were then hung from a branch and the children watched them spin in the wind.
Willows ended their session by trying some jam on crackers. The jam had been made on the fire by one of the older classes. This went down very well and many of them came back for seconds.