Willows set off in the Autumn sunshine on the hunt for as many different fallen leaves as they could find. Using an ID sheet they laid their leaf against the outline on the sheet to work out which trees the leaves belonged to. They also noticed all the different coloured leaves they found were – “look, I found a yellow and red one”.
There have been a few changes at Forest School. There is a newly cleared area to explore and a new fence around the pond which makes it much easier to watch the wildlife. While we were talking about the wildlife that may live within the pond, the class heard a big SPLASH! It turns out that Willows had disturbed a rather large frog which made a quick exit.
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.
Some of the class chose to practice their sawing skills by helping to cut some branches for the firewood pile. They worked well together to snap off all the thin twiggy bits at the tip of the branch. Then with one child lifting each end, they moved the branches onto the saw bench. Taking it in turns the children cut lengths off the branch. This can be very tricky but they worked hard and persevered until they had cut all the way through.
Using the tin that they had brought into school, the children gathered up some natural materials they thought insects might like to hide in. By placing them inside the tins they created a small bug hotel to take home and pop in their own garden. They chose to gather a selection of leaves, twigs and grass, making sure the tins were stuffed full.
