Today really felt like the first day of autumn. The sun was shining brightly and, although it was warm in the sunshine, there was a definite chill in the air. After the rain yesterday, the children seemed to have a real spring in their step as we made our way to Forest School. The beautiful crisp morning was a reminder that the seasons are beginning to change.
Before leaving, Cherry Class recapped our learning from last week, remembering the signs of autumn that we had noticed during our previous Forest School session. As we walked along the Forest Way, we stopped to reflect on our observations and think carefully about what had changed since last week. The children noticed that more leaves were beginning to turn, with different patches of trees starting to show beautiful shades of yellow. The woodland was not yet fully golden, but there were clear signs that autumn was beginning to establish itself. We also talked about the change in temperature and how the cooler air felt refreshing after the warmer weather we had experienced over the summer.
The children were full of energy and enthusiasm as they ran along the Forest Way, continuing to look carefully for fungi. This week we had photographs and names to help us identify some of the fungi we spotted, and the children were particularly excited to match what they found with the pictures. As we travelled through the woodland, we were treated to a very special surprise: a deer suddenly ran out in front of us and continued along the path for a little while. It was an exciting moment to be running behind a deer.
Once we arrived in the woods, we built on the learning and activities from last week. One of our main projects today was creating a hedgehog house. The children worked collaboratively to collect large tree stumps and used their mathematical thinking as they counted and considered how many more were needed to make a rectangle of ten stumps. We carefully arranged the wood into a rectangular structure, leaving a small entrance that was large enough for a hedgehog but not large enough for bigger animals such as a fox or badger to disturb the cosy nest inside.
The children then layered the inside with lots of dry, dead leaves to create a warm and comfortable space. They also investigated how long the sticks needed to be to make a suitable roof. Working together, they searched the woodland for heavy, chunky sticks and gathered enough to create a secure covering over the top of the stumps. We will now be able to observe our hedgehog house throughout the seasons, looking for signs that an animal may have decided to make it their home and noticing how the structure changes over time.
Den building for hedgehogs, inspired some of the children to attempt to build their own den for themselves using longer sticks to create a tee-pee shaped structure. This is a big project which we think will be able to be continued through the seasons.
The bramble cutting that the children had carried out last week had made a significant difference to the space available in the woodland. With more of the area cleared, there was plenty of room for the children to work and create. Some children continued to cut back brambles in other areas, while others began digging spaces to plant daffodil bulbs. We had expected the rain from yesterday to have softened the ground, but we were surprised to discover that beneath the first layer of leaves and earth, the soil was still very dry. This proved quite a challenge, but the children showed great strength and resilience as they continued digging holes deep enough for the bulbs.
During this activity, we also made a very exciting discovery: a precious bluebell bulb. The children understood that this needed to be left exactly where it was so that we could protect it and hopefully watch the beautiful bluebells emerge in spring. This gave us another opportunity to think about caring for our woodland environment and allowing nature to grow undisturbed.
There was plenty of creative exploration taking place across the site too. We continued our conker mushroom-making from last week, while some children explored the woodland in search of real fungi. We discovered a variety of different shapes and patterns, with some of the fungi reminding us of beautiful coral beneath the sea. Photographs provided inspiration for some of the children’s artwork using the treasures on the woodland ground. The photos gave them ideas whilst allowing them to develop their own creations. We saw wonderful stick animals, including chameleons and caterpillars. The children were particularly good at talking about their creations, explaining how they had constructed them and what different elements represented.
We finished our session with a woodland whisper. Sitting together in a circle, we whispered a word from one person to the next, wondering whether the original word would make it all the way around the circle unchanged. It was a great way to finish our time together and encouraged the children to listen carefully to one another.
Our journey back was just as energetic as our walk to the woodland, with many children continuing to run along the Forest Way. We also demonstrated excellent listening and awareness of others. When we heard someone call “pedal power”, we stood safely to one side to allow cyclists to pass. We were also lucky enough to encounter some “horse power” when a beautiful horse came along the path. The children stood well away from the horse and stayed very quiet and still so that we did not frighten or spook it. They were excellent listeners and showed just how well they can respond to instructions.
Overall, we had another fantastic Forest School session. We were thrilled by the beautiful autumn sunshine, excited by our wildlife encounters and incredibly impressed by the children’s energy, creativity and resilience.
As we look ahead to Term 2, we are excited to continue building on our learning, watching the woodland change as autumn progresses into winter and, most importantly, checking our hedgehog house to see whether anyone has decided to move into our cosy new home!