On the way to the woods the class spent time observing which animals had made footprints in the mud along the track. They spotted some holes, which they thought could be badgers dens and some smaller ones which they speculated could be mice or rabbit homes.
Then the class had a go at learning how to identify different animals from their footprints by counting their toes. Badgers – 5, foxes -4, deer- 2. They used flour, sieves and stencils to create their own animal foot prints on the woodland floor.
The class were great at spotting interesting features of their environment on the walk to the woods. They found lots of nature treasure- oak wasp galls, a birds egg, lichen, moss, crab apples, acorns which were pink and sprouting and lots of mud!
Cherry Class are thinking about the ‘Great Fire of London’ as their learning journey this term, so today they watched how a real fire spreads. In the woods today they watched as some sparks made a fire and observed it spread quickly on cardboard boxes, as it did in London in 1666. They talked about fire safety and what a fire needs to burn; fuel, spark, air.
They discussed the materials and their properties that the houses were built with, how they were so close together and how this led to the spread of the fire. They watched as we used some water to extinguish the fire completely at the end.
Some of the children then had a go at using the fire strikers to try to create sparks independently. It took a lot of determination and perseverance to succeed, so it was great to see such dedication from the children.
After their great fire Cherry Class set off exploring the woods in the drizzle.
Some children took to the stream, where there was much excitement at the flow of the river due to the recent rain. They looked at where the water flowed and how it had blocked up a hole in the floor of the stream. They talked about how deep it was and used sticks to measure how deep it was before stepping in.
There was enjoyment on the swing and taking it in turns to push and wait for each other to have a go.
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, tools used, art and craft activities, observations and knowledge of the fruit, plants trees in relation to the seasons and the skills involved in learning how to play Forest School games.
Cherry Class shared some of what they had enjoyed about their afternoon.
“… fire lighting… I made 2 sparks!, digging in the stream, crossing the stream, the flour footprints, swinging on the swing- that is my absolute favourite…”
A huge thank you to the parent volunteers who came and supported the children so brilliantly despite the awful January weather!
