This term, the children have been learning how to identify the poo belonging to many different animals found within the British countryside. They have done this by working together as a class to match pictures of animals with their matching poo picture. We then discussed as a class what they thought their animal would eat to match the diets with the animals’ given.
Children have also been able to make their own poo! This was done by mixing compost, flour, and water together until it was nice and sticky. They then added straw, grass, and other natural materials to recreate what they had looked at in class.
Once in the woods, the children were asked to see if there was anything that they noticed within the woodland that was different from their last visit—something that is not normally out quite yet. The children all noticed that the Bluebells had started to grow; as a group, we talked about why they may have come up early this year.
With all the rain, there has been a very good flow of water in the ditch at Forest School this term. When Cherry class arrived, they noticed that the water disappeared down a hole in the ground with two possible points where it popped back out a little further down in the woods. They mixed up a bucket of coloured water and poured it down the hole to help work out what way the water flowed. Unfortunately, the mystery continues as the coloured water never came out, meaning that there may be another exit that the class have not yet discovered.
Lilac class were joined for their Forest School session this term by the Year 5/6 class from Chiddingly. They showed them the rather muddy route they take to Forest School. Once in the woods, the two classes set to work to make the biggest dam that they could with the aim of stopping the flow of water. They did this with many lumps of wood, packing the gaps with clay-like mud to prevent too much water escaping; this method was very successful.
Before leaving the woods, the children unblocked the water’s exit hole and then weakened their dam; the water soon broke through and rushed down the ditch before disappearing down the holes. The two classes were also able to practice their fire-lighting skills, making a roaring fire ready for toasted sandwiches at lunchtime.
