Maple Class started their session by discussing the story of ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’. We talked about how the different animals had made tracks in the snow as they moved about the woodland. The children also shared that they had made tracks in the snow when it fell in December.
The class set off to the woods, looking out for any animal or foot prints along the way. They found some boot prints in the mud on the track and looked at the information sign on the Forest Way, which gave them clues about what animals might be living here.
The children commented on some of the features which might be animal habitats, noticing piles of earth dug out from badger sets and looking in the ponds and ditches for signs of life. They walked a different way to the woods, as the meadows are currently very muddy due to all of the rain over the winter.
Once in the woods, the children each found two sticks to tap out a rhythm song with. Then they learned how to identify different animals from their footprints by counting their toes. Badgers have 5, foxes have 4, and deer 2. They used flour, sieves and stencils to create their own animal foot prints on the woodland floor.
This week the children used their hands to make ‘deer ears’ to listen closely to the woodland environment. They hear some birds, “That was a crow!” As a result the children each created their own bird feeders with pine cones. They covered the cones with lard and dipped them in seeds, before choosing which tree branches they wanted to hang them from.
“I want it up there, on that thin branch”
“I would like to hang it from the holly tree”
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.
There was time to explore the woodland, play in the stream, swing on the swings and the hammock and have a go at climbing the fallen trees and wooden ladders. It was great to hear the discussions about safety as they used the hammock. They noticed that the top of the tree moved as they swung and talked about how to check it was safe.
I was great to see growing independence, curiosity and creative ideas emerging in the woodland session. Well done Maple class and a massive thanks to our brilliant volunteers who make our sessions possible by supporting the children in the woods.
