Willow Forest School

The last session of Forest School of the year brings a time of reflection and the whole of Willow Class thought about their Forest School experience and its IMPACT on them this year.

We broke the reflections down into different areas.

What Impact has Forest School had on:

YOU – Has forest school affected how you feel about yourself and your well-being? If so, how?

“I feel happy and calm”

NATURE – Has forest school affected how you feel about nature? If so, how?

“Have learned there are so many plants of most of the colours of the rainbow”

LEARNING – What skills did you learn or develop this year at Forest School?

“I learned how to balance on the slack line”
“I have learned about plants and flowers and which ones are ok to touch and eat and which ones are not”
“I have learned how to catch crickets”
“I have learned how to make a fire”
What activities did you enjoy most or would like to do more of?
“I like the slack line and the hammock”
“I like the games we play- especially the one where we hide in the grass- Owl Eyes”
“I like making dams in the stream”
“I like tapping sticks and singing the song”
What did you like about the woodland space and Forest School environments?
“I love the stream…playing in it, climbing over it and damming it with wood and clay”

On the croft, the children climbed on the low hung branches of the Wellingtonia- ‘Welly’ tree and saw the lines being painted for the track for tomorrow’s sports day.

Willow Class played a game of ‘Owl eyes’, where they had to hide in the reeds in the meadow without being seen. Whilst hiding, the children noticed that there were many crickets in the meadow. They had a go at catching some and were surprised to see how many of them were jumping all over their bags when they put them down to play their games.

With double sided tape on card, the children collected samples of wildflowers and plants, they tried to find the full spectrum of the colours of the rainbow. They talked about the fact they found lots of yellows, greens and whites, but not as many blue and purple coloured plants as they had seen in the springtime.

We took a jar of cream to try to create butter with today. The children talked about the different states of matter- liquid turning to solid and then took it in turns to shake the jar furiously throughout the afternoon and in the end it changed to make butter, which they tasted with crackers. Delicious!