Group A
Adventure Time 12/06/24
With all the elder blossom out at the moment it seemed a pity not to do something with it. We started our Forest School session with some drink making. We set about collecting some lovely blossom, we made sure to only collect the correct flowers, none that were brown or with anything living on it. After we had four bowlfuls we went back and mushed it down with some hot water and a bit of sugar – yum yum elderflower cordial. I found it a bit sweet, maybe we should have added less sugar.
I was worried about the forecast so put up a tarp in cased we caught one of the sharp showers that we were promised. Luckily the weather cleared and we were able to put up the hammocks. We were also able to make a swing!
After our drink and snack we went on a fantastic adventure. While we were having a game of hide and seek somebody found a mysterious path with a rope along it. We followed the rope down a steep slope. Once we were all at the bottom of the slope we decided to try and find out where we could get to. It was difficult going and we made some wrong turns but after crossing the crackly sticks and the sludgy mud we all made it back to the outside classroom – who knew!
Hammer Time 05/06/2024
It was nice to be out in the sunshine today. It meant that we could explore the Forest School site more than before so we played a game of hide and seek to get used to all the different nooks and crannies you can get to. Although the area is small there seems to be a lot of good hiding places.
When we had had enough of hid and seek we all worked together to have a good clean up of our sitting area. It was surprising how much had grown in the last two weeks. We had the trowels and forks to work over the area. It looks much tidier now.
We then split into groups; one group went to climb trees and chill in the hammocks while the other group got to use tools. We used hammers to construct wooden models. I think they looked very good. After a quick break for some refreshments and a snack we swapped over groups so everyone got a turn.
There was just time for us to use the trim trail and have another game of hide and seek before we sang our farewell song and came in to get ready for lunch.
Hammocks and Hammers 22/05/24
It was lovely to welcome Reception to Forest School. We started our journey with an explore of the rabbit warrens that are throughout the back field. It was a tight squeeze for me but the children managed it easily.
We collected some extra equipment from the outside classroom and also made sure that everyone had waterproof clothes. I didn’t think we would need wellies today, luckily Ms. Morgan had said to wear wellies as it was certainly very VERY wet! A pupil had a great idea that we should have a go at making shelters. Luckily, I had already put one a big one up for us all to sit under.
When we got to the Forest School centre we made sure the area was clear of any prickly or stingy plants and then explored the area. We found that we have more than 10 different types of tree in our Forest School. We could tell as there a lot of different shaped leaves. We used these leaves to make some lovely leaf patterns by hammering the leaf through some cloth. I thought mine looked like a funny dude so added some pen to give him a face.
Whilst one group made leaf art another group went to play in the hammocks but because they were so wet we had to make some shelters over them. It can be hard to get into the hammocks as you have to sit down into them and then lift your legs up. Luckily the ground was very soft from all the rain so the worst that happened was some muddy children.
We managed to fit in some refreshments and learn a song. What a lot to fit in to one morning in the rain, fingers crossed that the weather is a bit better next time.
