Hello Parents & Carers,
Welcome back to the Forest School Blog …
Last week at Oxford Road the toddlers and preschoolers enjoyed partaking in an array of activities and we were all pleasantly surprised to have had a delivery of fresh wood chips in the Forest School area. A lot of the children’s play stemmed from their curiosity of the fresh ochre coloured bark. There was plenty of digging, transporting in the wheelbarrow, kitchen role play (making soups and other Forest School delicacies) and climbing the willow arch. It is great to see the children building resilience in the winter months and enjoying play opportunities in the darker colder environment. It has been a beautiful experience to see them find joy in the smallest of things and appreciating outdoor spaces. The children were also able to recall the names of familiar birds that they have been introduced to and even identify them by picture. One particularly fun activity we did was to try and catch the rain droplets on our tongues. They described them as “wet and cold”.
At Norfolk Road the children have been exploring making their own mini ponds and rivers using water from the water butt and connecting tubes and pipes together down slopes. We used some sticks to make our own mini fencing; weaving small willow branches in between. The children have been learning how to keep the main pond clean and have been watching me do so with the net each week. We have been teaching them to not throw their toys in the pond, albeit fun to see the splashes, so that we can create a habitable environment for creatures to live in. The children have also been enjoying tree climbing more and more and this featured a lot in this week’s sessions, both for toddlers and preschoolers.
At Harborne Road the children had campfires last week as the weather was particularly chilly. They all really enjoyed marvelling at the movement of the flames, whilst seated on their stumps, we discussed what they could smell and see and recapped fire safety; they particularly enjoy hearing the sizzling crackling sound of the fire being put out and plumes of smoke emanating from the fire pit once water is poured over the firewood. After our campfires the children were climbing on the large evergreen branch we have on ground level, making bridges with planks of wood, mark making with chalk and playing with their toy insects.
Another gentle reminder … The weather has been significantly cold and temperatures are dropping very low, it is imperative that all children have waterproofs, coats, gloves and hats, especially on Forest School days to ensure that they are safe and can enjoy their sessions outdoors.
Oxford Road: digging wood chips, transporting objects in the wheelbarrow, kitchen role play, climbing willow arch, looking out for and identifying birds and exploring rain.
Norfolk Road: making mini ponds and rivers, tree climbing, transporting objects and using the wheelbarrow and rakes.
Harborne Road: campfires, playing with toy insects, waterplay, balancing and climbing and mark making.
