Forest Schools
24-4-24 Bark Rubbing We took advantage of a dry, bright day, and did some bark rubbing. We observed the bark patterns on different tree types. Some were rough, some smooth, some had ribs and others were dotty! We also wrapped our arms around the trees to get up close to nature.
17-4-24 Plant identification It was the first session for this group so we began by identifying any plants that could spoil our session. We looked at nettles and brambles, talking about what their features are, and how they scratch or sting to protect themselves.
10-4-2024 Rainy Day Fun Yet another wet day! This time, a little too wet to go to the wooded area, so, we explored our reception area. We looked at how the heavy rain had flooded some of the ground and had great fun wading through it in our wellies! We made sure we had plenty of time to get back indoors and changed into our dry clothes. Thank you parents for proving your child with spares - it means we can thoroughly enjoy the conditions.
13-3-24 Little Pig's Den - our stick den was looking like it needed a bit attention so we re-built it in the style of the Three Little Pigs!
5-3-2024 Bridge Building We took inspiration from our weekly story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff and made a bridge. We carried over a selection of construction materials and used objects from the woodland to create a bridge strong enough to walk across. Then we were able to pretend to be characters from the story. We were also blessed with a beautiful, sunny March day!
27-2-2024 - Woodland vocab We had two focus words and hunted for natural objects in the forest school area that matched that description.
20-2-2024 - Forest School Agreement and Plant Identification - we began our first session with the first group of Daisies by setting out our Forest School agreement. We also ensured our future sessions are safer by identifying nettles and brambles.
16-01-2024 Snow Play! The Poppies' final session was a snow day. We had lots of fun playing with the snow, having hot chocolate with marshmallows and running around to keep warm.
9-1-24 Woodland Treasure Hunt - we read the clue cards and found all of the lost woodland animals. Running around the school grounds helped to keep us all nice and warm on this cold day.
5-12-23 Trim Trail and Tree Climbing! - We kept warm on a cold day and improved our gross motor movement on the trim trail and climbing the trees.
28-11-23 Woodland Collage - The ground was fairly dry so we drew around one of the children and created a collage using items from the woodland.
21/11/23 - Woodland Vocabulary - this week's session helped with our confidence and independence in the woodland. We looked for items that matched the vocabulary.
14-11-2023 Leaf Rainbow - The second group of Poppies started their sessions! We covered our Forest School agreement, identified some flora that could sting or scratch us and then created a rainbow using the beautiful shades of autumn leaves. We were also blessed with one of the brightest rainbows we had ever seen!
7-11-2023 - For their final session the Poppies completed a woodland treasure hunt. Unfortunately, it was very rainy at the start of the session so we were unable to use the iPad for photographs! The weather improved once we went to our free-play activities.
24-10-23 For our penultimate session, we strengthened our bodies on the trim-trail. We then went to our free-play activities which included having great fun rolling apples down the hill!
17-10-2023 - Woodland Tree Spirits Another lucky day of sunshine! We talked about the old tradition of creating Tree Spirits. We used clay that we moulded with our hands and chose suitable items from the woodland area for the details. We then went to our free play activities to improve our fine and gross motor skills, our core strength and independence.
10-10-2023 - It was a beautiful October day for our session. We drew around one of the children and hunted for things to create a woodland collage. We selected things based on their shape or colour. Then, we went to free play activities: hunting for bugs, creating new colours at the fairy potion table, and, developing our core strength and fine/gross motor skills at the woodland activity stations.
3-10-2023 We enjoyed a warm and windy autumn afternoon making our own kites! We then went to the free-play activities. We had great fun creating fairy potions, hammering nails into logs, improving our core strength on the rope swing and mastering the hammock.
Forest school began this year with a group from the Poppies class!
We started the session by covering our Forest School agreement that keeps us safe. We identified any stinging or scratching plants to look out for and we then went to our free play activities. Unfortunately rain meant that we had to stop taking photos half way through so hopefully there'll be more next time!
