Our Week in the Forest...
We have had a very creative week in the forest full of musicians, dancers, story tellers and even painters! Our Little Forest Folk-ers have shown off their amazing talents every day, engaging in new activities of their choice.
One afternoon, they spontaneously formed a little band and started rapping their own songs! Other friends quickly joined in with their special instruments made out of pots and pans and they started drumming to the rhythm. More children started to join in by creating their own little dance and they were excited when educators also joined in! Later on, Morwenna was teaching us new songs, playing them on the guitar which inspired the children to practice their own skills playing the ukulele!
On Tuesday, we had an extra cooking activity to celebrate Pancake Day. Children decorated their pancakes and practised squeezing the lemons. Some of them were even brave enough to taste it! The next day some of our children shared with us what kind of pancakes they had at home, so we talked about the most delicious toppings you could have; jam, strawberries and even marshmallows! We then went on to discuss what topping would be most disgusting and they thought that mud, wiggly worms and smelly socks would be the worst, which we all agreed with. The children decided to create their own big pancake in the forest. A group of friends worked together to mix the mud, adding it to the pan and then sprinkling it with pine needles, little berries and twigs. Lots of fine motor skills were being practiced and although it was a muddy pancake, everyone agreed, it looked delicious! Even our story telling that day was pancake inspired. It involved a robot, giraffe, super hero and a monster who ate all their pancakes in Spain! Children’s imaginations are just wonderful!
We got creative with an activity where the children used twine. They came up with their own projects and ideas, making crowns, fishing rods and the ever-popular obstacle course with laser beams. They practiced cutting, measuring and tying knots. After finding their special treasures in the wood, some children wrapped them in leaves and used the twine to secure the parcel. They needed only minimal help from the educators and they were persevering even if the twine was a bit tricky and tangle-y.
We observed that our tool work last week had a very big impact on our Little Forest Folk-ers. During their role play, groups of children found a big log and a smaller stick, and they played, pretending to cut the log with a bow saw! It was fascinating to observe how they all remembered and reminded each other about the right position and safety rules. One child played the role of an educator and would not allow anyone to hold the “bow saw” until they had their other hand behind their back! They were taking turns wonderfully, pretending they were cutting the wheels for their cars.
We had a variety of different weather this week, which inspired our Little Forest Folk-ers creativity! One day, after a big rainfall, they decided that our garden fence needed a new coat of paint! They used big brushes and lots of fresh mud to paint it, working together to cover as much as they could! On sunnier days, children continued to enjoy different drawing and writing activities with chalk. They talked about the different colours and shared their drawings with each other. One child even drew a circle of life! And this is how the educators discovered they still have a lot to learn about the world…
We cannot wait to see what next week brings and we hope you all have a lovely weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Barnes