Our Week in the Forest...
Walking into the forest this week has been a delight on the senses! The forest has come alive with new shades of red, yellow and orange and the children were exited as they spotted the leaves glowing above their heads. The birds have been singing loudly as we pass through the woods and our Little Forest Folk-ers have been showing their ability to identify different birds with astounding accuracy. We spotted robins, seagulls, blackbirds, ducks, a wren, a songthrush and an egret!
This week the children have used the leaves in new and exciting ways! We spent one afternoon collecting leaves and sticks to make boats. The children then delicately threaded the leaves onto the sticks taking extra care not to break the leaves. Once built, we set the boats sailing across the pond and watched as they moved through the water. The children were keen to make lots of different boats, testing out different leaves and sticks. This sparked an investigation into the best combination to make a boat that could catch the wind and sail the furthest. Some of the boats sunk and there was lots of discussion about what made the them float or sink. This ended with us coming to the conclusion that surface area, weight and density all had a part to play.
Another day saw the children use leaves to create their own special mobiles. They carefully prised open gaps in cord and threaded some leaves into them. Some decorated the leaves by painting them and twisting them into different shapes. We then hung the mobiles up in the forest to make a special display where people could come and admire them. As the cord ran out the children decided to find larger leaves to use as their own natural canvas. They created beautiful paintings by exploring colour, form and shape in minute detail, using little twigs as paintbrushes.
Creativity is always buzzing around the camp as the children engage their imaginations and explore their own ideas with confidence through wonderful role-play games. One day saw the children create their own double decker bus. They took turns to drive the bus to different destinations until they got a flat tyre. The children got sticks and worked as a team to fix the bus. First they pumped up all the tyres, then they started to change the bus into a racing car and painted it racing red. Once finished the children drove the car to their own houses and took each other on grand tours of their playrooms, bedrooms and kitchens!
Another day saw the children create their own cake shop! The only flavour sold was rainbow cake! The children collected different natural materials from around the forest and mixed them up in pots and pans. They were careful to find lots of different coloured leaves to make the rainbows! Customers then came up using sticks to purchase cakes and took them back to their dens to eat with their families!
We all can’t wait for more Autumn fun next week! Have a lovely weekend.
Little Forest Folk
Barnes