Our Week in the Forest...
What a windy week! We made the most of the stormy weather this week by making some amazing kites using paper and sticks. We made a cross out of the sticks and then stuck down some paper to our structure using tape and tied on some twine. The windy weather was perfect for flying our kites and we had lots of fun running in the field and trying to get our kite to catch a gust of wind. When it became too windy to play outside we did some brilliant activities in the centre. We made some amazing magic potions by cutting some long-dried grass into a big tub and mixing it all together with the water. We then made some exploding magic potions by mixing bicarbonate of soda with vinegar and food colouring. We added our mixture to lots of different containers such as a Tupperware box, a jug and a milk bottle to see which container would make the biggest explosion. We discovered that the milk bottle made the best explosion and frothed over the rim of the bottle and into the big magic potion tub.
The colder weather this week has also created the perfect environment to make some cosy fires. As well as toasting marshmallows, we also tried cooking some peppers on the fire. We cut up the peppers and then put them on sticks to toast on the flames and then served them with salt and pepper. Yummy!
There has been lots of brilliant tool work this week. We have been measuring wood with a tape measure to make four equal length pieces and then took it in turns to use the saw to cut the wood, with some children holding on to the wood to keep it steady. This is in preparation for making our wooden go-kart that we plan to create in the next few weeks. All the educators have been so impressed with how well the children are improving at using tools and they are showing some amazing coordination and control when using the saw. They all know to wait on the bench until called and follow the safety procedures really well.
Some children have also used tools to create an amazing bench with Mar for our snack circle. The children sawed four equal sized pieces of wood and then used hammers and nails to attach them to a plank of wood. The children then all said they wanted to write their names on the bench to show that it was made by them. The children were really enthusiastic about writing their names, saying, "I know how to write my name!". We discussed the initial sounds in our names and all had a go at writing out our names on the bench, experimenting with writing different letters.
One of our favourite activities this week has been digging for treasure. The soil in our vegetable patch has gotten really muddy due to the rain so has been perfect for digging using our big spade and trowel. The children were super excited to discover some pottery in the soil and this sparked an amazing Little Forest Folk archaeological dig. We found lots of interesting treasures in the garden including lots of different coloured pottery, old bits of metal and beautiful sparkly stones. The children worked really well as a team, with one child digging and another sifting through the earth to look for the treasure. Our most exciting find was parts of a white ceramic pot that we discovered fitted together! When we put two pieces of pottery together we found that the word 'Newcastle' was printed on the pottery and we also got really excited to discover the lid of the pot. We plan to add this to a special museum with some other amazing items we have found in the garden such as a plastic toy horse and part of an old china doll.
What a creative week at Barnes! We are looking forward to discovering what amazing ideas the children will have next week.
Little Forest Folk
Barnes