Our Week in the Forest...
With another Autumnal week in full swing, the children have particularly enjoyed protecting nature’s wonders this week. This began with our nomadic Mondays where the children were eager to use the fall leaves to make a ginormous leaf pile which soon sparked conversation about who might live in this type of environment. The children suggested squirrels, insects, foxes and then upon realisation the children discussed that hedgehogs especially enjoyed cosying up in a leaf pile. We continued to build with this in mind and soon the pile became a hedgehog block of flats with the potential for a whole town of hedgehogs being able to seek comfort inside!
Tuesday bought a whole new excitement for the children as we set up at our brand-new site ready to see us into the colder weeks! The children have enjoyed exploring our new base camp and discussed who might live in this area of Putney Heath. We have become friends with the territorial robins who have not been scared away by our presence. The children have loved to watch the robins, being super silent so they were able to watch their tracks and their delicate movements without scaring them away from their home.
Some unfamiliar animals have made an appearance in Putney Heath this week as a large pack of lion cubs and their parents have made tracks amongst the evergreen and colour changing fall leaves. They then made their way to the camp where they began to cook their meal, enjoying their favourite of snakes and sausages!
Later in the week, the children turned into little environmentalists as they conducted a science experiment to determine what type of materials are safe for animals and what are not. The children began by going on a rubbish adventure to collect different type of materials and then used these to see whether or not they dissolved in water. Ruth helped the children with conducting this experiment, ensuring that we were safe during our investigation. The children concluded that plastic packaging is very bad for the animals in the sea due to its inability to dissolve in water. However, packaging made of corn starch is much safer for our environment as it dissolves in water and does not make the animals poorly!
To end the week, the children enjoyed exploring our own species as we engaged in activities and conversations involving our families and cultures. The children enjoyed creating beautiful family portraits and drawings of their cars, also drawing each other’s and guessing which was theirs. The children then made an awesome den which they then used in their family role play, creating a special bed for the baby to sleep in!
With another beautiful autumnal week behind us, we hope you all have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you all next week for some more forest adventures!
Little Forest Folk
Barnes