We have had such a wonderful week! We started off at our ‘river camp’. We knew that with the wet weather over the past few days and scheduled rain still to come, that our favourite mud site would be perfectly prepared for some brilliant wet weather fun!
We built up our coordination skills by carefully running down the banks of the ‘river’ and up again the other side, zigging and zagging through the muddy puddles. Once exhausted, we lay down and rolled down the banks enjoying the sensation of the water and mud squelching as we used our tummy muscles to stay flat and firm like a tree trunk! Finally, when all the rolling and running was done, we sat in the muddy puddles and created amazing tales using our imaginations to incorporate the mud into each and every story. There were cars with super engines trying to escape the quick mud, chocolate mud pies to be sold at the ice-cream and cake shop, building bridges that crossed the mud to re-enact the Three Billy Goats Gruff and being archaeologists searching for the bones of previously undiscovered dinosaurs!
What tales we can tell and what amazing descriptions we can create… there are many future authors in our midst!
One of our favourite activities this week was the GIANT swing! Our educators assembled the swing so that it swung out over the ditch and made us feel so high off the ground! We practiced our counting using the timer to count backwards as each person had their turn. We discussed being fair and how to make sure everyone had a go on the swing, deciding that a list was the best way to keep track of who was next. We even had a go at using the timer ourselves, practicing the starting and stopping of the stopwatch and counting down the last few seconds.
The gardens have really helped us with our knowledge and understanding of the world this week. We have observed the changing season as the plants have started to shed their seeds through wind dispersal, the blossoms have attracted the pollinators and the forest has become completely green! We have studied the nesting patterns and fledging of some of our favourite water birds on the lake and have been enthralled by the mating calls of the birds that surround us in the forest. The wet weather has meant that we have been able to find mini beasts under rocks and logs, in between roots and crawling across the ground. We loved using the magnifying glasses to study them (and each other) while learning about convex and concave lenses and how they help us see!
All of this, along with our usual reading, writing, drawing, painting, climbing, exploring, singing and playing! We hope you all have a restful and wonderful long weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Chiswick