Our Week in the Forest...
The week started with a very chilly day at Kew Gardens. Rugged up nice and warm we ventured out into the cold snow-covered park. To our great delight we stumbled upon a water feature which had frozen overnight into the most spectacular of sights. Icicles hung down and we were able to break a few off to examine up close. They came in many different shapes and sizes! We even found a daffodil that had been frozen into the ice around the water feature. With the Orchid festival finished we were able to venture back inside the less busy Princess of Wales conservatory where we spent a very long time calmly watching the fish swim back and forth. We admired the catfish who lay on the bottom of the pond and observed his extremely long whiskers until he swam up towards us opening his mouth wide. What a sight! We visited the Orchid room and compared the different varieties and colours of Orchids. We also located and learnt about the smelliest tree. We hypothesised about what the flowers of the smelliest tree smelt like. We didn’t think it could smell as bad as a nappy but who knows.
The forest has been filled with gold coins this week and the children have been busy seeking them out as the hiding places have become more and more challenging. With one gold coin left overnight in the forest the children came in on Thursday morning with it still on their minds. After some searching it was spied in the holly bush and was knocked down with a stick. Then the children were off, asking for the gold coins to be hid all over again. Some of the children have proven to be super treasure hunters! Seeking gold coins also gave us the opportunity to play the ‘hotter, colder’ game as the children stepped closer to and further away from the hidden golden coins.
With some nice weather in the later half of the week we set off on some adventure walks to admire the changing of the seasons. We spied a heron down by the lake and were able to watch it from the fence. The coot’s nest has been finished and it looks like the nesting season has already begun. Bird song is frequently heard at snack time and we have been busy trying to identify the different birds we can see and hear. We found a feather in the forest and the children were able to identify it as belonging to a ring-necked parakeet due to the distinct green colour. Meanwhile Mr Robin, who has been with us all through the winter, continues to flitter about at snack time awaiting for the crumbs we leave behind. We are spying daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells and crocuses everywhere! Fallen camellia flowers were also eagerly collected this week and it was observed that the dark pink flowers had a stronger smell than the light pink ones. Interesting.
Little Forest Folk
Chiswick