We’ve had such an incredible week in the forest! Our Little Forest Folk-ers had so many exciting activities and games to keep them active, warm and happy whilst learning beautiful things about the world around them.
We started off our days with our amazing ‘sticky wall’ routine where children line up and one child counts everyone, so we know how many children and educators we have in the forest. The children have been really interested in numbers this week and although numeracy is embedded in almost everything we do in the forest, our wonderful educators have been exploring more challenging activities and games for our children to develop their skills and extend their learning. The children were also keen to write/trace the numbers using colourful chalk and practice the three-finger grip, which can be a bit tricky sometimes but with perseverance, our children can achieve anything.
Circle time this week was filled with interesting conversations about the different seasons and months of the year! The children could identify the traits that happen around them in the environment when there’s a change in season. They also tried to guess which season their birthday was in! Piraty came to visit the forest and the children did a fabulous job at keeping her teeth clean and showing their peers how they keep their mouth healthy every day. The children have access to the oral health kit and the zones of regulation tree cookies in the forest throughout the day. They really enjoy spending time during the day practicing with them, talking about the different colours in the zones and learning about the different feelings and emotions that fall into each zone. They learn so much about empathy with each other and how they can develop strategies which allow them to regulate their own feelings and emotions.
Climbing in the construction area is always popular in the forest, and it’s the perfect place for our children to challenge themselves physically. They are always looking for ways to improve the layout and make it just a little bit harder and fun! Piling pallets on top of each other with the support of the educators, allows them to jump higher and further. Making a slide with benches and planks is a fantastic opportunity for the children to work collaboratively as they need to move heavy pieces across the forest, as well as developing their communication and social skills. It starts with an idea, then they make a plan and then they put the plan in action. After all that hard work, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of their labour and just have fun!
In the art area this week, the children made incredible birds using cardboard, feathers, PVA glue and sticks. They also decorated tree cookies with paper, paint and pens. Our children have such incredible imagination and creativity that we wonder if we should start a gallery for prosperity!
Our little adventurers have been enjoying free play between activities as well. Imaginative play brings fantastic characters to life, and everyone wants to join in. They even made a door for Goldilocks to get inside the three bears’ house one day and spent hours trying out different logs to sit on, bowls of porridge to taste and comfy beds to sleep in.
Going on adventure walks is exciting and we always discover something new! Our children found out that inside the walled garden, there is a plant that is named after Claudia. What an honour!
Have a fantastic weekend exploring!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham