Decorating our forest!
Our Little Forest Folkers have been delighted with the recent resources that our amazing parents so kindly donated to the mud kitchen! We’ve had a new member joining our Little Forest Folk family and the children have been ever so welcoming, kind and supportive. Helping with the forest school rules and inviting their new friend into their play. They have all been rejoicing with all the dandelions they find on our way to the forest, blowing the seeds and watching them fly high into the sky.
With Ben’s skills, the newest member joining our team of wonderful educators at Little Forest Folk Fulham, we have been focusing on setting up our camp with the most wonderful areas for the children to feel welcomed, inspired and challenged in a creative way. Hence, so many colourful/ muddy faces going home this week!
Mark making has been a strong focus on the robin side this week. We’ve had some impressive cutting skills using scissors, experimenting with paint using their fingers and amazing sculptures made out of mud. The children learnt about shapes and how to make them with mud. They have also used chalk to decorate logs and benches, which have transformed our forest into a joyful pallet of colours. They’ve used different techniques and experimented with different textures. For example, by rubbing chalk against a stick to make ‘snow’, mixing with water and mud to make a paste and using their hands to mix it all together.
Our magpie camp turned into a construction site at the beginning of the week as the children made plans to build a den with pallets. As a team, they worked together to build a shelf, and chose to sit their water bottles on it! All of the children had their afternoon snack in the den, chatting and reflecting about their day.
Some new buckets arrived at camp too, providing the perfect opportunity to make a pulley. Educators set the pulley up and left the children to explore and investigate how to make it go up and down. The challenge of the day was to try not to spill the water inside the bucket as it was being pulled up to the top of the tree. There were a few spillages to say the least!
During our circle time in the morning, we have been listening out for the famous sound of Pete’s tractor! During the month of April, Pete has been kindly delivering soil to fill in any holes at our site and getting the children involved in patting it down with their feet. Now, whenever we hear the noise of the tractor engine, everyone gets up to see what direction it’s going in and if he needs any help. A whole morning was gone in a flash as everyone watched intently at Pete collecting rocks and soil over our crocodile river.
The magpies have been on the side with the climbing tree this week which has been popular as ever! What has been really nice to see, is the children taking ownership of their turn taking. A group of children decided to make a poster with a list of names that showed everyone who’s turn it was...even the educators were on the list.
What’s been really apparent on the magpie team this week is just how well the children have worked together and been kind to one another. The new mud kitchen equipment has been a real hit. Everyone has wanted turns of the new bowls and tongs but the children have been negotiating really well, making sure that everyone has a part to play or is told that they can have a go once another child is finished.
Enjoy your long weekend adventuring!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham