Since the hour went back this weekend, we have really felt the shift into winter. Luckily, we had our delivery of fleecy waterproofs to keep everyone cosy, and we have had a great giggle as the children redecorated their pale blue and yellow outfits completely brown as they splashed, wriggled, and slid about in the mud. One child, who was busily stirring a large pot in the mud kitchen, gleefully announced, "I'm going to make a mess!". We've kept warm by staying active and energetic, helped along by trips to the adventure playground. The children clambered up to the tops of the tallest castles, climbed along a whole series of London Bridges, and simply enjoyed the surge of speed as they ran down the small hill. They wanted to do this again and again, and soon there were lots of rosy cheeked children (and one triceratops) running around and around a race car track!
The shining sun has highlighted the wonderful colours of the changing leaves, and their flame like colours have been particularly fitting for this week's celebrations of Diwali and Bonfire Night. The children have marvelled at all the different colours and shapes, and we have enjoyed taking different routes on our adventure walks to collect a wide variety of leaves. Always observant, our children have instigated all sorts of conversations about why the leaves fall, the differences between the seasons, and the changes in the weather, looking out for signs in the sky. We have had plenty to talk about as we wander past all sorts of fauna, in particular unusual looking fungi and some new winter berries. The newer children are learning fast as the more experienced Forest Folk help teach them the “No picking, no licking” rule.
With the children showing so much interest in the fallen leaves, we have gathered bulging armfuls to take back to our camp to use in our crafts. The huge variety of colours have been perfect for making Diwali decorations, and many of the leaves were improved further by the addition of paint! We have used the leaves of different sizes and shapes to help us create a Rangoli pattern. The children took great ownership in this activity and loved selecting their leaves, decorating them, and deciding on the choicest spot for them to go in our huge, collaborative work of art. We alternated between five-pointed sycamore leaves and flame shaped magnolia leaves to create a large Rangoli design on the ground, and the children really showed off their linguistic and mathematic skills as they described the shape, colour, position, and sequence of the pattern.
Leading on from this we have created our own Rangoli patterns using sand and clay. The children chose from an array of pots of the brightest coloured sand and sprinkled it onto circles of clay so their patterns could form and be enjoyed by all. As they went to dust off their hands, they realised that the colourful clouds of sand looked like fireworks. Their faces were a picture of delight as they clapped their hands together to create their own daylight firework display - it's such a privilege as educators to see how our children constantly expand on and improve our planned activities. We are so lucky to spend time with such lovely, creative, and entertaining children.
We hope you all have a fabulous weekend and enjoy some real-life fireworks while you keep toasty by bonfires!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham