Our Week in the Forest...
This week has been an exciting blend of activities for our children with many of them finding inspiration from the things they encounter in their environment and incorporating it into their play.
There is always excitement in camp when the large army helicopter flies over our heads and the children rush around to tell each other and point to it as it passes. We talked about how it has two sets of blades which makes it very powerful so it can be used to carry a lot of people or to lift and transport heavy cargo underneath with ropes or a winch. One of the children shouted “I want to make one!” so it was off to the loose parts area. He decided on pulling two pallets together to create the correct shape and sourced planks to balance, crossed on tree stumps, to represent the blades at either end. Other friends got involved and there was a great deal of team work and discussion about how and where to shift the planks so as to correctly balance them in the crossed shape.
A pilot and co-pilot seat was added with sliding doors and a bed as well as our children deciding on what would be needed on board. Someone noticed that two of the planks were of differing sizes which stimulated an investigation into how to fill the gap correctly and several scavenged items were tested until a block was chosen as a good fit. Some played at loading items on board while others focussed on seeing if they could turn the blades without wobbling them out of place. The creation itself was impressive but it was the team work, delegation, decision making and idea sharing demonstrated by the children that impressed me the most.
We have also been providing lots of smaller activities to give the children an opportunity for quieter play where they can focus on the details. Using mallets, the children were supported to hammer pegs into the ground. Using this as a framework, they wrapped colourful wool in between and around to create abstract shapes and patterns. The children all respected the need to take turns and the older ones demonstrated their knowledge and abilities while our younger friends honed their skills.
Harriet supplied us with some bird spotting cards featuring many of the species that visit Fulham Palace and our children were able to show off their fantastic ornithological knowledge as well as learn about some new feathered friends.
Our set ups have incorporated an abundance of scavenged natural items, brought to us courtesy of storm Ciara, and the children been stimulated to stop, ask questions, start conversations or add their own additions to what they discover upon arrival to camp.
Matt introduced us all to the concept of creating Eco Bricks as a way of using up any plastic bags not able to be recycled. He supplied the children with an empty bottle and they took it in turns to use a rounded knitting needle to push the plastic deep inside the bottle. We used a combination of our own bags from the bread at lunch and pieces of plastic that the children had helped Matt find on the walk to camp first thing in the morning. Each bottle has to reach a specific weight so Matt helped the children to weigh it on the scales until they had packed it full and the task was complete. Now this bottle can be sent to a building project where it will be used alongside others, held together with concrete and become part of a genuine construction project instead of going to landfill. We love this idea!
Later in the week we took a group of children on an exciting trip to Nomad’s Bookshop. After our snack we journeyed together to the High Street to catch the number 14 bus with the children helping us spot the numbers on the front of the approaching busses to identify the one we needed. The book shop was very welcoming with a fantastic children’s section at the back where our group was free to select books that took their fancy. Taking them to the table and cushions, they were able to look at them independently, in small groups or ask myself or Katie to read to them. Each of the children had the task of selecting a book that they liked the best to take back to the Forest and share with our friends. They were very pleased with their choices and it means that we now have a beautiful range of styles and subjects to please all tastes! Myself and Katie were so impressed with our group; their excellent listening, offers of help to each other, excitement and enthusiasm for reading, remembering of different safety rules and beautiful manners to the people they encountered in the shop. We can’t wait for the next one!
With more wet weather continuing into next week we ask that all children come prepared with spare socks and trousers in their back packs to allow for any changes required after the inevitable puddle splashing!
We hope everyone has a lovely weekend and enjoys the outdoors as much as we do! For our sessional families we wish you all a great half-term!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham