Our Week in the Forest...
With the end of the school term comes the start of our Summer holidays in the forest where we have been welcoming many new children, and of course some of our regular Little Forest Folk who obviously can’t get enough of our company, or at least that’s what we tell ourselves!! As always it has been an absolute delight to see how quickly the new children settle into the environment and how comfortable they are with their new surroundings and new friends, this is definitely one of the incredible qualities of being outdoors.
Throughout the week we provided a whole variety of creative learning themed around colours. The children particularly enjoyed the opportunity to explore and experiment with a range of materials that encouraged their curiosity and creativity, they produced hand prints using blackberries, made bracelets from the myriad of colours in the wildflower meadow, and decorated pine cones with a mixture of their handcrafted paints.
Having a natural environment that doesn’t direct the children’s play offers the perfect setting for these activities, it provides the time and space for children to investigate and revisit creative activities throughout the day so that they can extend their learning, making connections and seeing relationships with their surroundings. It has also been absolutely brilliant for developing their fine motor skills and hand–eye coordination, we have been amazed at how confidently the children have approached the activities and what they have achieved, from observing the tiniest of details to embracing all the sensory experience that the forest offers.
It really has been a memorable first week in the forest and we hope to see all the children again in the not too distant future…
Hope you have a great weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham