Our Week in the Forest...
With the wind blowing through our forest this week the children have made the most of this opportunity by making their own kites using some of the natural resources around them. Once they had chosen their preferred colour of tissue paper and cut out a rough diamond shape, they were then challenged to locate some suitably sized straight sticks that would form the structure for their kite. Once secured with a few pieces of strong tape they attached a long length of string as ‘high as the sky’, then they were ready to go and off they went with their kites fluttering in the breeze.
This week in Fulham we have also been making our own paper. Initially the children looked at some handmade paper, examining the texture and observing the details, identifying the petals, leaves and different colours. We thought about how it might have been made and discussed what we could use it for. Suggestions included building a toy house, drawing, writing a letter, making a book or even a cup! So, throughout the week the children have been involved in the whole process of paper making.
To make paper, our Little Forest Folk-ers made the ‘pulp’ by ripping up old paper to ‘recycle’ it into their new creations. This all went into a measuring jug, followed by some water, paint and then finally into the blender. The children watched with fascination as Bella explained how the blender transformed everything into the paper pulp. Once the pulp was ready the children measured it all into a large tub where they felt it with their hands, expressing how ‘slimy’, ‘squashy’ and ‘soft’ it felt. “So how does this make paper?” they exclaimed, it was now time for the exciting stage of making their sheet of paper! With mesh in hand we placed it into the tub of pulp, lifting it out carefully before squeezing out all the water with a wooden board. These were then left to dry in the gardener’s warm conservatory where the next day the children discovered their incredible paper…soon to become aeroplanes, drawings, letters and houses!
The mud kitchen also moved to a new location this week with the aim of attracting some new customers! The children have had a great week using the different resources in the new location to produce a whole array of potions and gooey mud for sale.
Little Forest Folk
Fulham