Our Week in the Forest...
After the ice and frost of last week, this week we have been enjoying the sunshine warming our faces and catching on the first flowers opening around the gardens. We have been on adventure walks to look at the shoots coming out of the ground and have been observing the buds appearing on the daffodils. Snowdrops are also opening around the site and we’ve been looking closely at the colours and shapes that we can see. It has been wonderful seeing our Little Forest Folk-ers so interested in the natural world around them and showing care and concern for living things.
We have spent a lot of the week actively involved with the gardens and have had lots of opportunities to learn from the gardeners on site due to the children initiating conversations with them. At the beginning of the week, some of the older children spotted the gardeners with curious objects in their wheelbarrows and they asked to have a closer look. The gardeners asked them what they could notice and if they could work out what the objects could be. The children noticed seeds and thought it might be food for the birds. The gardeners explained how the bird feeders worked and why they had mesh around the outside to keep out the squirrels.
The children were fascinated by them and asked lots of brilliant questions about the birds and the food they ate. It was because of their passion and curiosity that the gardeners then offered the chance for the children to fill up the bird feeders themselves and the children took turns to pour in the seeds carefully. This hands on activity meant that the children were truly engaged and they understood far more about how to look after birds than if we had just explained this to them.
Later in the week, the children went on an adventure walk to see if they could find their bird feeders. We let the children lead the walk and didn’t give them any hints as to where the feeders might be, just prompting with questions. They looked carefully and managed to spot the feeders in the trees. They obviously enjoyed watching the birds, visiting the feeders and talked in whispers about them. The children showed pride and ownership over the feeders and were more invested in watching the birds because of their hard work in filling the feeders. They were also able to describe the birds they could see and have begun to spot differences between them.
We’ve also had arborists on site this week and the children have carefully watched them making woodchip out of branches from around the gardens. The children recognised that the chipper could be dangerous and kept their distance, respecting the boundary and sitting safely together to watch. Again, the children’s interest and wise questioning meant that the gardeners invited the children to explore the wood chip up close in the wheelbarrows once the chipper was finished- smelling, touching and observing it. The children then had the chance to use the rake, taking turns, moving the woodchip to make a new path in the forest. The children took their job very seriously and wanted to show all the educators what they had done. It has been wonderful to see the children showing such confidence around new people and in expressing their own interests, as well as persevering with difficult tasks!
The highlight of the week was the children discovering an old bird nest. They handled it carefully and talked about how the birds had made it and what materials they had used. It was such a fitting end to a week focused on the animals and plants in the forest!
Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to more adventures next week!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham