The Magpies have been enjoying a slightly quieter week, and they have been getting fulling engrossed in activities; planning, designing, checking and reviewing their work as they go.
The first big project was den building, using pallets, tarps, sticks and rope to create the most wonderful shelter. Not only was it a den for sitting and relaxing in, it also sold biscuits and cakes… and was a place where parcels got delivered! Using a long wooden plank, some of the children balanced it on a slope so that parcels could slide down and get picked up at the bottom!
With flowers that were brought in, the children experimented with different tools; bashing the flowers onto paper to create flower paint and colour. Amazed faces were seen when purple and green flowers were bashed enough, leaving purple and green colours on the paper!
The children are great at helping collect and tidy up resources near the big oak tree. This week, as they headed over to collect logs to build a bug hotel entrance, they asked for some help because the logs were really heavy. Using some rope, they made a sleigh with Katie to assist them. It required team work to tie the logs on at the back and pull with all their strength back to our site. The children pretended to be reindeers and the logs they were transporting turned into Santa’s sack full of toys!!
To end a lovely week, a bug hotel was built using one of our spare milk crates. It was tied to our Yew tree and filled with sticks, leathers, leaves and flowers. One of the children even created a sign to let the bugs know they could come in, even if they were injured. Not only was it a hotel but also a hospital for bugs in need! To support the bug theme, we shared books at snack and lunch time all about slugs, spiders and worms, learning about parts of their bodies that are different to ours and what they like to do.
It has been lovely to see some familiar faces in the forest this week. Our holiday campers have blessed us with their enthusiasm and curiosity and not even the cold weather stopped these little ones from having the best time! Our sessional children welcomed the siblings that joined us for the holiday camp and the forest became busy and full of fun!
In the morning at circle time, we have been tapping and clapping different rhythms and using our bodies to move with the rhythm. The children find this very amusing and are really good at keeping the tapping and clapping almost to perfection!
They wanted to build a house, so lots of things to be done! Some of the older children helped the teachers collecting pallets, long branches and planks to the ‘construction site’. They drew their plan on the ground with a stick and after everyone had agreed which would be the best plan, they started putting it to practice. Everyone was involved and the children were so excited to be part of this project! Pulling ropes on one side, holding sticks and planks on the other, they all participated in this collaborative play!
Mixing colours with paint brushes was also a hit. A calmer, more focused activity, but all children wanted to experiment with the paint and discover which colour would come out from the mix. They decorated the benches, the logs and the forest looked so colourful!
There was plenty of independent play taking place throughout the week but mostly, the children were engaged in activities with others. New friendships were born, exploring new ways to do things by copying the older children and older children supporting the younger ones.
We had adventure walks in the walled garden where the children saw the trees covered in green leaves and white, pinkish flowers (cherry blossom trees)! They particularly liked the red and purple tulips! How wonderful to see our children appreciate the changes in the environment and starting to understand the effect it has in our lives!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham