Oh, what a week we’ve had here in the forest! We can officially wave goodbye to summer, and say hello to waterproofs, browning leaves and unpredictable weather! We’ve had some creative discussions about the visual and physical signs of the changing of the seasons. Children have pointed out how both the changes in weather and the changing of flowers and leaves are indicating that Autumn is coming!
We’ve had a week jam packed with fun, as-well as setting out some time to be reflective of the time spent with the forest’s furry friends. As some of you may know, the famous Fulham Palace cat Edmund, has made his way to heaven after many years guarding the grounds. He has been a wonderful addition to forest life and built a great relationship with a lot of our little ones. We had a gentle and age-appropriate discussion about what had happened to dear Edmund, and our little explorers displayed maturity and thoughtfulness when sharing what they had loved about him.
Memory Tree: A Send - Off for dear Edmund 🐈⬛
We brainstormed how we could best say goodbye to Edmund. Educator Maria had a great idea to create a memory tree, a tree from the grounds which will hold great memories of Edmund roaming near it. Children drew pictures of Edmund, love hearts, sunshine and flowers, whilst discussing with the educators what they remembered about their time with Edmund. Children discussed how they loved to stroke him, that they enjoyed when he found his way into camp and when they heard him meow. We then took our memory cards and tied them to the branches of the memory tree. Whilst our little adventurers waited for their turn, Maria read ‘The Palace Cat’ , a fantastic book featuring Edmund himself.
Colour Monster Mixing 🎨
Educator Jemima mixed PSED and early Science learning together to create a fun and creative activity based around the Colour Monster! We had some great discussions about which colours symbolise which emotion, and how we can even feel some of these emotions at the same time! We mixed oils, glittery pigment powder and water to create colourful lava-lamp-esque bottles, which children got to mix and transfer, with supervision from the educators.
Walled Garden Flower Hunt 🌺
On one of our recent walks, educator Georgia had spotted our Little Forest Folk-ers were searching for flowers they had seen previously in the garden, so came up with a fab idea. She kitted out the children with clip boards and whiteboard pens, and a tick sheet full of images of pictures found in this exact garden. We shuffled around some groups to ensure older children were supporting the younger- and vice-versa, and they headed off to find each flower listed. We had some great discussions around colour, shape and other characteristics of the flowers- have its petals got round or pointy edges? What colour is its centre? Can you see different tones/shades on the petals?
What a great week, we can’t wait for more adventures next week!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham