What a wild and exciting week we’ve had in our forest! We’ve seen all kinds of weather and faced all kinds of challenges. All part of what we are about: building resilience and overcoming difficulties.
Here at Little Forest Folk, we pride ourselves on educating future generations on the environment and the need for humans to take care of the planet. We are also keen to raise awareness of the effects of climate change, changes that are most clearly demonstrated by the extreme weather conditions we are increasingly seeing in the UK. This week started with more stormy weather and ended with some crazy bursts of hail that looked more like tiny snowballs.
Monday, due to the storm we began our day in Heatham House, in the grandly named ‘ballroom’ (luckily there wasn’t a strictly enforced dress code). Once the storm had subsided, we managed to step out into the forest for some fresh air and to stretch our legs.
On Tuesday we were able to venture back into the forest to observe the storm damage and collect up all the branches and sticks that littered the ground. Some of the children made a large pile and asked if they could use the forest tools to cut the wood. We also saved some wood for our cook-out Friday campfires. Last week we made popcorn on our campfire. It was such fun!
Space has continued to be a source of interest and excitement for the children in the forest. We have enjoyed reading our special space book with flaps and the group have shown a remarkable ability to retain many of the key facts. We made use of some empty plastic bottles to make our own rockets. First, we covered the bottles in a mixture of glue and water, attaching strips of newspaper to the plastic and then leaving it to dry. After doing this we painted the bottles and drew windows and numbers on them. Lastly, we used some cardboard to stick on some boosters to the bottom. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!
On Wednesday the forest looked beautiful in the winter sun. It was such a lovely feeling to have the sun on our faces whilst we played. Some of the group enjoyed looking at the river and noticing how fast it was flowing and how fast it was moving upstream. We tried to find some ducks or Herons, but it even seemed too wet for them!
To keep warm and active during the unpredictable weather we have been using the speakers outside to do some singing and dancing. We have enjoyed discussing our favourite Disney tunes and loudly performing our very own versions. Action songs have proved the most popular this week. A long busload of children were seen winding their way through the forest, whilst another group followed along to ‘Choo Choo Wa’, making the strangest of poses to the amusement of everyone.
We have been making use of some large cardboard boxes to make enclosures and build our own shelters from the elements. One child had the idea to make holes in the cardboard and to thread string through to hold all the pieces together. Then they cut some larger holes for windows, and we took some funny pictures of some cheeky faces peering through the gaps.
Who knows what we will encounter next week? However, one event that is upcoming and something to look forward to is ‘World Book Day’, taking place on Thursday 3rd March 2022. We are asking parents to dress children as their favourite book characters. Staff will also be taking part, so the children may be greeted by some interesting characters on arrival! It will be a day of books, clock stories, puppet shows and fairy tales. We cannot wait!
Have a lovely weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Twickenham