What a stimulating week we had in the forest! Using our super snappy senses to explore our environment, we saw things we’ve not noticed before, hunted for mystery sounds, smelled all sorts of wonderful fragrances, touched interesting textures, and tasted flavours that tickled our taste buds.
One morning in the forest, we found lots of beautiful materials to explore our sense of touch. In the middle of the forest, hidden under leaves and twigs were pinecones, conkers, herbs and flowers encased in glistening ice. It was a delightful scene: the children running their palms over it, exploring its smoothness and delighting over the coldness of the ice. Then mustering the power of their muscles, they picked, smashed and chipped at the ice to free the contents within.
On another day, the forest was filled with the fragrance of herbs, spices, flowers and citrus emanating from the scent garden. We played a game where we had to guess what we were smelling. The woody herbal scent of rosemary, the floral warmth of lavender, the zesty spray of satsuma and the spicy smell of cinnamon and cloves delighted the children as they smelled their way around the garden.
The forest was filled with the cacophony of instruments as the children used the power of their creativity to find materials in the forest to make music. We made instruments that made loud noises, soft and deep tones. We made all sorts of sounds with our voices as we read a story. We listened to the natural sounds around us: the birds singing, the trees rustling and when we were really quiet and listened very carefully, we heard the trains coming and going at the station.
We had a wonderful time exploring the forest through our senses and we will be back with another update of our adventures. Until next time!
Little Forest Folk
Twickenham