As the summer holidays draw to a close, we have had a bittersweet week in the forest. We have been very excited to meet some new friends and introduce them to our wonderful environment. However, we have also bid a fond farewell to many old friends who are now making the transition from forest to classroom. We wish them all the best but will really miss them. We would love to hear updates on how they have settled and what they get up to at ‘big school.’
With so many personal changes and transitions happening we have taken the time to reinforce forest rules and to encourage more senior Forest Folk-ers to welcome and assist new starters in getting to grips with life at Twickenham. We are very lucky to have such kind and helpful children. We are also continuing to encourage the group to demonstrate positive ways of interacting with each other. In particular, we are inviting them to think of nice things to say to each other and to think about what it is they like about another Forest Folk-er.
Taking advantage of a lovely, and quite unexpectedly warm day, our children enjoyed another river walk. As well as hunting for more juicy, ripe blackberries, we investigated other plants that were growing along the river. The children were fascinated to see a horse chestnut tree with massive seeds, one child exclaiming, ‘It looks like a spiky apple.’ We watched the bees visiting a plant with beautiful purple flowers, possibly a hebe plant. The children smelt the sweet flowers but didn’t like the smell of the ones that had dried out. One staff member told the children about the red fruit of the rose hip plant and how it can be used to make a very effective natural cough syrup. We also listened and observed some small birds singing and flying overhead. We were very careful not to disturb them.
We have been using resources from the forest to explore wood and different ways of using it. The children got the chance to do some fun hammering, tracing the word forest that was written on a plank of wood using nails to follow the outline of each letter. Some children learnt about whittling and got to observe the layers of a piece of wood and the various colours that each layer contains. First, the children got to cut off a piece of branch and then they used a peeler to peel the bark. The children love learning new things about their natural environment and finding new ways to interact with the natural world.
With lots of new children to welcome and settle into the forest, we have focused on discussing trying new foods and healthy eating. The children got the chance to draw their favourite healthy foods on a paper plate and talk about which foods are healthy and which are unhealthy or only for ‘treats.’ With all the blackberry picking we have done, our Forest Folk-ers have definitely been getting their five-a-day. One morning, we had a special snack of frozen blackberries. Delicious!
The children have been busy constructing more obstacle courses, using wooden planks, tyres, crates and pallets. This activity that always involves excellent teamwork and turn-taking, not to mention the benefits to their physical development. Feeling adventurous they asked to use a rope to make a ‘tight rope’ and after laying this down managed to balance by holding on to a top rope and carefully moving along. I wonder what will be next?
We have had fun with our dressing-up box this week. One child used a long yellow dress to transform into a ‘fairy godmother’ but insisted they were not to mixed-up with the ‘pink armadillo fairy’ from one of our popular story books! Another favourite was the skeleton costume, with some of the children taking turns to spook their friends. We also made our own additions to imaginative play, producing paper crowns decorated with leaves, stones, sticks and tiny stones. Very regal!
We hope you all have wonderful bank holiday weekends, and we cannot wait to see all our Little Forest Folk-ers back in the forest soon!
Little Forest Folk
Twickenham