Wandsworth - Autumn leaves

Our Week in the Forest... 

The world around us has been such a fun stimulus for this week’s activities. The trees have seemed almost magical in how they have transformed from deep greens to golden yellows, vibrant reds and sunset oranges. The children have helped to collect and sort leaves counting them as they went, organising them into colours, shapes and sizes. Such an easy activity can challenge the children in so many different ways, encouraging them to use their mathematical skills to sort and organise, their observation skills to find the perfect leaf, their social and emotional skills to trade and swap leaves and their evaluation skills to ensure the leaves were all in the correct sections.

The changing leaves were not the only exciting colours we’ve had in the forest this week. The mixture of sun and rain on Wednesday meant the appearance of a number of rainbows and the children enjoyed searching for these and discussing how they came about. Some of the educators found it interesting to learn that the Grand Old Duke of York (who we sing about quite a lot) and Richard of York (in the mnemonic for remembering the order of the colours in a rainbow – Richard Of York Gave Battle in Vain) are in fact the same person!

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The children have been fascinated by colour this week, however one thing has captivated them more than the colours in the forest. The children have enjoyed reading the story ‘Zog and The Flying Doctors’ for a number of weeks now, so Zog (the dragon) decided to make an appearance in our forest. A log, some green tarpaulin, two pulleys and some makeshift teeth meant that Zog was transformed into a real-life dragon for the children to sit on, complete with fully movable wings. As the children pulled the ropes, Zog’s wings went up and down, transporting them right into the story. As they took it in turns to fly on Zog, some chose to recreate the story meeting the mermaid, the unicorn and the lion before helping the king to feel better, others chose to fly to their own destinations.

Whether it be on a pretend dragon, or dancing in a shower of leaves, the children have had a truly magical week in the forest.

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Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth