Our Week in the Forest...
The magic of outdoor learning is the effect that the natural world can make on a child every single day. From sunshine to rain, wind and calm we have experienced it all this week. With Karen now at the helm pushing us forward creatively and intuitively the rest of the team have been inspired to keep pushing themselves.
The children intuitively reasoned with each other as to why the weather was so stormy. One child described it as “the clouds farting so hard it makes the trees fall down” to the more eloquent explanation of another that “the storm came from the sea and its now on us!”. Others were less interested in the why’s and were more interested in measuring the power of the wind. So, using the grassy patch at the Bowling Club some partook in a scientific experiment. Using a long piece of grass the children were able to see which way the grass was bending noting that the wind points the same way as the piece of grass. We then measured how strong the wind was. By dropping clumps of grass from an adult’s height the children raced to see how far the grass travelled and marking it by standing next to where it landed. Each time we noticed that the wind blew the grass slightly further or less, or in a slightly different direction.
With safety paramount in the forest due to very strong winds we took the decision on Tuesday to relocate to our indoor setting, the Bowling Club, and were amazed by the children’s ability to adapt to a different setting and to really make the most of the opportunity offered to them. We were amazed by their ability to work within a more confined space with each other. Throughout the day we had many fun activities but probably the highlight was creating personalised treasure baskets using recycled plant pots. The children were able to have a fully unique approach to the design. Some children then decided to then take their baskets home, whilst others have carried them into the forest to collect their favourite findings on the forest floor.
Our fabulous educator Chloe has continued to introduce new books to the forest environment that the children have absolutely lapped up. At circle time and also on the bus to and from the forest she has been reading a variety of non-picture books. This week Chloe has been reading “The Giraffe, Pelly and me” one of Roald Dahl’s fabulous creations. It is magical to see how the children intake the information, and create their own picture in their mind – relating to their interpretation as they recount what has happened in the chapter. This truly develops the child’s creative minds, enabling them to create their own worlds and discover brand new ideas.
Last but not least we have had the most magical puddle splashing at the end of the week. Exploring, splashing, sticking in the mud.
Have a lovely weekend everybody and we will see you next week for more adventures!
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth