Our Week in the Forest...
Some people might look at 20 waterproofed children and educators wandering through the forest on a bitterly cold day and question how on earth could that be fun? Well until you encounter the magic of the forest you can’t imagine the unique and exhilarating experience that the children have on a daily basis. Here at Wandsworth, we have spent a lot of time focussing on the children’s creativity and imagination which always provides interesting questions and answers. And in the words of Sir Ken Robinson - “Creativity is as important as literacy in education and we should treat it with the same status”.
A group of children expressed an interest in becoming knights of the forest when at the Bowling Club. So, in an effort to extend the life of the cardboard that we receive for our supplies, we reuse it before sending it over for recycling. The children helped to make a dozen shields fully equipped with handles and personalised designs. We then carried onto create binoculars out of toilet roll spools, telescopes from wrapping paper spools and finally bows using sticks in the forest. Once provided with the materials the children were left to their own devices to create their own world. Using communication, our Little Forest Folk-ers made their own pirate ship - simply two logs on the ground, before adventuring through the continents to find treasure aplenty. What was fantastic to witness, was the resolution of differing opinions. A lot of the time there were different ideas of where to go/what to do next, but through measured communication they were able to find a middle ground or accepted that it was ok to follow somebody else’s idea.
With some of our younger children we have been trying to focus on providing wobbly balance areas around the forest. Using three metre wooden planks placed in criss-cross patterns allow for some areas of elevation and areas that are more bouncy and wobbly than others. Starting with such low heights, it has been a fantastic opportunity for the children to practise un-aided balancing. Testing themselves with the trickier manoeuvres when only they felt comfortable and confident to do so. As they continue to grow, they are always learning about how their bodies work and how far they can push themselves.
Michael Rosen’s classic ‘Going on a bear hunt’ made a fantastic return this week, with the addition of the children’s creative and imaginative touches. Whilst reading the story the children turned inanimate objects in the forest into certain events within the story. My personal favourite was the river where two children shook blue rope as others had to jump over it. Unluckily some fell in and got eaten by the crocodiles. The children then extended the story by adding in a spider’s web, a pirate ship and a haunted house. Using sticks as imaginary tools to cut down the hidden objects around them. Each time we come back to the story, the children recall their own imaginations and expand on them with each rendition.
Have a lovely weekend everybody, and see you next week!
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth