Our Week in the Forest...
We’ve had another glorious week in the forest and although we will be sad to say goodbye to our holiday campers, we look forward to being able to welcome back to the forest, friends who have been gone for six weeks.
We have again had numerous activities for the children to take part in this week, however the conversations we have had have probably been the standout feature. With this being the last week for a number of our children, there have been discussions about change, leaving the forest, where they will be going next and what that might entail. The children who are leaving seem as confident as ever about taking on the challenge of ‘big school’ and the younger children listen intently, imagining what it will be like for them.
Although for some of the children who are leaving, they are going to a setting that looks very different to the one they are used to here at Little Forest Folk but they have learnt so many skills that will enable them to thrive. The many arguments had over sticks and ropes mean that lots of our children have excellent communication skills, problem solving and negotiating skills, a high level of understanding and they’re empathetic. These are skills that not only help in Reception but will benefit them throughout their school lives and further.
The puddles splashed in, the mud pies made and the pulley systems constructed give them a fantastic real world understanding of different mathematic concepts. From adding or taking sticks out of a bucket to make it heavier or lighter, filling or emptying pots and pans and jumping higher and harder to make bigger splashes all have given physical demonstrations that they will revert back to when challenged with a mathematic problem on paper. The stories written, menus drawn and roads created by dragging a stick through the dirt have all helped to form not only the muscles needed for writing, but a love and excitement for it. The face paint, musical instruments and days spent in role play have helped develop imaginative and creative children who think outside the box and when all these things are combined you have a child who is ready to take on whatever challenge is thrown at them.
For those children staying with us, this is just an exciting glimpse of what is to come…
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth