Our Week in the Forest...
Happy New Year Little Forest Folk-ers! What a wonderful break we all had but ‘by golly’ how excited we all were to get back to the forest! We have only had a short week of just two days but they have certainly been action packed!
We were welcomed with a crisp morning chill and smiling eager faces as we sat around in our morning circle and discussed Santa's surprises and gifts he had left over the holidays, places people had been on holiday, and friends and family we got the pleasure to spend time with. The children have shown enthusiasm and excitement to get started with our usual routine, suggestions of places we wanted to visit on our adventure walk and decided it would be a good idea to have a vote, resulting in a lovely walk through the meadow on Wednesday. On route the children were reminding each other of the ‘rules of the forest’ to keep each other safe, and educators could hear the children continuing their discussions amongst themselves about Santa visiting them and whether he had arrived down the chimney!
During our walk we came to a halt and the children self-lead a helicopter stories session. We heard about the big bad wolf, mice, monsters and frogs, giants and snowflakes! Some children volunteered to take on a role in the story tellers play and they worked wonderfully together.
When we got back to base camp we had some festive snacks to try, the children were filled with curiosity. We tried bananas, apricots and cranberries, ‘Yummy it’s crunchy! Hmm it’s hairy! Wow it’s sour!’. Trying different textures and flavours allows us to explore lots of describing words.
During the afternoons the Little Forest Folk-ers really enjoyed their free play. Groups gathered around the tree swing laughing and chuckling, using maths to countdown each turn and waiting patiently until theirs. Some children took advantage of the winter leaves still gathering on the ground, they created a huge birds nest and played imaginative bird role-play. With lots of different characters such as a tweeting baby bird, strong Mummy bird and funny snoring Grandad bird! Continuing the theme of baby birds on Thursday, the children started to learn more about birds in winter and how they store their fat and have fluffy feathers to puff up at night whilst they sleep.
It’s been such a lovely week getting back into the swing of things. There’s been lots of energy and enthusiasm in starting off the new year, we’re excited for the adventures that 2019 will bring!
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth