Our Week in the Forest...
Woohoo! What a terrific week we have all had at Little Forest Folk Wandsworth. It has been brilliant to welcome some new children and families into the forest too.
Paradise has been a real hub of activity and team work this week as the children joined forces for some water investigation fun. They began by exploring whether a leaf would bob on the water or disappear to the bottom. We talked about the words 'sink' and 'float', and the children scampered off to find their own natural resources, discovering feathers, stones and sticks to try out. We all had fun predicting what would happen to them with our sparkly new vocabulary. Naturally it was most exciting when the objects quickly sank to their peril at the bottom of our ocean tub. It wasn't long before a piece of guttering was added into the fray and in moments the children had organised themselves for 'Operation Shift That Water!' They were eager to find ways to move the water from the large tub and into a smaller bucket. Hurrying to find vessels they moved themselves into position to pour the water down the guttering, evaluating their work as they went. They set themselves more and more complex challenges for how they could move and change the direction of the water, 'Then over it goes that way, and then the bucket will stop it. There we go, good! The water is lifted!' We loved seeing this amazing team work and dedication for an ENTIRE day as they explored all the possibilities of their plans and adaptations. Fab!
Before the children arrive at our sites in the morning, a practitioner has already been busy at work creating some exciting spaces and items of intrigue for the children to discover. One morning they had worked hard to design a new tightrope for the children to create a circus effect. It always amuses us how, whatever we have in our minds for how the children will play with a set up, it is always completely different and organic once the kids arrive! Their powers of imagination are quite unstoppable. The tightrope instantly became a boat, which then stationed itself as an ice cream shop. 'Who wants an ice cream?!' The children had to find sticks for their cones, and then rummage in their pockets for an extortionate, 'Five leaves', the princely sum for a Mr. Whippy squirted from a long rope. Over in the climbing tree we had a few very sick babies who needed their medicine. Fortunately, the ice cream van was transformed into an ambulance which sped the seven or so children off to the hospital. And, would you believe it, the ice cream woman was also the ambulance driver, and fully qualified doctor. She was able to quickly check temperatures, calling out the numbers of their hot heads, 'EIGHT!’, before then becoming a pharmacist and administering their medicine. Happily, the prescriptions worked wonders and the large family was able to set off on a holiday in their camper van (the carefully created tightrope), where they put up a tent and built a fire to cook their dinner. The children love taking on new roles in the forest and exploring how they can use new language in that role, as they learn to care and support one another. They are always extremely welcoming to others eager to join in the fun. What starts out as a game with two children, quickly escalates into all the little forest folk joining in and working as a team.
Well, with all that excitement going on this week, the weekend has arrived before we realised it. We hope you all have a cracking time and will look forward to seeing you all again next week! Except Rachel who is off on a jolly to Wales, so you might see one or two new faces helping out during the week until she is back.
Have a lovely weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth