In the penultimate week of the academic year, many of our Little Forest Folk-ers have been doing exciting school visits or thinking about the next direction after their time in the forest.
Directions have been a topic of discussion for our little explorers. It began with safety arrows on the forest floor for a game and it's evolved into Dan's introduction of felt arrows into the forest. They're signifiers for dinosaurs "right of way" or exploring concepts like up/down and left/right. Arrows as a symbol for children in the forest represent a direction to follow so they can keep themselves safe and we hope this then transfers into other games they play in the forest.
In the forest we have different daily activities set up, this week has been lots of rope walking. Balancing along these ropes is always a challenge, even more so with the introduction of an inclination. The children's answer to any failure of this challenge? Let's make a "safety harness!" One child wobbled off the balance rope but was "saved" by his harness and exclaimed "I saved myself!". Empowering our Little Forest Folk-er’s to make decisions around their safety and taking precautions during any risky play is our aim and we are delighted to know that they take their safety as seriously as we take it.
As the seasons and times change, so with it bring new resources. The children follow our "no shaking, no breaking rule" which keeps our fauna and flora safe from little fingers, but our wildflower poppies have shed their petals and the children put them to good use! They flew through the air as "butterflies" or turned the petals into lava rivers for dinosaurs to cross. The game of make believe is how many of our young learners direct their learning, through play. They thoroughly enjoyed the Forest Café which was prompted by an area set up with signs, repurposed bottles for coffee machines and a "menu" a child had brought in from home. This got the children thinking and they began making ice mud lollies for their cafe to sell. This entire set up encouraged the children to do maths and work together as a team.
As if the children couldn't impress us any more with their cognitive skills, we were really proud of their behavioural strengths. With the odd breeze some of our paper and string used in arts and craft activities can get blown onto the ground but the children are always quick to spring into action and litter pick any runaway paper or string that doesn't belong, helping to keep the environment tidy! We live in a complicated world, preparing children for this by fostering responsibility for themselves and for our planet will ensure that the next generation can thrive.
Have a wonderful sunny weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth