Wetter surfaces and colder weather this week have helped children to extend their own understanding about the brisker visible changes in our natural surroundings. Children love the mud, so it has been great to spot that almost all leaves have fallen and use the decay of these leaves as a tangible activity to help partly explain what mud is. In this way children have been reminded that millipedes eat vegetation like leaves, as opposed to centipedes that eat other minibeasts (gulp!). Using the differences in the minutiae around us always proves a great way to springboard the children into conversations where they can express their own ideas about the differences and similarities in all of us. So, for example, this moment presented by discussing those two creatures, led us into discussing that some people like to eat different food or have to eat different food because of allergies and that we should be kind and considerate about this. As always, the children all impressed with excellent personal knowledge, and contributed fairly, with great listening skills!
This week has also seen the start of advent, and educators have enjoyed listening to all the exciting festive moments as we plough into Christmas! On minibus journeys children have enjoyed light displays and have shown a good eye for shapes and details, noticing stars and holly berry lights for example. We are also beginning to hear children’s already vibrant role-play narratives become enriched by their festive seasonal experiences which has created very special lovely moments. Here, educators have been able to help thinking around how others might celebrate around the world and this will certainly continue throughout the month.
Colder weather means lots of movement is a must! Adventure walks are the natural way to make sure that limbs are perpetually powering away across all the lumpy leaf laden surfaces we are so lucky to have here. Green team found the “dried out river” that’s a little muddier now and talked about what it might look like soon as the rains fall a little longer. The children did so well to work out new ways of traversing a large log across this space. With good shuffling, crawling, sliding, pulling, and balancing the children were clearly developing their gross and fine motor skills.
Children have also really enjoyed making forest crowns from paper, tape, and foraged leaves and twigs. Scissor use has been excellent as has the understanding of safe tool use. The creations were undoubtedly all marvellous, and magnificent stories were weaved into what these crowns were all about and what they were going to be used for. Queens, Princesses and Kings were then able to use their creations in play over the course of the afternoon and we were delighted to see children wearing theirs on their way home at end of day. We are looking forward to hearing how they may have been used at home or what they may have inspired!
In the Bowling Club, the addition of three office phones from the noughties has extended play with some excellent role-play fun based on own experiences of how mummy and daddy use phones. There has also been plenty of exceptionally sweet made up interactions as children have pretended to speak to all of you too. Three phones amongst 3 times as many children has helped understanding of excellent time based turn taking, which supports ideas around being kind that is so special to us here at Little Forest Folk.
This week has been another great one, with children unphased by plunging temperatures and the “really wet” rain! We hope you all have a great cosy weekend or are able to get some fresh air, and we can’t wait to hear about all the children’s stories soon.
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth