Adventure walks always make for the best stories!
This week we have all been using our surrounding forest areas to explore and see what exciting new discoveries we can find.
We have had adventure walks every day this week, giving the children a chance to have a look at all the different things we have in our forest. We have gone to the frog pond, the giant climbing tree and the river this week, each time finding something new that we hadn’t seen before.
Although the children have been to our frog pond before due to the hot weather we have been having it has dried up, so it is looking a little bit different at the moment. Although not filled with water, it is still nice and damp which makes it perfect for a lot of small frogs. The children have carefully been walking across the mud, watching where they are stepping, looking to find the little frogs jumping around. We have been lucky enough to see a lot this week and the children have loved looking at the different colours and patterns that the frogs might have on them. Frogs weren’t the only creatures we saw on our visit. We also watched as a large green dragonfly soared around the pond, looking for a good spot to land. The children were thrilled to have seen it so close and it led them to ask many questions about dragonflies.
Climbing trees were also a big part of our adventure walks this weeks. On one of the walks we found a large tree that looked like a rocket, so it was all systems go as the children found the best way to climb aboard for an epic adventure. Not only have their been great climbing trees on our walks, but also in our site. The children have been finding the trees that we may not have climbed before, but have now become the perfect spot to practice our climbing techniques on. The children have really grown in confidence with climbing as there is now a more varied selection to climb, so it suits all abilities and is the perfect way to practice.
Swings have been very in demand this week. The children have all enjoyed helping with the whole process of having a swing up in the forest, from choosing which tree it could go in, to helping the adults tie the knots in the rope. It has been fun for the children to be involved with all of the swing process because then it feels more rewarding when they have their turn. They have also had to think about which would be the best tree to use, and why, which has led to some interesting conversations about the trees we have around us. We have spoken about why some trees are stronger than others, how we can tell which tree is which from its leaves, and what different trees can be used for.
Once the swing had been put up, the children then all took turns to see how high they could go. Finding out the best way to balance on the seat was something to think about, whilst also learning that if you kick your legs you can go faster. So many things were learnt from something that most people think is so such a simple thing.
We have been lucky enough to have some of the sunniest days recently, but mid week we had a quick visit from some thunder and lightning. Although brief, the children were all excited to hear a rumble in the distance and it led to a lot of questions being asked. We spoke about why thunder and lightning happen, what thunder is, and where the noises actually come from. Some of the children made weather stones after this chat, where each stone had pictures on to relate to the different weathers that they could think of. This was a good way of using our mark making skills and putting it into practice for everyday use.
“Nature is a tool to get children to experience not just the wider world, but themselves.”
-Stephen Moss
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon