Building and creating are best in the forest!
The wind whistled through the trees this week and the rain came down, but it made for a very exciting week as it was so different to the weather we have been experiencing recently! The wind meant that everyone went on to the meadow this week to avoid the big, moving trees and everyone took full advantage of the amazing open space that we have in Wimbledon. Everyone was running around with their friends and chasing their shadows when the sun appeared. We sat and sang songs on the giant log; everyone took turns to be a speckled frog and took their chance to jump into the “pond”. There were sticks used to make pirate ship and logs used for balancing tricks. The meadow has so much to offer, and we have taken full advantage of that.
There has been a lot of opportunities for building and constructing this week. The children have been using the large logs and sticks that have fallen from the winds the nights before, and used them to build dens and pirate ships. There has been a lot of discussion and working in groups to see which way was best to build the den. The children worked together to hold the large sticks up and asked an adult to help tie them together. Once the structure was safe, they then added a tarp on top to complete the roof. Everyone was so excited to see inside and spend some time in their with the friends.
We also built a pulley system in the imagination tree and the children chose different things to put on there to pull up and down. They had to work out the items that would be small enough to lift and tied them on to lift them up.
We spent a lot of time making stories this week. The children took their time to choose different characters and different storylines. Once they had found the story that they wanted, the children then took time to act out their stories in front of their friends. They each became a character and acted along to the story being read out. It was fun to watch the children show how proud they were of their creations.
There’s also been a lot of play with the sticks around the forest. The children have taken a lot of time to build their own versions of bows and arrows. They looked for the right size and shape for the bow and then, with help from Jepha, they tied some string around and made the bow. Then they had to look for a smaller stick to use as their arrow. This then meant they could test their aiming skills. They looked at a target in the distance and aimed towards that. It was exciting for the children to challenge themselves, and feel the pride of making something and then being able to play with it.
With the mixture of rain, wind and sun the forest has been a perfect place to have fun and explore!
We have been building so many different things, challenging ourselves to push further and work as a team to get the result we want!
“Life is playfulness…We need to play so that we can rediscover the magic all around us.” ~ Flora Colao
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon