The start of a new term means lots of new faces in the forest and lots of new adventures to be had. We have loved welcoming lots of new explorers into our forest in Wimbledon, showing them all of the different things we have to offer them during their days with us. It has been lovely to watch our older children share everything that they have learnt in their time with us and open their forest to an abundance of new friends. We are all ready for a fun year ahead!
When coming into the forest it can be an overwhelming and nervous time, but we try to make the transition as easy and as fun as possible. This week we have had some great activities prepared for our new Little Forest Folk-ers to join in with, from memory games to big chalk board drawing sessions. There have been a range of new books which are perfect for spending some time to just relax and take in our surroundings, and it’s such a lovely moment where our children can sit down together with their new friends. We have also spent a lot of time on our big meadow hunting for bugs. This is always a firm favourite activity with our children at Little Forest Folk as it enables them to search out creatures that they might not normally be able to get a closer look at. We always have bees, spiders, and grasshoppers around the forest, but this week we have also been lucky enough to see shield bugs and frogs. Watching the excitement on the children’s faces as they get close to a creature like this is such a joy, and it is one of the many amazing opportunities that the forest gifts us with.
One of our most important parts of our day in the forest is when we discuss our forest rules. Every morning at snack time we go through the special rules that we need to follow to keep ourselves, and our friends, safe each day. This is especially important at this time of year because the forest is so new to so many and learning about all of the ways to stay safe is key! With some younger children joining us it was the perfect opportunity for our older Forest Folk-ers to show off all their incredible forest knowledge. We allowed our older children to take on the responsibility of sharing the rules at snack time and explaining exactly what they mean. We discuss the rainbow ribbons we use to mark out the places we can go; the no picking and no licking rule so the children know not to put things in their mouth in the forest; and we also talk about how to be safe around the fire. We use songs when going through some of our rules which has been such a fun way for our newer ones to pick up the rules. We also spend time in the morning using our name boards where everyone has the chance to put their magnetic name label onto the board in the snack circle. This is such a wonderful way of getting everyone used to their new friend’s names and at the same time getting them used to recognising their own names when written down. They can then go back to the board throughout the day and get familiar with the way the names look when written down. This has been so good this week with so many new names for our children to remember.
We find that books are such a universal thing to use in the forest as there is always something to suit everyone’s interests. In the forest we have a wide range of books, from animal fact books to stories about a superhero hotel! These offer some enjoyment, and sometimes some comfort, to all the children as they have the choice of what to read. They can imagine themselves in the stories that these books are about, and this can lead them into another world that they can share with their friends. It can also give them a link to their life at home if it is a story that they read with their family, and this can then give them something to talk about with their new friends. The books that we have been loving this week have been mostly about animals, but our new Superhero Hotel book has led to some very fun imaginative games. The children have loved sitting and listening to the book being read and then going off and creating their own games based around the superhero story they had just heard. Watching the different ways that they interpret the story is such fun because each child has their own idea of what they want each character to be like or to say. This is another way to for the children to form bonds with each other, as well as encouraging their communication skills. It is so amazing to see how much books can bring to the children.
It has been a wonderful week at Wimbledon and watching the new children settle in so well has been amazing. We have also loved welcoming our older children back and seeing how they have taken everything that they have learnt from the past year and passed it onto their new friends. We cannot wait to see what the next few months hold, but I know one thing for sure - it’s going to be exciting!
“We must teach our children to smell the earth, to taste the rain, to touch the wind, to see things grow, to care.”- John Cleal
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon