Well August certainly came in with a bang!
We have had glorious weather this week with bright sunshine, clear blue skies, but the slight breeze that just helps us out a bit. This weather helps the new plants to flourish after the rain we had and the blackberries are coming out in force!
Playing with ropes has been a big part of this week. The children have been seeing the endless possibilities that come with once piece of rope, and looking at all the different ways they can be used. We have had them as fire engine hoses, snakes in the grass, ropes to lasso baddies, anything you could imagine. The children have also enjoyed using the ropes as climbing tools. They have been tied to different trees and created a frame for the children to practice their climbing and balancing skills on. Not only have the children climbed on the ropes that have been put up, but they’ve also helped to put them up and have been learning the different ways knots are used. It’s a skill that they seem to have really enjoyed learning and showing others what they have learnt.
There has been an amazing selection of imaginative play this week. It doesn’t matter if the children are running around or sitting down in the shade, there is always a new character that they become. We have had children as dinosaurs, as pirates and as superheroes. A lot of the imaginative play has been about things we see in the forest too. We have had some children playing fox families and choosing the best place to build their dens. This has been linked to our new forest visitor, Mr Fox, who shows up most mornings on the meadow if the children are lucky enough to catch him before he scampers off to find some breakfast. This has then led to conversations with the children about the different animals we see around the forest and why we must respect our forest as it is the home for so many creatures!
Adventures walks have still been as exciting as ever. This week some of the children explored a new area and found a giant climbing hill. The children hadn’t seen a hill that big in the forest before but that didn’t stop them challenging themselves to climb up it. With some determination and encouraging from those around them, it was a challenge that was soon overcome!
We have also welcomed some new explorers to the forest this week. It has been so lovely to see how well they have settled in and how proud our existing Forest Folkers are to show them around. They have helped them on the walk ins, and shown them the routine of the day, along with all the best places to explore. New friendships have been made and it will be so exciting to watch them flourish.
“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” -O. Fred Donaldson
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon