Our Week in the Forest...
Our morning walks to the forest have been so special this week with the children enjoying singing, storytelling and exploring as we make our way to site. This is such an important part of our day as the children spot the Magpies and Robins flying around the trees and the brave bunny keen to keep eating the remaining grass despite 10 pairs of eyes looking at it with awe and wonder and slowly creeping closer and closer. The children notice the changes in the texture of the mud and share their observations with those around them. The trees continue to stand naked and give way for our Little Forest Folk-ers to watch the forever changing sky in front of them. A child this week exclaimed “We are so lucky” as she noticed some icy puddles. What a beautiful expression to sum up how children see the wintery forest landscape that welcomes them each day at Little Forest Folk Wimbledon.
As we made our way onto site this week we discussed our forest rules and talked about what we would like to do today. The children then come onto site and are invited to have snack or can choose to play with their friends and come back a little later. We are encouraging the children to be independent and this includes choosing when to eat, choosing what to eat and choosing where they want to be.
An obstacle course this week has evolved from a few logs on Monday into a balancing and jumping challenge by the end of the week. The children are learning to identify when surfaces will be slippery from the rain or mud and how to use their arms stretched out to help them balance. Observing other children’s failures and successes is also a great way to learn new skills before practicing for yourself.
“Nee Naw!” was heard a lot this week first with the policemen chasing off the baddies on Monday and Tuesday and placing them in 'jail' and then on Thursday some of the children spotted ‘fires’ around the forest and together grabbed their hoses and helped to put out the fires to keep everyone safe.
It is so important for children to have time to develop their imaginative play and to negotiate roles and space with other children. Working towards a common goal helps to bring people of all ages together and it is such an important lifelong skill. A sense of justice is also very important with this age group as they learn about rules and boundaries.
We have had such an exciting week here at Wimbledon and we wish you all a great weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon