Our Week in the Forest...
The sun glinted off the forest animal enclosures, with lions, monkeys and cheetahs lazing in the shade beyond them. The zookeeper was cooking up the feast for the mummy, daddy and baby lions, which they devoured quickly. The monkeys simply required bananas which were thrown up to them in the trees – thankfully the monkeys were good at catching! Those also concerned with animals were setting up new habitats for the forest animals, using the hay on the meadows to create some very comfortable new beds. With lots of sunshine for the flowers, this has been a wonderful week for nature!
Animals. With the zoo in full swing in the imagination tree, the other children have been animal orientated all over the forest! Finding 4 small frogs spurred some very caring and careful behaviour in the children who looked and followed as the frogs sought out a new home. Fishing became a splendid pastime with children attempting to catch both frogs and fish and sitting very contemplatively and chatting while waiting for a bite. Our feathered friends weren’t missed either as some children set off in earnest to find a bird or 2 and the children are becoming very good at identifying robins and blackbirds. As spring marches on, hopefully we’ll start to see some new migratory birds in Fishpond Woods.
Magic. With a flick of the wrist and the right sound made, a fire bolt sprang out from the children’s wands and arched towards the tree. Those adults unfortunate enough to be caught in the way of a spell ended up frozen, turned into frogs and sometimes caught on fire! The children’s imaginations are so vivid when it comes to deciding what spells they can cast and choosing the right wand is an essential part of these magical moments. Those less inclined in casting spells were in the kitchen mixing potions of every conceivable type. Some children even had their helpers to collect the ingredients while they constantly stirred the mixtures. Beware if your children offer you anything that bubbles, you drink at your own risk.
Record. Being encamped within a forest, most of our resources are more mechanical and manual, but with huge potential: a bucket is an ideal cooking pot, carrying device, and frog container. It all depends on the children’s need as to what they use and they become creative with anything to hand. Sometimes, though, new technology comes into the forest and this week saw the introduction of voice recording pegs. The children have taken to these new pieces of kit fantastically, teaching each other how to use them, clipping them to each other’s clothing so as to better operate with them, and having a brilliant time listening to their own voice! We will be introducing cameras to the children soon so look out for a collage of child-taken images in the coming weeks.
Food in the forest:
Menus will be changing next week as we head into April - look out for our tasty new dishes and menu changes which will be sent out over the weekend.
Our full April menu can be found on our website HERE
New snack:
Butter biscuits with Rosewater
These are a little bit like shortbread, a buttery dough with flour, sugar and egg yolk. We flavour them delicately with natural rose water for a delicious summer flavour.
Have a lovely weekend, and for those who we won't see over half-term have a wonderful Easter!
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon
