Our Week in the Forest
Drip drop drip goes the rain off their raincoats,
Splish splash splash go the wellies in the puddles,
Jump, run, crawl go the children in the forest.
Smile
Laugh
Play
That’s the Little Forest Folk way!
Gutters. On all houses the rain is whisked away by gutters. They’re very much not toys in this situation. But when they appear in the forest, all manner of fun can be had. With the extra wet weather we’ve been experiencing, the gutters have given the children excellent opportunities to explore the nature of gravity on water and have some fun experimenting with the way water can be moved from one point to another. The gutters weren’t alone in helping the children with this lovely, watery science - pipes were just as useful.
The fine dry weather early in the week brought a different use for the gutters and pipes. The pipes were inserted into a large tyre and the children had a massive megaphone into which the most common thing shouted was “Arrrrgh!” followed by several “Hello?” “Hello!” as the children opened up loud conversations with each other. The gutters were used in a similar way too with the water but gravity was tested on sticks, soil and anything else the children could pull from the surrounding meadows and woodland.
Elder wood. Being in a wood all day every day often ignites a curiosity and interest in the things that make our equivalent of four walls: the tree and the plants. Whether this is the curiosity in the plants and leaves as a food source of the plethora of caterpillars that seem to be emerging left, right and centre, and which make great resources for teaching the children about being gentle with their hands, or the different sticks that get picked and brought into the forest and taken home from the forest that make such brilliant swords, nesting materials or things to send down a gutter!
In different crafting activities, the elder wood has been used in a variety of ways and the children are becoming very familiar with it’s properties to know what can be made and done with it. We’ve seen it used as beads for the children’s bracelets/ necklaces but this week saw two new uses for it: as homes for insects and as ornaments on a string of the children’s favourite things around the forest. Using pencils to push out the centre, the little forest folk have loved making new homes for our insect friends and were even moved to take some of their elder pieces home to set up their own insect homes! Then with a good length of string, the children spend a lot of time and effort in finding and displaying some very special items to them that they found around the forest and carefully inserting them between the threads. Treasure according to little forest folk includes feathers, sticks, stones, leaves and what is affectionately referred to as ‘fluffies’, which are the fluffy seed pods that fall from our willow trees!
Reminders
Summer hours
As of Monday 5th June, we will move onto our summer timetable. Thanks to the extended daylight and warmer weather, from June to September/October we are able to play out in the forest a lot longer every day.
For those of you with sessional children, they will still be walked out of the forest for 3.30pm as usual so no change for you.
For the full day children, we will remain in the forest each afternoon, returning to the scout hut for approximately 5.00pm for dinner in time for you to collect your little ones.
We are looking forward to our extended days in the forest, with more time to explore, play and enjoy the English summer!
Summer holiday camps
Do remember to book up places for holiday camps during the summer holidays. Your priority booking is until Monday 22nd May. Check your email for how to book.
Dates for the diary
- The next bank holiday when we will be closed is Monday 29th May.
- Dates for May half-term are: 29th May to 2nd June.
- You can see a reminder our term dates here
New Little Forest Folk settings
We're so excited to be opening two new Little Forest Folk settings in the coming months.
For more details about our Wandsworth nursery visit the web page here
For more details about our Barnes nursery visit the web page here
Feel free to contact Carly with any queries: carly@littleforestfolk.com
Food in the forest
Our full May menu can be found on our website HERE
Our houmous dip with crudites and wholemeal pitta
is always a favourite with the children.
The houmous is homemade with ground cumin, ground coriander and lots of fresh coriander. There are also some whole chickpeas stirred through the garlicky, lemony, spiced dip.
What to wear
For a guide on what children should be wearing follow our Spring kit list HERE
Team update
Staff swapsies
As you know, you may see some unfamiliar faces at the nursery over the coming weeks. Our educators are taking part in Little Forest Folk staff swaps across our three sites to support continuous improvement and professional development.
We hope your weekend is full of adventure and imagination!
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon
