If you go down to the forest today, you’re sure to find lots of children bug spotting, treasure map reading and finding out facts about animals. It’s been another busy week at Wimbledon full of exciting adventures and fun filled days with friends. We have been spending lots of time learning all about animals this week, which has been so much fun. We have also spent lots of time on adventure walks, having treats at the fire and playing with all the amazing mud kitchen equipment that we have.
Some of our children have been spending this week learning more about different animals around the world. We have been looking at books that talk about various animals and creatures that live in different countries, finding out facts about them and reading stories based around those animals. Some of our children started the week by making animals masks. To do this they had some card which they cut holes out of to make eyes, and then they drew on them to add whiskers and different patterns. We had cats, dogs and owls, to name a few. The children then had a great time running around the forest pretending to be these different animals with their friends.
We have also been spending lots of time using magnifying glasses to spot different bugs around our site. The children have been exploring the long grass on the meadow, looking at the flowers and grass to see what has been living there. We have been lucky enough to find snails and spiders, as well as lots of grasshoppers and crickets. The children have also been able to spot some more tiny frogs living in the darker, damper areas of the meadow. Whilst gently bending down they have been lucky enough to hold the frogs and have a closer look at their different patterns and features.
These activities have meant that the children have learnt so many new facts about the creatures, which they love to share. It’s important that we talk to the children about how to look after our animals and the homes they live in. We have to be able to share our forest with these creatures as they are such an important part of our children’s learning experience.
If there is one thing that our children love to do in the forest, it’s a treasure hunt. They listen well to the different clues given to them to help get them to the next step in the hunt. The clues can be all about different things that we see around the forest, looking to find out how much these little explorers really do remember about the world they see around them. As these children spend so much time in the wonderful outdoors, spending time listening to everything they know and take on board is so important. To an adult it may just look like a fall tree, but to our children it is an endless world of possibilities. It can be a train, or a boat or even a pirate ship. It can be full of so much endless fun, but also a place perfect for them to learn about. From our treasure hunts we find out new facts from each other and it’s such a fun way to spend some time in the forest.
Some of our children have also been spending some time learning some amazing forest skills this week. Whittling has been the new skill that many have learnt this week, which was very exciting for some of our newer holiday campers. It’s such a great activity which can be done using peelers and some sticks - so simple but so effective. The children have been able to test themselves and try out their newfound skills when peeling the bark off different sticks that they have found to reveal the different bark underneath. This is a great activity to find out the structure of a stick and what is beneath the outer surface.
It’s been another amazing week at Wimbledon and watching our children laugh and smile their way around the forest is such an amazing sight. No matter what the weather we always find something so fun to and it’s just one of the best places to learn and experience new opportunities!
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon