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The children have had the opportunity to make bow and arrows, using a saw to cut their arrows to size and a knife to make indents into the bow to hold the string...

We have learned how to use a compass while navigating our way through a treasure hunt...

Whittled sticks to hold the all-important marshmallows for toasting on an open fire...

And of course, the children have had time to play, explore and just be...

In Forest School this week, some of the children chose to be superheroes themselves and carry out rescue missions to help the animals that had ventured too high up in the trees and couldn't get down!

The children were amazed at the colours and detail of the leaves that they created.

Reception and Year 1 spent a sunny afternoon in Forest school today. We had fun playing Sleeping Bear and learning a bit about the deep sleep that bears are able to enter into; going for months without food or water which we could never do! Then we had time to explore the areas and choose our own activities, which included trying out some of the new den building equipment, climbing, digging, cooking in the mud kitchen and a spot of bug hunting.

Discovering how to follow a trail, predators tried to track down their prey without being spotted. This activity had everyone strategising as we thought about where best to hide while also remaining vigilant and then thinking about how to track stealthily and silently.

A fantastic opportunity to develop strategic thinking, focus, using the senses, teamwork, communication, being active, predator-prey relationship, connection with nature, role play.

It was also a perfect activity for a spot of whittling too!

which led to the creation of a variety of different porridge concoctions...

There were also houses to build and homes to furnish...

Teddies to zipline...

and broomsticks to ride!

We had bunnies appearing on the trees...

and even the big, bad wolf...

Many of the children decided to make their own eggs and took great care of them...

laying blankets over them...

wrapping them up...

building them a nest and feeding them...

and with all of this great care, do you know what????! Cracks started to appear in the shells ...

beaks appeared...

then legs and wings...

and purple rabbits and flying unicorns hatched!

Then what better way to celebrate Earth Day than with mud cakes, making moss footballs, climbing trees, looking for worms and getting creative with nature...

The children were split into four teams and went away to think of a Team Name and create a picture to represent their team outside their den...

We had Team Snake...

Team Pro...

Team Wild 

And Team Badger

Then it was time to work on tactics and play Capture the Flag!

We collected our own special stick and joined in with the wonderful story 'Stick' by Irene Dickson, then we let our imaginations run wild...

Here is a little of what we got up to...

We found pine cones in the small woods and then used cotton wool to create our very own snowy owl. So cute!

and we couldn't resist a little bit of mud too!

Some children worked together to create amazing Swedish snow lanterns; made by placing and stacking snowballs into a mound and putting a light inside. These sculptures channel children's energy and focus and look beautiful lit up in the dark. Here are a few pictures from our day...

The children identified the hazel tree and learned how we coppice the wood on a diagonal, so that water hitting the cut branch flows outwards, rather than inwards towards the tree where it could lead to infection.

Everyone listened attentively as we chatted about the rules - asking to enter the tool circle and waiting to be welcomed in, then waiting patiently for their turn...

The children put a glove on their non-tool holding hand and earned to whittle in the space between their knees; so that if the peeler slips, it would not catch their leg...

They held the handle of the peeler and moved it in a downwards  direction away from the gloved hand.

And at the end, the children had an amazing wand to take home! I was very proud of their achievements.

We made our own needles using small sticks and attached wool, learning how to tie a cow hitch knot. Then we chose leaves to thread onto our wool, which generated wonderful opportunities for learning about the trees in our woodland as we studied the leaves we chose.

The children then had the opportunity to create their own webs, either individually or in groups. The team work and communication was incredible, as you can see from these fantastic creations...

There was even a spider created...

Mini webs...

and leaves threaded through as flies...

After the webs were created it was time to see if we could get through the webs without touching, or be caught in the web for a spider's dinner!

Webs are fundamental to the life of a spider - it is their home and how they attract their food. They also have an important role in the ecosystem as they help to control the number of insects and spiders themselves are a source of food for many birds, hedgehogs, shrews and toads. 

Did you know - spider silk if five times stringer than steel!

''A cat and it's funny because it has a square head"

"A leaf friend, these acer the legs arms and head. I think I will add wings, then it can fly and make friends in the woods."

"A magical unicorn."

This activity offered up the opportunity to talk to the children about the leaves they had chosen; to notice their shape and size and look at the surrounding trees to see where they might come from.

Noticing the different colours of the leaves we were able to relate this to changes that happen in Autumn and talk about why leaves change colour.

Did you know: During Autumn and Winter, there is not enough sunlight for leaves to make their food and trees will live off the food they stored in the Summer. As the green colour (chlorophyll) disappears from the leaves, we see all the different colours, like orange and yellow. These colours have been there all along, but we only see them when the green fades. The brown we see in leaves comes from waste that is left in the leaves.

One child made a picture frame around their leaf art and this led to some wonderful knot work as we worked together to create picture frames from sticks, using square lashing...

We rounded off the session with a game of 'Otters and beavers', with much hilarity and excitement!

We are developing our gross motor skills as we climb, building up our strength and learning how to balance ...

As well as exploring the fauna and flora around us...

Even finding and identifying a Herald moth!

We also collaborated to create bowls of delicious Autumnal soup, mmm,mmm,mmm!