Welcome to Forest School pages. We hope you enjoy looking and reading about our Forest School experiences.
After sharing the story Little Owl's Egg by Debi Gilori, we wanted to make our own owl to care for and look after.
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!
This week, we had great fun creating woodland tents, building a lattice of wood either side a main branch...
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We have had a lot of enjoyment visiting the woods in the snow today.
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...
Over the last couple of weeks, some of the children have chosen to try their hand at whittling.
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.
With so many celebrations happening at this time of year, the children had the option of making leaf garlands.
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.
Inspired by the amazing spider webs that glisten with dew in the mornings, we shared the story 'Walter's Wonderful Web' by Tim Hopgood.
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!
