Forest School

Reception visit Forest School

A beautifully misty and crisp winter’s day today for Reception’s second visit. We had a mindfulness moment listening to the many birds in our forest school trees. Once the mist cleared we spotted so many too! There was even a huge red kite circling above us, wow! We played ‘Little Bird’ games, made stick nests for the toy birds, made wiggly worms with multiple hearts and had fun carrying really big sticks to make a giant nest together. Great cooperation Reception.

We learnt how to take care of ourselves and each other when outside in nature.

Birdwatching - Year 4

It’s the RSPB big Birdwatch !

We learnt to identify the great tit from its song ‘teacher-teacher’ ‘pizza-pizza’ and noticed great tits singing in the trees above us like mini sirens of spring.

We listened to the difference between robins and blue tits and spotted pairs of birds communicating in the winter trees. We thought about the geese flying in formation, changing places to conserve energy, and about how the cuckoo secures it’s chicks future!

Fire lighting - Year 4

What three things do we need to make a fire?

How can we stay safe when fire lighting?

Everyone showed great planning, focus and persistence and developed their resilience learning to use the ferro rods to make sparks and land them on the cotton wool. Great fire respect poses and good spark technique too!

Some of us explored lighting natural materials, investigating flammable properties of leaves, damp sticks and ice. There was lovely dry thistledown and silver birch bark to try too. Take that spark and make it into a flame! Looking forward to building mini fires with these learners next year!

Den Building - Year 4

Developing spacial awareness and collaboration skills building group dens. Great focus and deep engagement on self-chosen activities.

Shelter Building - Year 4

We built on our knowledge of using Y-sticks to make tripods, in order to build shelters using natural materials. We thought about what materials are available in winter when deciduous trees have lost their leaves. We used evergreens like leilandi and old Christmas trees to insulate our shelters from wind and rain. Some children built mini campfires to keep warm too.

Tree Climbing - Year 4

Learning to stay safe when climbing!

Branches bigger than your arm.

Stay close to the trunk.

Check … is this branch alive?

Are the branches grippy or slippy?

Bug Hunting - Year 4

Under the logs Year 4 found larvae and creatures. Using our detective skills we learnt that centipedes have several insta stages during their life. With excitement and perseverance, the children found various stages and presented them to the group during our sharing circle.

Group games - Year 4

Playing ‘Foxes Tails’ to keep ourselves warm on a frosty day. We thought about how our bodies feel after sitting, and how we can raise our core temperature! Running increases our heart rate too.

Campfire food - Year 4

With temperatures below zero, Year 4 thought about how to keep warm outdoors. We learnt to make the Fire Respect position to keep ourselves steady and safe by the fire - one knee up and one knee down. We toasted marshmallows over the fire using the toasting sticks whittled in the previous session - it’s important to have food as our bodies use more energy to keep warm. In the hut we warmed our hands and tummies with warm drinks.
What else can we do to keep warm when out in nature in the winter?