Forest School and PE
Friday 3rd March 2023
We have had a cold but great start to the year in Forest School. Owl, Squirrel and Hedgehog Classes have been busy creating some amazing bug hotels. The children took great pride in decorating and filling up their new bug hotel and are excited to see what creepy crawlies check in to their hotel!
Otter, Badger and Stag Classes have also had a busy start to the year, the children now have forest school journals, which they are enjoying using to document all different aspects of Forest School that we are doing. We have also been outdoor detectives, working out how to measure the age of the amazing varieties of trees we have in our forest school area. Currently we are building up our knowledge of knots and what knots we use for different purposes.
Please remember to make sure your child’s wellies and forest school kit is named – thank you.
Friday 9th December 2022
What a great term we are having out in Forest School! In KS1 the children have been building upon their curriculum knowledge of habitats. In groups, the children have been learning how to make nests, birdhouses and hedgehog houses for all the different animals that we might see out in our forest school area.
KS2 have been focusing on the key skill of teamwork. The children have been learning how to make successful dams by planning and building them in our stream area using only what was in our forest school area to help them. The dams were amazing and our stream filled up pretty quickly!
Just a reminder that even though the children can stay in their forest school kit all day they must have spare shoes to walk around school in. Please send your child to forest school in old clothes as we sometimes end up wet and muddy!
Friday 18th November 2022
We have had a very busy term out in Forest School! Owl Class have been learning about traditional tales and making the houses from the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’. We had some amazing houses made and the children loved thinking about all the different resources we could use. Owl Class have also been painting all different kinds of leaves to make some scarily good ghosts for Halloween!
Squirrel Class have been planting trees in and around our Forest School area. We learnt about all the different types of trees and how we use the leaves on the trees to help us identify what kind of tree we have found.
Hedgehog Class have been using their newfound knowledge of habitats to help make a nest for a bird. The children have had to think about what materials are best and why we they would want to use those particular items.
In KS2, Otter and Badger Classes are building on to their knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons and have been working in teams to make Viking longships. At the end of the session we have been racing them down the stream! The children have also been focusing on their knot tieing skills to help with tieing their longships together. We have looked at the variety of ways we can tie knots and where the knots would be useful.
Stag Class have started using the potato peelers and knives as we are starting to learn the skill of whittling; the children are excited to learn this skill and they look forward to showing you their creations!
Just a reminder - as it is now getting much colder and wetter your child needs to wear their coat to Forest School. Wellies are also needed if you have them.
Friday 30th September 2022
The children have had a great time exploring our Forest School site and noticing the seasonal changes that have taken place since the summer. Our sessions so far have been focussed on sensory games and team challenges.
Owl, Squirrel and Hedgehog Classes have enjoyed looking for mini-beasts and discovering the different habitats we have at Forest School. Hedgehog Class have used palm drills to drill holes and Squirrel Class have used loppers to cut bamboo to help create micro-habitats for ladybirds and lacewings to hibernate over the winter.
Otter, Badger and Stag Classes have been concentrating on settlements and den building and have experimented with different building materials and techniques used by the Anglo-Saxons and the Shang Dynasty. They have also been working on their fire lighting skills and have been fascinated by the effectiveness of the Storm Kettle for helping us enjoy a hot chocolate at the end of our sessions!