This week we have taken two groups to the forest to experience learning in the wild! Forest School is a fabulous experience that we run for our pre-school children which has many benefits for them. Over the past couple of days we have seen the children flourish in their new environment. As it was our introductory week, we spoke about hazards and risks and how we were going to keep safe. We set some boundaries, they were far away so we had lots of space to explore but we could always be seen by an adult!
We looked at trees that might be good to climb and then we climbed! We squelched in the mud, a lot, some of us even lost our wellies in the muddy mess!
We explored nature, there were lots of plants to look at and one in particular we could smell. Wild garlic! It was everywhere, so we felt very hungry. We stopped for some snack before going to find more to explore.
Then we went to look at the horses in the field next door. They were munching on their grass so didn’t want to come and see us.
Before we knew it, it was time to go back to Cart Mill but we can’t wait to get out again next week.
Tag Archives: Forest School
Fun at Forest School!
We were so excited at Cart Mill today as it was our first day back at Forest School! It was time for us to put on our special Forest School suits and wellies and head off on our adventure!
It was so important to listen to Val and Fiona and we knew to “stop, listen and look for cars” before we crossed the road.
As we walked along the path, we could see and hear the river! Val told us it goes all the way past our Forest School and that it’s called the River Cart, “same as Cart Mill!”.
There are lots of hazards we need to look out for when we are at the Forest. We learned that hazards might be “dangerous if we touch them”. We spotted nettles, barred wire, an old fire pit and some glass, so we made sure we were very careful!
It was so “so exciting” to arrive at our site. There was a huge mountain, so we decided to challenge ourselves to see if we could “race up to the top”. It was “a wee bit tricky”, but we were soon expert “mountain climbers!” The river looked so far away from the top and it was “so fun” to “run really fast” and “roly poly” back down.
Being a mountain climber is such hard work, so it was time for us to “have a wee rest” and a snack!
There was just enough time to explore the river before we headed back to Cart Mill for lunch!
It was difficult to decide what our favourite part of Forest School was today..
”I liked climbing the mountain”, “I like throwing stones in the river”, we ran really fast down the hill, it was fun”, “I liked everything”.
Phew, what a busy, fun, exciting first day in the Forest, “when can we come back!”
“The best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky” . (McMillan, 1925).
Article 31 – Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of activities.
Fun at Forest School
We are always so excited when it’s a Forest School day! We have been observing the changes in the Forest over the last few sessions. As it has been sunny and dry over the last week, it was safe enough for us to explore the river. We collected our nets and set off!
The water was so clear we could see right to the bottom. Unfortunately we didn’t see or catch any fish! We used a stick to measure the depth of the water and then held it against our boots so that we could see where it was safe to stand.
We found our very own stoney beach where we could look for stones and throw them in the water. As a group, we conducted a risk assessment and discussed safety rules we should follow when throwing our stones. We had to be careful to look around us and stay a safe distance from each other before we threw our stones into the water. We had so much fun investigating who could throw their stone the furthest and make the biggest SPLASH! We found lots of different sizes and shapes of stone. We were able to identify which were bigger, smaller, heavier and flatter. We found one that looked like a pizza and put two together to make a duck!
Of course we have to have snack when we’re at Forest School. We enjoyed apple, hot chocolate to warm us up and a biscuit (to give us energy!)
There was just time for us to make a few trips up our favourite hill! It was hard work climbing to the top! We were able to feel our hearts beating really fast! Our favourite part was pulling Angela back down the hill with us. She was going really fast!
We can’t wait to see what we can discover and explore next week!
