I had previously asked the children what they would like to learn in the woods – I made it very clear that they were to suggest learning, not just activities. A popular idea was to make dens so that we could write a set of instructions. So today we went to the woods and made dens! When we arrived I asked the children to tell me what they thought they would be learning and what skills they would use. They came up with estimating, risk assessment and team work. Plus other things which are essentially one of the previous three. We then discussed success criteria – the den should accommodate at least one person and try to keep rain out. Then they did it.

The children had an absolute ball. They worked very well in their groups and at the end we toured every den and peer assessed them. We are returning next week but should have more time – less intro chat. I am happy with how things went. At the start I said no-one was to be more than 100 footsteps away from our gathering point. No-one heeded this but none went too far away although they weren’t all in sight. It was important that they kept on their fluorescent bibs.