Tuesday 17th February

As we wandered onto our Forest School site, we were greeted by a large pond where anglers were quietly fishing, which immediately sparked our curiosity about what might live beneath the surface. We learned that the pond is home to some impressive fish, including perch and carp, and we imagined them swimming in the deeper water below. This led to an important discussion about staying safe near water, keeping a sensible distance from the edge, and never going onto ice. Excitement grew when we spotted a section of the pond that had frozen over, prompting thoughtful questions about how deep the water might be and how thick the ice was. It was a wonderful opportunity to combine nature exploration, seasonal change, and safety awareness through hands-on observation and discussion.

Our curiosity about the frozen pond continued when one of the children suggested breaking the ice with a stick. After making sure everyone was standing at a safe distance, a grown-up carefully tapped the surface and managed to lift out a huge piece of ice. We gathered around to investigate it more closely and were amazed by how thick it was. Each of us had a quick touch — it was so cold! The exploration didn’t stop there. Another grown-up threw a large stone into the pond while we all stood well back in preparation. There was a tremendous splash and we watched in awe as the sheet of ice shattered across the water. It was an exciting and memorable moment, helping us understand just how fragile frozen water can be while reinforcing the importance of staying safe near icy ponds.

As we continued our exploration, we found ourselves surrounded by a wonderful variety of trees, each offering new opportunities for discussion and discovery. One of the children excitedly spotted a silver birch and confidently shared that silver birch trees can be used to make paper. Intrigued, we asked him to explain his thinking. Carefully climbing the embankment, he reached towards the trunk and gently peeled away a small loose piece of bark. Holding it out proudly, he showed us how the thin bark could be used just like paper. It was a fantastic example of child-led learning — drawing on prior knowledge, making connections with the natural world, and confidently sharing ideas with the group. Moments like these truly capture the spirit of Forest School. 🌿

Tuesday 3rd February

During today’s forest school session, the children spent time exploring the woods, fully immersing themselves in the sights, sounds, and textures of the natural environment. Despite it being a chilly first week of forest school, this did not stop us from exploring and having fun. With the colder weather in mind, we decided to head out on an adventure and explore further afield than our usual site.

One of our first discoveries was a HUGE mountain, which quickly became an exciting challenge as the children set their sights on reaching the very top. With determination and perseverance, everyone had a go. The greatest challenge came when finding a safe and careful way back down, encouraging problem-solving, teamwork, and resilience. With gentle guidance from the forest leaders below, the children made it safely back down with only a few wobbles along the way.

As we continued our adventure, we stopped to observe catkins hanging from the trees. The children eagerly shared their ideas about what they might be, suggesting everything from avocados and cucumbers to caterpillars and worms. Close by, the children discovered three large boulders and, leading their own learning, set off to explore. Some played with sticks, others carefully observed the moss growing over the rocks, but a common theme throughout was imagination. The woods quickly transformed into scenes of pirate adventures, fishing trips, and superhero missions.

While walking, we paused to listen carefully to our surroundings and heard the sound of running water. After a short discussion, we discovered it was a river. This led Kirsten to guide a conversation about managing risks in the woods, focusing on potential dangers such as steep drops, uneven ground, and the importance of being aware of water and the risks around it. Together, the children thought about how they could keep themselves safe by slowing down, watching where they were going, staying within agreed boundaries, and listening carefully to instructions. These conversations supported the children in developing confidence and independence in assessing and managing risk. Some of the children asked if we could follow the river, and that is exactly what we did. To our surprise, the river seemed to move from our left side to our right, prompting another thoughtful discussion. The children shared their ideas, wondering if the water flowed through a tunnel, a tube, or under a bridge. One child even suggested that the river might flow all the way to her house.

After lunch, we found a small clearing where the children continued their imaginative play, alongside climbing trees and balancing on fallen branches. The children were also eager to search for signs of wildlife. We talked about animals that live in the woods and those we might be lucky enough to spot, such as birds, squirrels, deer, and other woodland mammals. The children enjoyed playing a game where they took turns giving clues while the rest of the group guessed which animal was being described. This supported the development of descriptive language, questioning skills, and confidence in sharing ideas.

Although we ended our day a little earlier than usual due to the cold weather, the session was filled with exploration, learning, and fun, and we are already looking forward to more forest adventures next week.

Thursday 22nd January

Today’s trip to forest school was a wet, windy, muddy kind of day and what fun we had. We started our day exploring puddles but these were no ordinary little puddles. We had to carefully walk into them to make sure the water didn’t go over our boots (no one wants soggy, wet feet)! Once on site, we were surprised by a visit from a deer! It ran very quickly up the hill but we managed to spot its white tail.

We started to set up camp and one of our grown ups had a great plan to make a different kind of shelter which would keep us really warm and dry. Everyone helped to create an amazing shelter and once inside it really was toasty.

The bouncy log remains a highlight of our trip and as you can see there is plenty of space for everyone! Today we met two dogs called Tinkerbell and Holly and they were very friendly. They jumped around us excitedly, wanting to play. They must love our forest school just as much as new do!

Thursday 15th January

This week was a very busy one in the forest. We started our day exploring our site and as usual the den and bouncy log were a favourite. Some children wanted to explore the pond and we wondered if any animals were nearby. We thought we spotted something moving in the long grasses and decided that it was time to venture away from our site to investigate. This was a little trickier than it sounded because to climb up the huge hill, we had to cross the dreaded swamp. Children from a previous group had already built a small bridge but it was very slippy and some of the bridge had been washed away. The grown-ups helped the children across and before we knew it we were on the other side of the swamp. We began climbing the hill which was really tricky.

The space became more muddy, wet and swampy but we persevered. Before we knew it, we were at the top! What an achievement. We looked down and we could see the whole of our forest school site. We ventured along the top of the hill until we came to what we thought might be a giant nest. But who could have built this nest? We decided in the afternoon that we could build our own nests to support the birds who live in the forest. It was time to climb back down the hill and have lunch. We practiced our knees bent and arms out to ensure we were balanced and could get down the hill safely.

Thursday 8th January

This week we introduced a new group of children to forest school. We headed straight to our usual site to see if it had changed since our last visit. The children wanted to get to work as quickly as possible and as usual the den and bouncing tree were the favourites however on this occasion the children found an even bigger bouncy tree. This tree allowed everyone to sit a little higher off the ground while a team of children held onto high branches and pushed the tree up and down. To their surprise the fallen tree was extremely bouncy and the children screamed with delight!

Tuesday 25th November

This week at forest school, the children had made a plan to add to their den however very quickly the plan changed when the children discovered a bouncy fallen branch. The children used the branch for a variety of activities. At one point it was a pirate ship with the children clinging on as they sailed the seven seas, occasionally falling overboard and having to swim back. It then became a slippy slide and was then used for balancing. Who would have thought that one piece of fallen tree could be so many things!

This week at forest school it was fire week. The children love to watch the flames dancing as our lunch is cooked on the open fire. We always start our fires the same way, with a discussion about fire safety. The children are aware of how to keep themselves and their friends safe around the fire, understanding the safe routes to exit the fire circle, what to do if the smoke heads your way and how to use the ‘respect position’ (how to kneel safely around the fire).

Our lunch was rather delicious and there were lots of yummy noises from the children (and the grown-ups). Our very special recipe for ‘forest school garlic bread’ was a particular favourite!

Thursday 23rd October

Today at forest school the children wanted to further explore the mushrooms and fungus growing in our woodland. We headed off to the dried up pond area and found an array of different mushrooms. We used our seek app to identify them. Some had some very strange names. We also needed to have a discussion about our forest school rules as one of our grown-ups decided to touch one of the mushrooms (don’t worry, the children were on hand to explain to her how we do things at forest school). The children know our forest school promises and are able to support others with them. For the remainder of the day, the children supported the grown-up with our promises. Even grown-ups need some help sometimes!

The children were intrigued to think that our forest may be filled with fairies who live under the mushrooms. One child thought the biggest mushroom had a door underneath. What an amazing imagination!

 The afternoon continued with mushroom searches and the best construction of a den we have ever attempted! Team work makes the dream work! We sat under the shelter eating our lunch all snug and warm as the rain fell around us. What a magical day!

Thursday 16th October

This week, we headed into forest school and were keen to explore the old pond area. Now dried up, this space provides excellent opportunities for balancing and negotiating pathways through the many stones which lie there. One of the children found a beautiful shell. She was intrigued by her find and wondered why there was nothing living inside. What kind of creature could it have been and where could it have gone?

The children wanted to explore the vast space around them and see how far they could go. As the area is flat, the children were able to spread themselves out and discover the freedom our forest school provides.

We headed into a denser part of forest school where we discovered a huge variety of mushrooms. We even spotted red ones! We wondered who might eat or even live under the mushrooms. Tales of fairies and magic began to appear in our thinking. The children were fascinated by the different sizes, shapes and colours. We wanted to view the mushrooms from different angles so some children lay on the floor whilst others bent their heads down and looked underneath. Roll on next week when we plan to venture deeper into the woods to explore.

Tuesday 7th October

This week was fire week and the children were very excited to cook on our open fire. We began our ‘three course’ meal with garlic bread. This is always a favourite! For our main we had loaded wedges and wow were they popular! Dessert was rice pudding. With our tummies full, we decided to head off into forest school for an explore. Our trolley was very heavy this week as it was laden down with our dishes ready to be cleaned back at nursery so it was all hands on deck to get the trolley through the forest. The children, as usual, were amazing and supported the adults by helping to push the trolley over the big bumps along the way!

Tuesday 30th September

This week at forest school the children were intrigued by the discovery of yet more acorns! But this time we noticed something a little different. Some of the acorns were beginning to sprout roots. We chatted about what that could mean and what could happen in the future. After identifying trees in the morning, the children were all aware that if we planted the little acorn, we may grow our very own oak tree. Now this would be an amazing experiment and so we took a couple back to nursery to see if we could grow one. The other children wanted to collect the acorns together in a pile for the squirrels. We had engaged in this activity in a previous week and when the children noticed the pile was gone, they believed the squirrels had taken them and they should repeat the activity, helping the squirrels in the process.

The rest of our day was spent exploring the terrain with climbing, running and jumping games. The children found a huge stone and immediately wanted to negotiate how to get up and down it. We also played some fun chasing games in the vast empty space which the children thought was hilarious!

Tuesday 23rd September

This week the children began their day exploring a small ditch they had discovered. The ditch provided lots of scope for problem solving skills as the children tried to work out how deep and wide it was and how they would cross it. 

Our afternoon explorations found us in a wooded area where the children got to work building dens. Again, lots of problem solving skills were used to work out how to build a roof and walls which were secure. The children attempted building the den with various lengths of branches. They soon discovered that the longer branches were easier to build with but some were a little bit bendy which led to more discussions about how to make the walls secure enough so we could (in the words of one child) “live inside forever!”.

Tuesday 16th September

This week at forest school a new group of children joined us for woodland adventures. As we headed into forest school we were immediately met with a floor full of acorns. We chatted about where the acorns had come from and why they were there. One of the children pointed out they had come from an oak tree and they were for the squirrels. The children decided to collect as many acorns as possible and then piled them high. They thought the squirrels would be very happy as they didn’t need to find the acorns now as the children had done the job for them.

This week there was a lot of climbing and jumping from different heights. The children have been developing their confidence in the woodland and as the photographs show, they are happily exploring risk taking too.

We discovered a new area today and this has led to lots of questions and theories. We will be further exploring this site next week so watch this space!

Thursday 4th September

This week we spent our day on our forest school site. When we arrived, we quickly set up camp before spending the morning exploring. Some children were intrigued by the discovery of an eggshell. “It’s a baby bird egg but it’s empty. I wonder where it came from. It must be a nest!”. We searched around but were unable to spot a bird’s nest. We wondered if we continued exploring, we might find more clues. We continued our search and were amazed to find yet another eggshell. We wondered what type of bird may have hatched from it. Whilst some children enjoyed exploring the eggshells, the other group enjoyed using natural materials to build a fairy hotel. This included a pink roof and a cream carpet. The children were amazed to spot pink leaves but couldn’t work out where they had come from. Our forest school is amazing but does sometimes throw us some conundrums. 

In the afternoon, we continued our explorations and discovered several log pile houses. Who could live there? Our mind went straight to the Gruffalo story. Who lives in the log pile house? A snake of course! We helped to develop the houses by adding more sticks. By the time we were finished, they were fine looking houses. 

Thursday 21st August

This week we welcomed a brand new group of children to forest school and wow, what adventures we had! We started our day discussing our forest school promises and learning about the environment. We wanted to find the big pond and it took quite a while but on our way we spotted some blackberries, an apple tree and a silver birch! We spotted a large branch sticking out of the ground. Some of the children decided to try and pull it out but it was stuck! Even teamwork couldn’t get the branch out of the ground but it did create lots of conversation, negotiation and compromise.

After lunch, the children discover something they had never seen before, a large, deep, dark hole. What sort of animal could have made the hole? The children had some excellent guesses. Could it be a mouse, a vole, a badger, a fox or a rabbit? We started to look for clues and that is when we spotted another hole! This one was very similar to the other one so we decided it must have been the same creature who made it. We spotted some rabbit poo and the children concluded that it was definitely a rabbit home!

Tuesday 22nd July

For our last ever block of forest school adventures we have let the children do lots of deciding, problem solving and leading. On the mini bus Lisa asked the children where they wanted to go, several of our friends expressed an interest to explore the balancing stones, and the others wanted to see the orange river following a chat with Kirsten.

So we had a very busy day ahead especially if we wanted to fit everything in. One of the children led the way, keeping a sharp look out for any dangers, calling back to his friends when needed. He then spotted some poo on the path which the children were intrigued by as it looked different. After some researching we narrowed it down to either fox or deer poo. A little bit more research was needed and we collectively decided it was fox poo!

We then chose another friend to have a turn at leading the way, he worked closely with another child who helped navigate the way to the balancing stones.

Once there the children went off exploring in all directions. One of our friends found a hidden walk way and inside was a massive house of sticks. We wonder who lives in a house of sticks?

Well… we spotted some more poo! There were lots of fabulous guesses as to the animal this poo may belong to, so we took some pictures and Agreed we would carrying out some further research as soon as we could.

The children demonstrated their amazing physical skills as they balanced their way over the stones, some playing with sticks pretending to be deer and unicorns, others enjoying picking and smelling the mint, and others went off taking risks in the climbing tree. One of our friends spotted some deer poo and wondered if the deer decided to poo here because of all the beautiful smelling mint, another friend suggested we pick some mint as there was a lot and took it back to nursery to explore. After co-researching with Kirsten using the our seek app, we found out that the mint we found was watermint and is an edible plant.

After gathering some mint it was time to stop for our lunch. During lunch we had a little visit from a deer! It was grazing on the nearby plants and we couldn’t believe our eyes with how close the deer came.

After lunch it was the tricky task of navigating a very big and steep hill but working two at a time, using our arms outstretched and keeping our knees bent, the children safely made their way down the hill demonstrating their amazing abilities. It was a little trickier getting the trolley down but with some team work Kirsten and Lisa managed it. But uh oh! A fence and a bridge. It was like we were in a real life bear hunt story. The children gave us some amazing encouragement as Kelly, Lisa, and Kirsten worked together to lift the heavy trolley up and over the fence then ever so carefully over the very wobbly bridge. But uh oh! The wobbly bridge wobbled and the heavy trolley toppled and oh no! Lisa fell into the swamp (good job it had all dried up!)

Then ever so quietly the children tiptoed one at a time over the bridge, hoping not to scare the bear or the troll! We made it!

Once safely at the other side we began our descent to find the orange river. Using our sharp senses the children could hear the rushing current of water and were very pleased to spot the orange river. Although we weren’t as happy with the Very smelly and strong egg smell!

As we began our adventure further into the woodland we began spotting lots of beautiful butterflies, and Lisa came prepared! We each took a butterfly check list and began using our sharp eyes to see how many different types of butterflies we could see. Ranging from painted ladies, to speckled wood.

As we headed up towards the mini bus we decided to stop at our main site to show Kelly since it was her first time with us at Blaydon Burn, but unfortunately the plants were so overgrown it was nearly impossible to get through!

Before we knew it the minibus was there and waiting for us. After a super busy day we all enjoyed some quiet time on the bus, some of us even nodded off for a while!

Thursday 10th July

This week we asked our driver to drop us at the very edge of our forest school where the huge ponds are. The children took charge and we appointed a ‘leader’ who would try and navigate through the forest to find the biggest pond. On the way we spotted butterflies, dogs and lots of birds. Eventually we spotted some water and as we walked around the corner we were greeted by a HUGE pond! The children were completely amazed! We talked about water safety and there were several signs which showed us how to be keep ourselves safe. We looked on watching ripples on the water, the birds flying overhead and anglers attempting to catch a fish.

 After leaving the pond, we headed down towards the deeper part of forest school. On the way we spotted a stony area where the children demonstrated their balancing skills. We all attempted to walk along the stones and stay off the ground which was pretty tricky! We decided we would use the rocks to create a bridge across the grass and see how far we could get. The children stood in a line and passed stones along before placing them at the end. The path went on and on and on. What amazing teamwork!

 

After lunch, it was time to leave and we headed towards the minibus pick up point. This time another child took charge. We were a little earlier than we expected so had enough time to go on a mini adventure. One of the children pointed out that the woodland was very dense and it looked like the ‘deep, dark woods’. We quietly headed inside before we all heard our leader shout those words we love to hear, “deer, deer, there’s a deer’ and sure enough a beautiful deer ran past. What a great way to end our day!

Thursday 26th June

We are so lucky to have a huge forest school and each week we discover new spaces which challenge children’s thinking. This week we were dropped off at the very top of our site. This was a new area to the children and very quickly the children became intrigued by the space. We began observing a beautiful wildflower area where we spotted an abundance of creatures. There were ladybirds, moths, butterflies and bees present.

The children spotted a brick wall with arches. They wondered what it could have been. Was it a wall? Was it a bridge or was it was a home for a troll? We headed further into forest school to discover different walls but these ones had small holes in them. Some were square whilst others were circular. We had lots of theories about what these might be. The children eventually concluded, they must be animal homes.

After lunch we decided to venture further down the path until we found a small stream with a bridge. The children immediately began to explore the area. This led to the children exploring floating with various natural materials. The forest school environment provides many opportunities for scientific discovery. The children quickly discovered what would and would not float.

Tuesday 17th June

This week at forest school, it was fire week! The children were all excited and even more so when they realised it was pizza and pancakes for lunch! This is one of our favourite meals to cook on the open fire. The children had a range of ingredients to choose from so they could make the perfect pizza.

We discussed fire safety and each child tried out our firelighter. They were all amazing and managed to create a spark completely independently.

After lunch we got busy working on our allotment. The children worked extremely hard to pull more of the weeds out at the top of the garden in preparation for our new herb bed. We hope to add some fresh herbs to our pizza next time.

Tuesday 10th June

This week the children decided they would like to go on another forest school adventure and this one would be completely different from our usual weeks. We asked our driver to drop us off at a different part of our site and this would access a space which the children had never visited.

At the very bottom of our forest school site is the River Tyne. We walked down the bank, under the bridge and the children were amazed to see the huge river. We sat for a while looking for various wildlife. As the river is linked to the sea, we were hopeful to spot some octopus', dolphins, sharks, jellyfish and whales but sadly on this occasion we didn’t see any of these things. We did however find lots and lots of seaweed and a family of horses!

The children were intrigued by the river and wondered where all the water was coming from. We quickly formulated a plan to find the source of the water and off we went. On the way we found a very interesting old building which the children were sure must have been a castle. We followed the sound of water until we came to a bridge and found a beautiful waterfall. We decided to create some small boats made from leaves and sticks which we could float down the river. The children made some amazing creations which sailed off out to sea.

After lunch, we headed back towards the minibus but on the way we heard a strange noise. It sounded like a pterodactyl. Surely, there were no dinosaurs living in our forest. We were not waiting to find out and walked a little quicker up the path. One of the children spotted a T-Rex lurking in the bushes and this began a fun hiding game. We quickly ran up onto one of the hills to hide in the bushes. It was a very steep bank but with a little help from our friends we all climbed up safely. Once we thought it was safe to do so, we headed back to the path but the T-Rex was back. One of the adults explained to the children that if we saw a T-Rex we had to curl up into a little ball and make ourselves as small as possible so it couldn’t see us. The children thought this was hilarious and great fun. Each time the adult shouted “T-Rex”, the children (and grown-ups) curled up small. It was a great source of entertainment but we did have some curious looks from local dog walkers!