This week we decided to get onto our site as quickly as we could to ensure we had lots of time to explore. On the way, the children chatted about what they might see when we arrive. We were hopeful we might spot rabbits, squirrels, deer, a Gruffalo and maybe even a cheetah! Well, you never know!
On arrival we chatted about how to keep ourselves safe and the children quickly reiterated our forest school promises. We headed off down the path and stopped just as we reached our site. Now was the time for tip toe toes and quiet voices just incase we spotted any animals. Sadly, on this occasion, there were no animals waiting for us but we did spot something interesting. it was a tiny fragment of egg. We wondered where the egg could have come from. We could hear birds all around us and one of the children was adamant the noise came from a blackbird.
After a quick chat, we got busy. The children had already planned for their day and their grown-ups didn’t feature it! There was den building, role play, balancing, sliding, tree climbing, writing in the mud with sticks, negotiating new pathways through the garlic and animal hole spotting to name a few. The children demonstrated their newly learned forest school skills as well as those acquired at home and nursery. There was communication, negotiation, compromise, risk assessing, supporting others, working together, spacial awareness, physical skills (both fine and gross), balancing, the list goes on! All of this from self-chosen, independent activities with their friends in a wonderful environment. No wonder forest school is such a hit!