This week we have been enjoying October half-term and getting ready for Halloween at the weekend. We have enjoyed seeing some familiar faces return to tell us how they were getting on at big school. They have also enjoyed meeting our recent intake and the two groups have had great fun together.
On Tuesday we were incredibly lucky to have a visit from the local fire brigade who drove their engine into the car park and allowed our children to hop up into the cab. Unfortunately, the siren was out of bounds as we wanted to be respectful to those around us. After speaking to us about fire safety the firemen gave our Little Forest Folk-ers the chance to use the hose. This was such a lovely experience for all our children. We will put our thinking caps on for possible future visits.
Our children got to see real pumpkins being carved. They chose the type of faces they wanted and stood a safe distance while an educator used the knife. The children marvelled at finding what was buried inside these large squashes. They got the chance to scoop out the seeds and pulp. Afterwards we roasted the pumpkin seeds and most of the children enjoyed the unusual taste.
Getting more hands-on, the children got the chance to use a saw as part of our forest school approach to developing life skills. They cut branches into small discs and then decorated them with paint and string. Some of the children enjoyed using them as building blocks and talked of making ‘tree houses.’
We have been getting into party mode by making pumpkin masks out of orange felt and decorating it with glittery glue. They then enjoyed taking turns to spook their friends and our forest was full of Mr and Mrs Pumpkin heads. This activity provided an opportunity to practice scissor control as the felt was a tricky material to cut out and shape. However, the children were encouraged to persevere and took pride in their achievements.
As a role-play activity, the children were busy stirring horrid potions that included frog’s legs, fox tails and slimy slugs. Once the potion was finished our Little Forest Folk-ers used their creations to put spooky spells on their friends and educators. One educator became a frog and another became a wolf!
Little Forest Folk
Twickenham