An all round particularly creative week has passed here at both the Forest and the Bowling Field. Inspired by a new Roald Dahl “Opposites” book, illustrated by the masterful Quentin Blake, many children have been asking for “BIG” crocodiles to be drawn. Blessed with our own great artists amongst our educators, wishes were granted and crocodiles that looked “surprised” were scribed on recycled card and paper. As some crocodiles were completed in a cacophony of crayon colours on one corner of the tarp, other crocodiles were snipped away by some excellent scissor practice. We particularly loved the extended story of one crocodile, eating a sad fish, who had a bird on her back that was directing her towards a “campsite in England that has marshmallows, and cucumbers, and carrots”!
Pumpkins made an appearance in this area too as we all get in gear for Halloween, which children tend to see all around them this month in their own lives beyond Little Forest Folk. We were particularly impressed by some of the circle shapes created by our younger children which demonstrate some of the first forays into realising that the hand is a marvellous artistic tool! We look forward to extending ideas around some of these Halloween themes as they marry well with ideas of harvest and autumn, all so readily accessible in our beautiful outdoor environments.
Animal themes continued further down the forest site, as a trio of terrific diggers delighted in the solid roundish shape of an upturned colander filled with soil. An educator leapt in to suggest it looked like a tortoise shell and queried what else might be needed to complete the animal. A pine cone became a head, and stumpy sticks became four legs, all completed with several dozen little stones that made the shell realistically hard. Soon several other tortoises appeared, as numerous eager children wanted a go at making one. Some even transformed into spiders with eight legs and eight eyes and some were a wonderful cross breed we called “spidoises”! Later on that day, children found a Harvestman Spider, so common this time of year outdoors, which perfectly helped to extend on our ideas around arachnids and their way of life.
From eight legs to several keys, as children were introduced to a Kalimba, which is a musical instrument from Africa. This type of lamellaphone is thought to have been invented in Zimbabwe around 1,000 years ago, and here we supported understanding with atlases as we waited patiently and kindly for our turns. Everyone loved experimenting with this thumb piano, having fun picking, prodding, twanging and thumping, until the exact technique was mastered. Lovely sounds floated around the forest and the bowling field all day and we are already thinking of ways we can make our own soon.
Here’s hoping your weekend is as good as our week has been and plenty of fun (alongside all-essential rest) is had!
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth