Following the announcement of our Queen’s award in April, we are delighted to share an article written about Little Forest Folk by a journalist who visited us in May.
We’ve been bursting with excitement and now that it’s the Queen’s birthday and the official announcement day, we are absolutely delighted to finally share with you the news that Little Forest Folk has been given the royal seal of approval.
Following our being selected by Tatler as being one of the finest nurseries in the nation last month, we are now delighted to share with you an article written about Little Forest Folk by a journalist who visited us in our Wimbledon setting a few weeks ago.
Well, this weekend was the long awaited Nursery World Awards! It was a fabulous event and we were delighted to be recognised in such a large industry such as the early years to be one of the industry leaders.
This week we have also been singing new songs as well as creating soggy blue and red porridge while pretending we are bears and trying to chase Goldilocks out of our home. We have had a central stage in the forest where we've hosted puppet shows, musical shows and rock concerts as well as enjoying acting out our favourite books.
This week at Winkworth we’ve been gardening! We’ve sectioned off a little part of our back garden for a project to put in some raised beds. We hope to grow beans, tomatoes and sunflowers when it is ready. Our little gardeners have been very helpful, digging and making the ground flat with rakes and are excited to talk and learn about all the steps involved in growing our own plants!
The children noticed blossoming flowers, sprouting trees and different birds flying around the forest. We talked about how birds live in nests and then went on a little search around the forest to see if we could find some. It was wonderful to see the children learning more about the nature around them.
What a glorious spring week we have just enjoyed in the forest. The plum and cherry trees are blossoming bravely in the fluctuating temperature and weather. The purple, white and yellow croci are carpeting our fire pit area, the jonquils are bobbing their yellow heads throughout camp and the snowdrops add depth and colour around our forest too.
The signs of spring have really started to show in the forest this week. At Little Forest Folk Wimbledon we have noticed the daffodils peeping out, then bumblebees starting to appear and even some little bunnies hopping around. It really is a hive of activity in the forest, and that goes for the children too!
Without a doubt, this has been the most spatial week of the month! We were on a mission to explore the solar system and launched a rocket into space every day. With spring around the corner and winter gradually leaving the forest, it's been the perfect time to understand how nature and seasons on our amazing planet work! 🌸🌻
We have also spent time educating the children about the Lunar New Year. We read the book “The Great Race” which is a children’s adaptation of the story of Chinese New Year and we also enjoyed exploring a tuff tray filled with rice, Chinese takeaway menus and little red envelopes to symbolise the start of Lunar New Year. A big happy Lunar New Year to all of our Chinese families.
This week has been busy at Little Forest Folk Wimbledon! We have been celebrating Lunar New Year, Pancake Day and Ramadan! The children have enjoyed so many fun and exciting activities to celebrate all of these holidays, everything from fires to lantern making.
We have enjoyed some big adventure walks nearly every day and have given our Little Forest Folk-ers the responsibility of choosing which directions we are going in. Each time they have been able to recall spaces we are familiar with and have taken us on the right track. We went to a horse jumping arena for a picnic lunch, on a bird watching expedition to see how many different bird breeds we could find and also looked out for frogs as well as other animals around the forest. It creates wonderful conversations and widens everyone’s imaginations when we go on these walks, at the same time as showing how exciting the forest can be in all weathers!
The mud kitchen has also been a huge focus with a café and everyone talking about the meals they have with their family. We have spent time looking into each other's favourite meals, using the items around us to create them and thinking about ways we can add to them. This has also shown us an insight into our friend’s homes and how we share our family time differently.
The rain may have made the sky grey, but it has certainly not dulled any colours in our play and fun in the forest!!
