Building on last week’s journey into plant life cycles, this week we’ve been turning our attention to the life cycles of humans and animals. We talked about how babies grow into children and then adults - and our conversations soon blossomed into a lively exploration of baby animals. The children loved learning the names of young creatures like calves, piglets, kittens and lambs.
To deepen our learning, we explored the stages of animal life cycles through hands-on activities. The children matched baby animals to their adult counterparts in a forest-themed matching game, acted out animal life cycles through movement (hopping like froglets and fluttering like butterflies!) and used natural materials to create their own animal “nests” and homes.
Our creative corner was as busy as ever! The children made fantastic chickens from recycled materials - there were feathers, googly eyes and lots of laughter! They also created fossil-style imprints using clay and forest treasures, which sparked so much imagination and storytelling.
One of the week's highlights was a spontaneous blackberry picking adventure! With pots in hand and eyes wide open, our explorers carefully picked ripe berries from the brambles. We talked about how blackberries grow and ripen - another lovely link to our life cycle theme.
Back in the mud kitchen, our Little Learners whipped up new “recipes,” inspired by the animals we've been learning about. “Piglet pie” and “blackberry stew” were just a few of the inventive dishes on the woodland menu!
As always, we’re so grateful for your continued support - especially making sure your little ones arrive forest-ready each day. It keeps the magic (and the mud!) flowing.
Next week, we’ll be venturing into the wonderful world of storytelling. From tales shared around the log circle to puppet play and make-believe adventures, our Little Learners will have plenty of chances to dream up, act out and tell their own forest-inspired stories.
Little Forest Folk
Putney Heath