Our Week in the Forest
What better way to start our new year than stepping into a sparkly winter wonderland?
This week, a magical frosty forest welcomed us back, and we couldn’t be happier to witness such wonderful white snow scenes for at least one day. We learnt all about winter in nature, including hibernation, how freezing temperatures affect precipitation and the three states of water. On the first day, we noticed steam rising from the logs on a very cool morning under a bright, clear blue sky. Our biggest children expanded their vocabulary by learning new tricky words such as evaporation and condensation.
Tuesday was the most truly magical day of the week. All of a sudden, while we were playing at camp, fluffy, soft snowflakes began falling from a marvellous white sky. From the younger children who tried to catch tiny snowflakes in their mouths to the oldest who were completely awed, we all shared joy and the biggest smiles ever. We observed star-shaped snowflakes on our gloves and every surface and understood this was the most magical water state! While we headed to our nice and warm indoor site for lunch, we left footprints in the snow and so did our trolley, which was moved by our little explorers. They worked amazingly well as a team and organised themselves without adult help - the big children pulled the trolley, the little ones pushed from the back, while others supported the sides, indicating directions. We also found heaps of snow around the palace and had a snowball fight, making small, shiny snowballs!
On the most frosty days, we witnessed icy puddles on our way to camp and learnt that we had to walk on the grass as they were so slippery! We experimented with ice and safely smashed it using sticks. Then, we carefully took them to the arts station, where we painted them all and watched them melt into watercolours! Some children used the new wheelbarrow to transport ice to the mud kitchen, where they prepared treats like ice lollies, cold drinks, slushies, iced teas and lattes for everyone. Following our intent focused on maths, we practised our counting and measuring skills, following mud recipes and using different sizes of scoops.
We kept ourselves warm with our winter hats, gloves and stayed active every day. We enjoyed obstacle courses, tag and particularly hide and seek. Before the week ended, we learnt about hibernation and read about why animals such as dormice need to hibernate and for how long. During our adventure walks, our children found the most cosy places in nature, such as hollow logs for bats or sheltered nests for hedgehogs.
A wonderful week, we hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham