Our Week in the Forest...
Our Week in the Forest...
This week the children have enjoyed welcoming more new faces to the forest as our Barnes nursery continues to grow. We have all been extremely impressed with how well the new children have settled in to the forest environment. It has also been wonderful to see our children include new children in their games as if they have been here forever.
All sorts of chasing games have been very popular this week. Most days have seen a band of superheroes running around the forest trying to catch baddies! They ran fast with power sticks and super leaves to help them in their quest. The baddies found clever escape routes through bushes, hiding behind trees and sometimes even climbing up to hide in a tree! On one day the children asked to have their faces painted. Bunnies, leopards, watermelons, green monsters appeared and a new game of chase ensued. The monsters crept up to scare people, the bunnies and leopards donned super hero capes and became super bunnies and super leopards to save everyone.
Many children have dappled in careers as different members of the emergency services this week.
One day, it was all hands on deck and we built a fire engine together. We shifted logs to become wheels, placed sticks to make the ladder, found ropes and pipes to make the hoses and we all grabbed a small stick each to make our own steering wheels. Many of the firefighters rushed around with their hoses screaming “Fire, Fire, Fire!!” They held the hoses up and made gushing water noises. Sirens rang out as everyone got back on the fire engine but soon the captain shouted “we are in a car!” The hoses were dropped and we all went on an adventure to Africa!
Another day saw some of our youngest children become police officers. The wheel barrow was used to carry around important equipment until an emergency presented itself. Some children had built their own house amongst some new saplings. They shouted out to the police officer “We are stuck!” The police grabbed a stick and helped pull everyone out of the house!
We have also had swing ball in the forest this week. The children practiced their throwing and catching skills as they passed the ball on a rope to each other. This activity has been great to help children develop their turn taking skills as they played cooperatively with each other.
As always mud has been a hugely popular and this week that has been especially true of some of our newcomers! They have splashed, squelched and sloshed around in it. They have made soups, muffins and cakes using different tools for different purposes. The children have had great big grins on their muddy little faces!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Barnes