Our Week in the Forest...
What a fantastic warm week we have had - the sun certainly has had her hat on! We've had great adventures throughout the week, and because of the sun, we have been able to spend time in detail exploring hidden paths on Putney Heath during the walks in the morning. With highs of 20 degrees, finding shelter was a must during the heat of the day, luckily, we are surrounded by tall and broad oak trees in our forest so we had lots of shade to choose from! We learnt a lot about shelters, including how not to build a temporary house on bumpy ground as this would 'make us feel uncomfortable to sleep or rest!'.
We then spent an afternoon sitting in our shelter admiring the environmental changes to our setting. We watched multiple 'floating' caterpillars, which were hanging from the beech trees, startled by a nesting bird on the branch where they rested. We found an AMAZING beetle grub, which was a size of 'a sausage,' and after lots of eyes had taken him in, we decided he would be safer away from human feet in a little house we decided to dig for him!
The children's imaginations collectively and individually always inspire and amaze us, this week at all sites, we have had various types of role-playing. The children built lots of stages, to take charge and direct a play, or to be an actor. This week especially we have had lots of marriages. Gowns made from cloth to suit each different personality. When discussing and designing costumes each actor made it clear to the educators how they would like to be supported with their ideal outfit! Some draped over their buzzing brains, some used the cloth to wrap around their tummy… every costume was beautiful!
Something has been building up for some time now, all the children at some stage have been really excited about getting mucky, messy and merry with this ongoing erupting project - THE VOLCANO! Children have had a chance to discuss ideas in groups, develop knowledge around the topic and build, create and construct all the parts they wanted to. Some children introduced the idea of dinosaurs, so have been crafting their very own and using their toys in their own role play!
It truly has been a magical week, with fairy visits, tree identification books, and simple crafts with just nature and twine! We look forward to what the children will conceptualise next week!
Little Forest Folk
Barnes