Our Week in the Forest
What a fantastic week in the forest!
Our learning intent this week was all things physical — and wow, did we get moving!
For our littlest friends, the focus has been on developing manipulation and control, as well as exploring different materials and tools. For our oldest friends, the intent has been not only manipulating objects with control and using equipment, but also working together to manage larger items as a team. Cue a week full of creative tool play and collaboration!
On Monday, we were banking on the children creating their own wonder and fun - after all, it was a bank holiday! We all returned on Tuesday refreshed and ready to get the ball rolling - quite literally - with a football on camp and a goal post made from loose tyres!
Loose parts play continued all day, with the tyres taking centre stage. When they weren’t being used for goal scoring, the children worked together to repurpose them into everything from imaginary cars to campsites. There was certainly lots of creative teamwork as the children worked together to move the tyres and other loose parts - target achieved!
In the afternoon, we turned our focus to fine motor skills and got out the tools for some creative clay play - anyone for a pizza?
On Wednesday, we shifted gears and focused on fine motor skills at our bracelet-making station. The beads were tiny, tiny - no choking hazards here (a robin could’ve eaten one!) - however, that did make the job especially fiddly!
The children showed incredible perseverance, calm hands and dexterity, threading their way through the challenge.
Once more, there was amazing teamwork in motion, with friends and teachers stepping in to hold bracelets steady while others did the threading. Forget hand-eye coordination - this was hand-eye collaboration!
In the afternoon, we moved from threading to constructing, using our gross motor skills to build an epic forest den from logs and loose parts. The children were full of ideas, finding gripping ways to add to their camp. Once again, teamwork took centre stage as they lifted, rolled, stacked and steered the camp into existence!
In the middle of the day, we shook things up with a forest identification activity. We looked at how to identify stinging nettles - helping us stay safe during play, even when we're not at Little Forest Folk!
All in all It was a tree-mendously educational break from our camp building!
Speaking of trees - on Thursday, in addition to loose parts play and a pottery station, we explored our climbing tree. It was perfect for practising both gross motor skills and listening skills.
We always have a climbing frame on camp, so our campers are confident when it comes to safe climbing. However, nothing beats the real thing! The children did an amazing job navigating their bodies and following instructions to make sure they were climbing safely.
In the afternoon, we took our physical play sky-high with our kite! The children took turns flying it - an uplifting experience all around!
Finally, on Friday, we wrapped up our week of physical exploration with a trip to the natural play area - perfect for balancing and climbing. We also practised teamwork and collaboration as we patiently waited for our friends to take turns on the larger apparatus that requires an educator to hold their hand.
All in all, it’s been a moving and grooving week. As it’s the last week of holiday camp, we were very sad to say goodbye to all our new friends. However, it was the perfect time to say a big, appreciative goodbye to summer and everything we love about it - including our new friendships! Thank you, summer!
We are certainly looking forward to seeing our sessional friends return next week for the autumn term!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham