Our week in the forest
It has been a spectacularly beautiful week in the forest. The combination of frost with stunning blue skies has made the forest look and feel so magical.
This week the children have been fascinated by the new discoveries in our new base camp location we have been using. They run and roll down the hills, look inside the holes under the ground and look for new places to hide.
We made some rivers by digging a line down the hill and then poured some water down it to see how it flows. When we finished the children looked for sticks and leaves to put in the river to find out if they would float or not.
One of our children said they wanted to dig a tunnel all the way to China Town!
Our mud kitchen is getting bigger and better, all of the children came and cooked their own muddy cakes and made leaf salads. They also made cups of coffees for the teachers. Just what we needed!
The wetter it got through the week, the more interesting our mud kitchen became.
We also went for adventures everyday as the children wanted to see the dragons and other Chinese New Year decorations that are placed around Chiswick Gardens.
On one of our adventures, the children were asked to discover something that they thought was interesting so that they could tell their friends about it. The children spoke to each other about what they had found and what things they wanted to take back with them to basecamp. Most of them found sticks which of course represented something else.
“This is my water hose to put out the fire.”
It was beautiful watching the children play in groups. The children were all engaged and they all worked out how to bring their massive sticks back with them through the bushes and trees. Amazing moments only offered by the outdoors!
Physical activities always play a big part in our days and with the colder weather we have been encouraging lots of movement. We have been running, climbing, and our children have absolutely loved the pulley. They fill the buckets with heavy objects they find and help each other pull the string so that the bucket elevates off of the ground. There was laughter and delight from both the children and the practitioners.
This week we also found the children initiating their own role play. They pretended to light fires and imitated our circle times. There was always one child reminding the children of the rules.
“You have to sit behind this rope.”
“Get on one knee when you get close to the fire.”
This week was full of wonderful moments.
Reminders
If your child attends sessional days and you'd like to book their place during February half term holiday camp please click here and book now.
We have had a recent upgrade to our tablet system which has caused a few teething problems with daily reports. We appreciate your patience while we adjust to all of the toileting, food and sleep functions and hope to have everything working seamlessly soon.
What to wear
Next week is forecast to be the coldest week this winter. Brrrrrrrrr.
Please follow our winter kit list recommendations.
And in addition to normal kit list, can we please request that all children wear an extra layer on their top half, wear at least a double layer of socks, a hat and 2 pairs of gloves.
New footwear recommendation from Bogs Footwear
We have been trialling a pair of waterproof boots from Bogs Footwear for just over a month now and we're delighted to be able to fully recommend them for little feet in the forest. Not only do they look super snazzy but they are comfortable, durable, 100% waterproof and toasty warm too.
They are available to buy from:
Online at Bogs Footwear or in-store at Step2wo Biff in Dulwich, Olive Loves Alfie in East London and Windmill in Crouch End.
Although we don’t have a current discount in place for our Little Forest Folk families just yet, we are working on it and we’ll let you know if we manage to get one.
Have a great weekend, we hope there's lots of snow for you to enjoy!
Little Forest Folk
Chiswick