Our week in the forest
As we come to the end of another wonderful week in the forest, we would like to take a moment to reflect on all the creativity, curiosity and collaboration that filled our days.
After returning from a lovely weekend with our families, the children settled back into forest life with enthusiasm. Early in the week, they explored art inspired by the skies above us. Using mixed colours, they painted stormy scenes with different shades of white and purple. Thick paint was swirled across the paper to represent strong winds, encouraging the children to think about movement, weather and expression through art.
One of the highlights of the week was a problem-solving challenge involving dinosaurs trapped in blocks of ice. The children experimented with sticks and rocks, testing their ideas and learning that not every approach works straight away. After some thoughtful discussion, they came up with a new solution - dropping the ice down logs to crack it open. This hands-on investigation led to lots of excitement when the dinosaurs were finally freed and offered great opportunities to practise teamwork, resilience and creative thinking.
We also spent time getting to know our new Deputy Manager, Emer, who has quickly become a much-loved part of our forest days. The children thoroughly enjoyed the running games she introduced and were delighted by her love of stories. Their excitement and confidence grew as they played together and it was lovely to see new connections forming.
In the Hapa Zome zone, roses took centre stage. The children explored their softness, scent and colour, noticing how nature works together in subtle ways. They carefully chose petals, placed them onto fabric, folded it over and gently hammered. The petals transferred onto the fabric, creating beautiful natural patterns and introducing the children to process-based art and textile exploration.
The creative station was alive with music throughout the week. Using boom whackers, the children composed rhythms before moving on to inventing their own instruments. Pots became drums, spoons became beaters and one child proudly declared, “I want to play a tune,” before continuing their performance with great focus and joy.
In the mud kitchen, pancake making was a firm favourite. The children named ingredients such as flour, eggs and milk as they mixed, poured and pretended to cook. Nearby, the book corner came alive as some children acted out 'We’re Going on a Bear Hunt', echoing the repetitive phrases and bringing the story to life through imaginative play.
Thank you for another lovely week. We hope you have a restful weekend and look forward to welcoming everyone back to the forest soon.
Little Forest Folk
Putney Heath