Our week in the forest
It has been a fantastic week in the forest, full of creativity, teamwork and imaginative play as the children continue to settle back into routine after the holidays.
To begin the week, the children made ice medallions for the local birds and squirrels. They started by carefully cutting up oranges, which was great practice for developing their cutting skills. The children then squeezed the oranges into moulds, added the scraps, sprinkled in muesli and poured water over the mixture. Before placing the moulds into the freezer, they worked on their knot-tying skills by attaching string to each one. Once frozen, we took the medallions out into the forest to hang in the trees. It was lovely to see birds already starting to nibble at them.
As children took turns cutting, scooping and pouring, others fully embraced imaginative play. The mud kitchen was kitted out with a pulley system, creating lots of excitement as children transported buckets filled with water, sticks and leaves across camp. Musical instruments were also very popular, filling the space with silly sounds as the children sang nursery rhymes and made up their own songs.
It was a wet day and the children truly embraced it - catching rain in buckets and splashing through puddles. Despite the weather, there was lots of wonderful group play throughout the day. One highlight was a group role-play where the children boarded a train heading to Richmond Park. When the train “broke down,” the conductor called an engineer while passengers worked together to solve the problem and continue their journey, showing excellent teamwork and storytelling skills.
Later in the day, the children went on a long walk to collect ivy. Over the coming weeks, we plan to use it to make natural laundry detergent and the children enjoyed learning about how plants can be used in practical ways.
After the rain, the sun came out, the forest looked frosty and beautiful. We opened a forest restaurant complete with tables, chair and menus. The chefs served an impressive range of dishes, including spaghetti, goat’s cheese salad, pizzas and a selection of cakes and cookies for pudding.
Our Little Forest Folk-ers also enjoyed climbing over a fallen tree, carefully balancing and supporting one another while watching out for slippery patches. We added colour to the forest by painting on a giant clear canvas, mixing and smearing paint to create interesting patterns and designs.
Thursday brought another rainy adventure as we splashed our way across the heath to the pond. The children proudly hung their ice medallions in the trees, it was exciting to see birds begin to peck at them before we headed back.
Friday marked the final day of our “All About Me” theme. The children settled confidently back into routine and our new friends have settled in wonderfully. We are so excited for everything the rest of the term has in store!
Little Forest Folk
Putney Heath