Our week in the forest
We had a wonderful time in the forest this week celebrating Easter with lots of creative activities, energetic games and outdoor adventures.
The children took part in several beautiful Easter crafts. They carefully cut and painted ducks, mixing yellow, white and brown paints to design their own unique chicks. Once the paint had dried, they finished their creations by adding colourful feathers, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. These activities gave them the chance to practise their cutting, painting and fine motor skills while expressing their creativity.
We were lucky to enjoy some lovely sunny and warm weather. The trees provided welcome shade as the afternoon grew warmer, allowing the children to comfortably enjoy their time outdoors. In the morning, many of our Little Forest Folk-ers chatted about their Easter celebrations at home. Some excitedly described their Easter egg hunts and how much they enjoyed running around to find the hidden eggs. Inspired by their stories, we created our very own Easter egg obstacle course. The children hopped, balanced and used the seesaw around camp while rolling an Easter egg wheel through the obstacles. This energetic activity encouraged lots of movement and challenged both their gross and fine motor skills.
The fun continued throughout the day with dance parties and group games, including a lively running game called “Sharply Sharky,” which quickly became a favourite.
Sensory play was also very popular. One tray was filled with “Easter treats,” where the children used foam to pretend it was ice cream and added paint as chocolate chips. They swirled and mixed everything together to make a pretend cake mixture, proudly serving their creations to friends and teachers. Another messy sensory tray allowed the children to build a spring landscape using mud. They dug up mounds of dirt, added water to create rivers and ponds and decorated their scene with spring materials such as catkins, ferns and tree seeds. Soon their landscape was invaded by dinosaurs, which stomped through the plants and turned the tray into a giant muddy pool.
To start one of the days, the children went on an exciting adventure walk through the woods. Along the way there was plenty of imaginative play, racing and curiosity about the natural world around them. They discovered a chopped-up traffic cone which quickly transformed into a spaceship, launching them into the sky like astronauts. Later on the walk they visited their beloved conker tree, spotting ladybirds, robins and magpies along the way.
After lunch, the children enjoyed cooking banana pancakes over the fire. They mashed bananas, measured flour and added milk before preparing the fire. The children confidently demonstrated their fire-building knowledge and even showed the holiday campers how it is done. Once the fire was ready, they fried their pancakes and happily enjoyed eating them together.
It was a joyful week filled with creativity, exploration and plenty of Easter fun in the forest.
Little Forest Folk
Putney Heath