Our Week in the Forest
This week has had our Little Forest Folk-ers focusing on safety and excitement around Bonfire/Fireworks Night. We did this in a variety of ways; physically, in song and also in our artwork!
Firstly, we got our rocket launcher back out and our wonderful children enjoyed using air to set the rockets off - running to collect their rockets for relaunch once they had landed. Before this took place, our educators discussed the need for safety around rockets, the need to keep a distance from the launcher and to never stand in front of a rocket going off. Educators asked the children how this was the same as fireworks, our wonderfully clever bunch were able to tell us that fireworks shoot into the air like our rockets and that they could hurt us when shooting into the air like this. Educators went on to identify that the word ‘fire’ was inside the word ‘firework’ and asked our explorers what a fire was and how we should behave near one. Our amazing children correctly used words like: heat, burns, gloves, stay away and dangerous when talking about fire - meaning that as educators, we were able to link this and expand their learning by explaining that all these same words, rules and explanations should be applied when we go anywhere near ‘fireworks’. We practised a little saying before ‘blast off’ - “Rocket, rocket, danger!” and the children were then amazing at checking around themselves for rocket launch!
Also whilst on camp, the children used a wide range of mark making and art creating skills to make firework inspired creations and on black paper, they used chalks and pastels to explore bright colours on a ‘dark sky’. Our creative bunch then decided to use our tuff table as a huge easel to mix paint and glitter to create background colours, getting spectacularly messy whilst doing this! They used this wonderfully messy mix to paint onto cut cardboard tubes to create firework rockets of their own.
When the cardboard tubes had all been used up, our ingenious children went on to create glittery leaves - which then gave them the idea to cover the table in some of the piles of leaves we have on the floor of our camp. These amazingly inventive folks then used this glittery pile to create a ‘bonfire’ of their own on camp! Such creative thinking by our wonderful crew! (And it cleaned the tuff table in the process - win win!) Educators took the opportunity to further talk about bonfire safety, as they ‘warmed their hands’ at the ‘fireside’!
In amongst all of these sparklingly brilliant activities, our little adventurers also had opportunities to hammer stakes into the ground, talk about ‘pairs’ when pairing gloves and socks, practice putting gloves on, create their own obstacle course, play with and create stories using small world characters, become furniture repairers using wood from the forest around them to fix dolls’ chairs, mix up a storm in the mud kitchen and fly around camp on their own rockets (in the form of large sticks!). A rather fabulous week after all of the rain from last week!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone - enjoy the fireworks and remember to stay safe!
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon Village