The good old English weather definitely came to test us in the forest with storms and warm sun all packed into one busy week. Our Little Forest Folk-ers have embraced the turbulent weather and created amazing activities that suit the conditions. 

The children were very excited to discover toy bugs trapped inside blocks of ice and used water to slowly melt and rescue them. This encouraged patience, curiosity and early scientific thinking as the children explored melting and changing states.

The children also challenged themselves on our obstacle course using planks, tyres and loose parts, developing balance, coordination and confidence. 

The children explored a series of small worlds this week too, including a small woodland world where they created habitats and dens out of natural materials for the animals. There was lots of storytelling as they talked about where the animals live and what they eat

We headed out in search of all the different bugs and beetles we could see. With some of our little explorers also bird watching using the binoculars so they could see high up in the trees. We also all enjoyed some fun and arty crafts with butterfly making as well as some caterpillar themed activities too! 
 

We spotted some beautiful lilac flowers which the children all liked the smell of. They went on to try and draw them, some wishing they could make their drawings smell as good as the real thing!

There was also some lovely role play at the teddy bears picnic. The children all sat round and fed the bears whilst discussing what we thought they might eat and what we liked to eat too.

This week, to celebrate Earth Day on the 22nd, we have been exploring many activities around our planet. At the start of the week we looked at oceans, and we thoroughly enjoyed painting our own blue ocean onto paper. We were encouraged to create different lines for the waves as we painted, as well as discussing the sea creatures we would find in the ocean and if we have seen any in real life.

We role-played doctors and nurses, developing our vocabulary and learning new terminology such as “stethoscope”, “syringe” and “heart rate”, as well as learning about our vital organs such as our brain, heart and lungs and their functions within our body. 

The bluebells are starting to show, the trees are filled with pink and white blossoms, there are woodpeckers everywhere and it really feels like Spring is here! The children have had lots of opportunities to develop their fine and gross motor skills with activities out in the forest and back at the cottage too.

What a glorious week in the forest we have had. Our site in the Arboretum is covered in bluebells with some already out in bloom and some we are eagerly waiting to pop open with colour. 

Story time has taken us on a journey to meet the Gruffalo, The Hungry Caterpillar, Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. Along the way we’ve had plenty of roleplay, small world setups and wonderful sensory exploration in the gorgeous sunshine! 

Our Little Forest Folk-ers have helped us do some weeding and tidying up of our cottage garden and done lots of planting. This encourages environmental awareness and stewardship and helps them develop a meaningful connection to the natural world and take pride in the environment and little community we have here at Little Forest Folk Winkworth.

This week at Winkworth we’ve been gardening! We’ve sectioned off a little part of our back garden for a project to put in some raised beds. We hope to grow beans, tomatoes and sunflowers when it is ready. Our little gardeners have been very helpful, digging and making the ground flat with rakes and are excited to talk and learn about all the steps involved in growing our own plants!

The children enjoyed balancing on stones and logs, jumping into tyres, crawling under the A-frame pallets and finishing off by throwing bean bags and balls through the gaps in some pallets to score big points! 🎽🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️☄️💯

🎶Five crispy pancakes in a frying pan, flip them and toss them and catch them if you can. Along came (Child's name) for a pancake one day. S/He sprinkled it with sugar and took it away…..Four crispy pancakes in a frying pan, Flip them and toss them and catch them if you can. 🎶

This week at Little Forest Folk Winkworth we’ve been continuing to focus on supporting the children to build independently with a wide range of resources to make and enjoy imaginative and complex ‘small worlds’.

This week at Little Forest Folk Winkworth we’ve been focussing on supporting the children to build independently, using a wide range of resources to make and enjoy imaginative and complex ‘small worlds’.

For our younger Little Forest Folk-ers’, we have embedded maths in activities such as songs and rhyme, including ‘5 Little Speckled Frogs’ and ‘5 Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day’,  whilst providing rich sensory play with numbered ducks in coloured water and foam, which they absolutely loved!

This week at Little Forest Folk Winkworth we’ve been doing all sorts of bird related activities to celebrate this year’s RSPB Great Garden Birdwatch, which has also helped us to learn and practice lots of maths! 

This week at Little Forest Folk Winkworth we have been exploring lots of different topics from vets to pirates, butterflies and space, showing just how versatile and varied forest life can be!