The last couple of weeks have been so busy and exciting what with Halloween and fireworks, but this week we shifted our focus back to nature and to all the lovely little spikey animals that live in the forest where we play. It was (just) a little quieter in the forest this week but for a very good reason, as the children have been learning all about hedgehogs.
They went on a hunt for hedgehogs, pretended to be a hedgehog, built lovely homes for them and even made their own spikey little creatures. It was lovely to see the children use their imagination and creativity when modelling their own hedgehogs using clay and leaves and sticks and lots of other natural materials. The children also learned about hibernation and where hedgehogs sleep at night, and there was even a story about a hedgehog that was enjoyed by all. While on their nature hunt, the children also got to look out for other little creatures to see what they could find, and the usual lovely little mini-beasts made an appearance.
As well as learning about hedgehogs this week also signalled the use of eagerly anticipated Cubetto who arrived late last week. Finally the children had the chance to take the little remote controlled robot out into the woods to see what he could do. They took turns learning how to control him by experimenting with different sequences of coding and needless to say they definitely kept the little robot busy - I'm sure Cubetto will be firm favourite in the forest.
We aren't sure if it's because today is Friday 13th, but the only piece of bad luck we had was the storm that came. And it was an almighty storm. For the first time since January, the decision was taken to move the children back to the scout hut.
In true Little Forest Folk style, all of our staff were fantastic at handling the situation: in fact they did such a good job that the children thought they were on an extended adventure! So a big thank you to the team for doing such a great job and for continuing to ensure that the safety of the children is of paramount importance. We all returned to the scout hall 90 mins earlier than normal and resumed play in the grounds of the scout hall where it's a bit more protected from the wind.
Enjoy your weekend and we look forward to lots more forest fun next week!