The whisper of flames slowly releasing their smoke around the trees hid the excited faces until they burst, grinning and hungry, onto the logs and sat ready to listen to stories and cook their favourite treats: the humble marshmallow.
Fulham - Stick people
But not having the time to build everything this week the children opted for stick people, and what incredible creations the children produced. This week was their first introduction to using some traditional hand tools and their intense concentration, patience, persistence and creativity resulting in the most amazing stick people.
Chiswick - Santa is coming!
Wimbledon - Busy little chicks
It’s been a very busy week in Fishpond Woods this week with preparations for Monday’s party in full swing. Forest school activities have been at the forefront of the children’s ambitions: we’ve had the string and secateurs out to cut long twigs and tie them in to star shapes; the saw out to cut wood blocks and the palm drills out to make holes for the construction of reindeer; and any sticks lying around were turned into amazing stick men that the children drew faces on and which became new friends in the forest!
Chiswick - Glorious mud
Fulham - Superheroes
Wimbledon - Enchanted
As the mist clears over the meadow, enchanted children can be seen playing hither and thither amongst the brambles and willows of Fishpond Woods. These rare little forest folk thrive and laugh as they wade through streams, clamber through the trees and sit watching the flickering flames of a warming fire. Our week has been one of constant exploration and entering of new territory, without even leaving our site!
Fulham - Super Forest Folk!
Wimbledon - Frozen Forest
Chiswick - Confidence and resilience
Chiswick - Christmas is coming
We introduced some musical instruments at the beginning of the week and used them while we sang along to Navedad Navedad, When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney and Jingle Bells. Our Little Forest Folk favourite has been Naveda Naveda. It’s amazing how quickly our children have picked up songs in different languages...
Wimbledon - Learning amongst the trees
Water, water everywhere, and plenty of drops to taste! And leaves, leaves everywhere, with plenty to make a house! Whatever the forest (and weather!) has thrown at us this week, the children have responded with resilience and incredible imagination. We’ve had wild winds, drenching downpours and soggy swamps but nothing has deterred the children from their play and learning amongst the trees...
Fulham - Four seasons in a week
Wimbledon - Full of imagination
Autumn is giving way to winter before our very eyes and before we know it there won’t be a single leaf left in Fishponds Woods! Between the onset of winter and the fires, we will have a very bare area to play. Thank goodness our children have the amazing imaginations they do to turn twigs into screwdrivers, trees into cat perches and ladders into trains.
Fulham - Little scientists
Chiswick - Splash, dig, climb, roll!
Stir It Up - Fundraising For Crisis
It’s rapidly approaching the time of year that we all love and look forward to. It’s so exciting in the approach to Christmas to see the twinkling lights in the streets and to be tucking into hot chocolates, mulled wine and other treats with our loved ones. It’s also a time when we start to think of those who aren’t fortunate enough to be experiencing the joy we experience at Christmas. Some people don’t have any family to share this special time with, or even a home in which to rest their head...
Chiswick - Rainy play
It has been a wet week but much to the children's delight, where other nurseries may have been focused on indoor play due to the weather, our Little Forest Folk children have been having a blast in the rain. The children were looking for muddy puddles to splash around in and they found a large puddle in the meadow where they spent a long time playing, jumping and running through it.
Fulham - Puddles
After a night of heavy rain, the children were thrilled to find several big puddles on the walk in the next morning. Needless to say, a walk which usually takes ten minutes took significantly longer, thanks to the allure of enourmous puddles! Happily, the children put their wellies and waterproofs to the test, racing each other across the puddles splashing everything in their wake.
Wimbledon - Frozen fun
This week has seen the arrival of Jack Frost (or Princess Elsa!). The forest looked absolutely stunning covered in a sparkling layer of frost. We had some fun exploring ice that formed at the edges of the puddles and one boy relished in showing his friends how to stamp on large shards of ice and “break it into HUNDREDS of pieces!”