Our new Forest school classroom !
We are very proud and excited to announce our new Forest school indoor classroom at our Tadpoles building in lovely Carlisle Park! All the children, of all ages, whether term time or all year round will be able to visit the building and take part in the activities in this unique Forest school environment indoors and of course outdoors in the park itself.
The children love to design and build their own dens and shelters using camouflage fabrics, tarpaulins, pegs twigs and logs. They may go pond dipping, whitle with vegetable peelers and hunt for bugs.
The children also love to look for footprints, make traps, bark rub, play hide and seek and monitor the weather. They can explore the undergrowth and trees in the park, and record the seasons.
They use natural materials to create unique artwork, including mobiles.
As you an see even the youngest children can benefit from this amazing environment. The children are able to explore using the senses of sight, sound, touch and hearing. They are able to find natural objects that provoke curiosity, and share their excitement with others!
We look forward to sharing their experiences with you over the coming weeks and months.
Mushy peas and campfires!
The children have had brilliant forest school adventures this week. They built their own den in the woods as you can see. Douglas decided a campfire was needed , and so they collected lots of twigs and sticks, which they rubbed onto a large branch. ‘We are making a fire! Here come the sparkles!’ said Leo. The children discovered a bridge which they stomped over. ‘Who’s that walking over my bridge?’ Matilda said in a deep gruff voice! They ventured further into the woods to discover stepping stones over the stream and Damon counted them as he went across. A large heron appeared and the children were fascinated watching the bird look for fish . ‘ Let’s help the heron find food ‘ Leo suggested, and after a discussion they made their own fishing rods to help catch some fish! How thoughtful!
The babies have explored a new park today loved climbing and hiding there as you can see. Eve has a go at climbing on the ant and cheered and shouted ‘Whoosh!’ as she jumped off with the help of a member of staff. The sandpit was huge and James was so excited and rolled about on top, feeling the sand run through his fingers. They have also made their own photo frames, sticking pasta, leaves and other materials to decorate them. Hlenhaze decided to taste the pasta, and Joshua managed to get string stuck to his fingers and began waving his hands about to release the sticky mixture!
Bear Hunt!
This week the children have been going on a Bear Hunt! Our Yoga teacher kindly read the story and the children listened beautifully. They then acted out the story looking for the bear having adventures along the way. They later planned and built a giant den to hide in and worked so well as a team , using fantastic communication skills. ‘ We need a window’ observed Sienna who made one using the wooden blocks and dutifully kept a vigil to look for the bear. Wilder found a large cylinder ‘ Wow! A chimney!’ he said, and Zac found a large piece of wood which he thought would be a great front door. Elara decided to use the sandpit cover as a flooring material. ‘ This will crackle and we can hear if the bear comes!’ she told her friends. What a clever idea!
The babies and toddlers have explored potatoes in a variety of ways, including digging in the sand to find them! Zach shouted ‘Ta-dah!’ as he found one hidden and William smiled and showed his to his friends. They have also printed with them and had a lovely trip to Bushy Park where they had some tasty potato waffles during their picnic, which Emily found particularly appetising! Afterwards they had an energetic run about , and throwing and catching balls, and a relaxing story time ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’. They growled along with the story and moved among ‘ the long wavy grass’. Back at the nursery the story continued. Eve threw cornflour in the air as the snowstorm and Emily squished the soggy wet cardboard which felt just like wet mud. Great fun!
