Team games!
The children have been paying lots of large group and team games this week. Hopscotch at the Forest school building was very popular; the children were laughing as they threw conkers onto the numbers, with a good deal of success! William cleverly counted his hops 1-5; well done! Sleeping Lions is another favourite, with the boys really immersed in the role of lions, leading to very enthusiastic roars! ‘ Very scary!’ said Isla.
They balanced bean bags on the heads to walk through and over hoops. ‘I know’ said Zac ‘We can balance them on our necks’ ‘And our shoulders’ shouted Joshua. By far the most popular game was Limbo, wit the children ( mostly) going under the rope held out, with up to three children at a time! ‘We love playing games’ exclaimed Theo, ‘But now i am hungry, like a hungry Lion!’
The babies and toddlers have explored the daffodils this week, smelling the flowers and feeling the soil before adding water. They also felt some slimy mixture we made , allowing it to fall between their fingers. Millie did not like the texture, and shook it off her fingers, and James on the other hand could not get enough ! Joshua and Hlenhaze explored the sensory baskets which contain a huge range of textures such as carpet samples and bashing various metal objects to hear the different sounds. ‘Oohh’ said Emily in time with the beat. Eloise and Ines played with the musical instruments, discovering ways to make different sounds, with Ines looking shocked as Eloise made a loud rattle with the shaker, which lead to them both laughing.
Snow dance!
The children have been observing the weather, and decided they really wanted to see some snow. ‘ Let’s do a snow dance!’ shouted Robyn ‘ And we can dress up!’ added Zac. They wore brightly coloured wristbands and weather warrior headgear, and set off to the park. They shook bells and danced and stamped their feet to the beat, shouting loudly together ‘Snow!’ They also made a special rainbow den using the parachute ‘ In case it really does snow!’ said Sami . They also made rainbow sticks made from twigs and small branches they found in the grass, and added lengths of fabric and crepe paper strips, and waved them around ‘ So we do get some snow!’ said Matilda. ‘! really hope it works’ Amelia added.
What is interesting is that we had a flurry of sleet this week - I wonder if the dance worked?
The toddlers have welcomed their new friends playing ball games together. One game was to post the balls through the gaps in the activity wall. Freddie was very keen for his new friend Millie to have a turn ‘ Ta’ he said as he held out the ball for her; how kind!
The Messy Spaghetti was indeed very well received, as different textures were included, including play foam. William loved to squish it in his hands whilst Joshua picked it up and dropped it form a height, watching very closely as it fell and landed on the floor. Meanwhile Hlenhaze and Thomas giggled as they explored the sensory experience.
Campfires!
Happy New Year to Everyone !
The children wanted to make a campfire this week. They worked extremely hard to gather firewood ‘ To make the perfect fire!’ said Elara. Joshua said ’We need food to cook on our fire!’, which prompted the others to look for anything suitable in the vegetable patch. ‘ I’ve found some!’ declared Sienna as she held up some tomatoes then gently placed them into the pan to cook. The children also hunted for bugs, and made dens. They love our indoor Forest School Classroom in Carlisle Park where the woodwork was very popular , with kind displays of older children assisting the younger ones as you can see. ‘ We are getting very good at building fires!’ announced Jasmin.
The babies and toddlers have been exploring the new wooden musical instruments. The large rainmaker was very poplar; Zach and Emily watched in amazement as the wooden balls fell through the various levels making a loud pitter-patter sound. Hlenhaze roared and smiled, and Eve couldn’t wait to have a turn; and so excited when she did! Xanthe and James have been painting this week, with Xanthe deciding it was more fun to paint all around the easel rather than the paper supplied, and James preferring his hands!
