It was great to be back in the woods for Forest School and the children had a great time. First we learnt about compass points. The children then used maps and the directions north, east, south, west to locate and talk about the position of hidden fairy tale pictures. By the end of the session, the children could talk about which fairytale pictures were located at the north end of the woods, which in the west…etc. “If you’re at Hansel and Gretel and you go south, you’ll find Cinderella.”
After lunch around the campfire and a hot chocolate, we split into groups to learn about different things. Some children learnt to use a bow saw and hand drill safely to make a wooden medallion, some children collected buds, catkins and bark rubbings from a tree to help identify them and some children decorated shields and made up stories with swords. The intention was to use natural materials from the woods to decorate their shields but unfortunately it was too wet so the children used the charcoal from the lunchtime fire to draw pictures and symbols.
The children were SO excited about going back to Forest School! It really is a highlight of our curriculum and something that the children will talk about and remember for years to come. The shields look brill!
Lots of early geographical map work in the woods this week. They all returned safely so it looks like they learned how to read the map and make their way home.