Forest School

Welcome to the Forest School Blog!

What is Forest School?

The Forest School Association describe Forest School as ‘a child-centred inspirational learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting’.

There are 6 principles for Forest School.

-       Forest School is a long-term process of regular sessions rather than a one-off visit.

-       It takes place in a woodland to support the development between the learner and the natural world.

-       Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of those involved, fostering confident, independent and creative     learners.

-       It offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.

-       Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners and uses a high ratio of adults to learners.

-       Forest School uses a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for development and learning

During the start of the Spring Term, I took some Year 4 children out to explore the woodland and carry out Forest School activities.

This group, as with many others before them, have loved getting off the ground. Many screams and giggles were heard from the hammocks during these sessions as the children rocked each other or just chilled out in the hammocks. In the first week, one of the children nearly fell asleep in the hammock which was gently rocked by Miss Powell; during the final week, two of the children lay in the hammock for a little nap!

Mr Dear joined our sessions in week three and gave the children a fire safety talk. We talked about where it is safe to light a fire, why you might choose to light a fire as well as the fire triangle - heat, fuel and oxygen. The children were then given the opportunity to try and light their own little fires using cotton wool and a flint & steel.

As with lots of the Forest School sessions, food was enjoyed by the children: popcorn in week three; chocolate wraps in week four and the ever popular smores in week 6. During week five, we had microwaved popcorn as the weather prevented us from getting outside. This did not stop us enjoying many of the Forest School activities, however, as we were able to put tarps on the floor to protect the carpet so we could enjoy whittling in small groups, we also used tarps over the tables to make dens. The children also enjoyed making elder beads using string and bits of elder. Did you know that elder wood has a white pith (spongy tissue) inside which can be poked out (we use tent pegs to do this) to enable wool to be passed through to make a necklace.

I had a great 6 sessions and the children's smiles and giggles suggested they did too.

For the first time since starting Forest School, Mrs Morris trialled taking a group of mixed year groups out to the woodland. Four children from each of the year groups 3-6 visited the woodland each week and it proved to be a success. It was lovely to observe children who wouldn’t normally interact with one another, working and playing together, carrying out many of the Forest School activities.

As always, cooking over the fire proved to be the most popular activity. We cooked smores, toasted brioche and waffles. Everybody had a go at fire lighting in the first couple of weeks and seeing the children’s faces light up when they’d successfully lit the cotton wool was wonderful.

This group were the first to try out the new, larger hammocks which allow two children to lie in them at the same time. The screams and giggles which could be heard as the children pushed one another in the hammocks couldn’t help but bring a smile to my face. I did get caught out though when I sat in the hammock and one of the children decided to push me, rather quickly, backwards and forwards (and I don’t like rollercoasters!). It did create lots more laughter though so I was able to suck it up and endure the ride!

As well as the hammocks, the children enjoyed balancing on the slackline (a bit like a tightrope), cutting wood using a bow saw, Nordic slinging (creating a braid, passing lengths of wool between two people), den building and covering faces with charcoal!

Year 3 Friday Group

Week One

As with all groups during their first Forest School session, this group enjoyed exploring the woodland and finding out the best places to spend their time. After initial exploration, the children quickly became acquainted with the hammocks, slackline and were very excited when Mrs Morris put a swing up! We had a talk about the fire triangle, learning which three things you need to make fire (heat, fuel and oxygen). The children then all had a turn at setting a small piece of cotton wool on fire using a flint and steel. This required perseverance from some of the children but they were all determined to beat Mrs Dingley’s 17 attempts before making a fire! Some of the children made a little bug hotel with a water hole and food for the bugs, whereas others enjoyed using mallets to hit sticks into the ground. At the end of our session, the children observed a bee moving around the fire circle. We later discovered it was a tawny mining bee, who lived in amongst the bricks in the fire circle! Did you know that there are around 270 different types of bee in the UK?

Week Two

This week, the children continued to enjoy getting off the ground in the hammocks and on the slackline. Pulling one another on the swing also proved popular. We had a go at sawing this week, with the children cutting different lengths of wood for multiple purposes. Some of the children made medallions which involved using the palm drill too. We’d had our Coronation lunch just before coming out to the woodland so some of the children played in the mud kitchen, making their own Coronation dishes – one of the children even insisted on wearing his crown all afternoon (Mrs Morris did practise her curtsey!). One of the children chose to be extra responsible this week and made it his mission to pick up any rubbish around the Forest School site; most of it involved taking bits of string and wool off of the branches!

Week Three

The children always look forward to the third week because it usually involved cooking over the fire! Mrs Morris likes to allow two weeks for the children to get used to the rules around the fire circle before cooking with them to make sure they are able to stay safe if we have a fire. This week, we had popcorn which the children enjoyed but I think they found more fun in using bits of charcoal as face paint – even Mrs Morris joined in!

Week Four

Mrs Morris tries to introduce something different each week we are at Forest School. Today the children were introduced to hapazome which is a Japanese term for hitting flowers or leaves onto fabric (in this case, cotton) to transfer colour. Some of the children added to their leaf and flower prints, using pens for a bit more colour. Charcoal proved popular again. The children are sometimes curious to know if the hammock is strong enough to hold them. It doesn’t take much for the adults to have a go in order to prove that Mrs Morris’s knots are indeed strong enough to hold the children up – they hold adults up too! The only difficulty for the adults is getting out of the hammocks without making a fool of themselves!

Week Five

Smores were the highlight this week as we rounded off our Forest School sessions together. Lots of children have enjoyed toasting marshmallows over the fire with groups such as Cubs or Brownies, many have done it at home and some have never tried it before! Being allowed to eat the marshmallows inside two chocolate biscuits is always very well received. If we have enough left over, sometimes the children deliver them to their teacher as a tasty treat! One of the children chatted to Mrs Morris about a dreamcatcher his nanny had brought back from holiday with her so we had a go at making our own out of the resources from the woodland. We had a great five weeks together and the children are already looking forward to when they can (hopefully!) return to Forest School in the future!

Year 3 Tuesday Group

Week One

The children were excited to return to the woodland where they had spent many happy times whilst at the Infant School. We talked about the rules for Forest School and the secret that they’re there to have fun and play for the afternoon (which they loved!). We spotted a squirrel in the trees and watched it for a while. The children also found some worms. Whittling was a hit as the children gave it a try for the first time. Many of the children loved getting off the ground on the hammocks and the slackline. The mud kitchen also proved popular!

Week Two

This week, the children had a go at fire lighting! We talked about the fire triangle (did you know you need heat, fuel and oxygen to make a fire?) and the importance of safety when lighting a fire. One of the children played cafes in the mud kitchen, inviting myself and Mrs Dingley (who’d popped down to see what we were up to) for a meal. Some of the boys worked together to build a den and had fun playing in it. We also had a gymnastics show with one of the children doing the splits in a hammock!

Week Three

We got rather soggy this week! The session started off dry but, as we started to try and toast our brioches, the rain came down in huge raindrops, nearly putting our fire out! The children were excellent at toasting their brioches quickly before the puddle in the fire pit came up too high. We did have a shelter up to hide under for a while but it was also fun to dance in the rain. One of the children borrowed Mrs Morris’ coat so she got rather soggy! We built a swing this week, which proved very popular. The children enjoyed pulling one another on it – squeals of laughter from the swing could be heard throughout the woodland. Some of the children, who had shown an interest in using the mallets, had the opportunity to hammer some nails into the wood, which they enjoyed.

Week Four

We were joined this week by a ‘batman hoverfly’, so-called because it has what looks like a batman symbol on its thorax. Compared to last week, the weather was so much warmer and definitely sunnier! The children enjoyed having a go at Hapazome this week, which involves putting fresh leaves and flowers between bits of cotton and hitting them with a mallet. The end result looks quite effective and some of the children added to their designs with the pens we have out in the woods. Throughout the afternoon, one of the children created a fantastic game about superhero powers. He made a ‘superpower stealer’ and went about finding out what everybody’s superpower was before trying to take it away (don’t worry, he did return our superpowers once he’d tested his gadget out!).

Week Five

The hammocks, slackline and whittling all continued to be popular this week. One of the children insisted on wandering around with a bucket on his head which made us all laugh. Some of the children made God’s eyes using sticks and wool. We also enjoyed some tasty popcorn which was cooked over the fire.

Week Six

Our final week involved making smores which were enjoyed by everyone. One of the children found “Something green and wriggly,” on the floor which turned out to be a little caterpillar. We placed it on a leaf and moved it off the path to safety. Some of the children pretended to be sloths on the slackline which resulted in lots of giggles. Tree climbing also proved popular.

Year 5 Tuesday Group

The Tuesday group were the den builders of the year group. There were several children who enjoyed building dens in various areas of the woodland. They also enjoyed crafting, ladder climbing as well as spending time on a swing and in a hammock. Miss Culpin supported myself (Mrs Morris) with the group and proved to be an excellent apprentice! She had a go at everything – even the hammock! – and one week, she was teaching some of the children how to tie two sticks together using the square lashing technique – well done Miss Culpin! This group were the luckiest with the weather, not having to move any of their sessions indoors due to high winds. They enjoyed hunting down the treasure chest – being the first group to do so – and loved finding the treasure of snacks! Over the weeks, the group enjoyed cooking popcorn, smores and waffles over the fire. We did attempt to make pancakes but the wind was too strong and kept blowing any heat from the fire away from the frying pan, so we dug out the emergency marshmallows instead. As well as food, some of the children enjoyed singing in the woodland and one child did some yoga too!

Year 5 Thursday Group

The Thursday group enjoyed everything Forest School had to offer. They loved the slackline – even Miss Richards had a go! One week, Mrs Morris changed the route of the slackline, making it more challenging by going around a tree… One child commented on how quickly that tree must have grown to get that big in a week – they hadn’t realised the slackline had changed route! Being the first group to try out the ladder up into the tree did involve one child getting stuck but she found her way down eventually after some guidance – her mum found this very amusing! Lots of the children enjoyed making snails out of wood, proving themselves to be the best at estimating when it came to finding the right sized sticks for the antennae. Lots of whittling happened and one week, a child used his whittled stick as a useful tool to collect the sit-mats that were left around the fire circle! This group were eager to have both a swing and a flip bar in the woodland, showing off their gymnastic skills among the trees. We enjoyed cooking brioche and smores over a fire. There was much excitement when some of the children discovered a frog in the woods! One week, the session had to be moved inside due to high winds. The children didn’t miss out though and enjoyed all of the usual activities, as well as making things out of elder wood (you can push the middle bit out to make beads) and some children had the chance to whittle with a knife. On Greek Day, some of the children chose to stay in school so they could enjoy their Greek activities but 7 children still came to the woodland and had fun. Our final week was the best when it came to the weather – lots of warm sunshine – Mrs Morris and Miss Richards even had a very short stint in the hammocks!

Year 5 Friday Group

The Friday group have had a very mixed bag when it came to Forest School. Mrs Morris was unable to take the group twice (due to her children being poorly) but was very grateful that Mr Dear was able to step in and take the group out so they could still enjoy their afternoons in the woodland. Mr Dear isn’t as snap-happy with the camera as Mrs Morris but he did manage a few pics of the children during their time with him. This group had some deadwood shelter experts within it, thanks to some of the children’s experience with Cubs and Scouts. Mr Dear calls these ‘proper shelters’ whereas Mrs Morris would rather take cover under a tarpaulin!

The Friday group were the first to experience a woodland swing and also enjoyed the tree ladder and slackline (check out the picture of Miss Culpin having a go!). They also inspired Mrs Morris to purchase the snack treasure chest after some of the boys discovered a stone in week 1 which was then used in a game of ‘Treasure Stealers’ which involved two teams trying to take the ‘treasure’ from the other group. Over the weeks they enjoyed brioche, marshmallows (with Mr Dear) and finished off with some yummy smores! One of our sessions got moved inside due to high winds. It was also ‘Dress as you want to be Day’ so some of the children were dressed as things like jockeys and pilots in the photographs! Some of the children wanted to stay back in class this week as it was Miss Nafis’s last day with them, so it was a quieter session with fewer children. The group still built a shelter using tarpaulins and a couple of tables. One of the children made a fantastic game of Bees and Ladybirds (a bit like Noughts and Crosses) which was enjoyed by him and some friends. During this indoor session, the children were able to do crafting and some of them made elder beads (elder wood has squashy centre that you can poke out to make beads). We finished the session with toasted hot cross buns (using a toaster, not the fire for a change!).

Our last session looked almost certain to be a washout (Mrs Gill came out with her umbrella!) but the rain quickly passed and the sun appeared which dried everything out and lifted everyone’s spirits! Mrs Morris discovered some dogwood in the woodland and tried to impress everyone with her magic trick, splitting a leaf in half but leaving the bottom bit floating. We also laughed when one of the boys turned himself into Sticky Weed Boy!

Year 4 Group 2

Week 1 w/b 2^nd January

The second group of Year 4 pupils had a rather soggy start to their Forest School experience. There’s a well-known phrase that says ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing’, which is very much the way I approach Forest School. Only high winds and thunder and lightning would stop us from going to the woodland as going out in these conditions would be unsafe. Despite the rain, none of the children complained and instead turned it to their advantage with many of the children making the most of the mud having a great time!

During the first session at Forest School, the children are introduced to the rules and many of the activities Forest School has to offer. Forest School should be child-led, so I offer the children a range of activities, many of which are available every week, and they get to select which of them they’d like to do. We always offer shelter building, whittling (starting with potato peelers but many children progress onto using a bush knife which needs to be done 1:1), fire lighting, mud kitchen and most recently hammocks and a slackline (the blue rope-type thing you see in some of the photographs).

Once the rules are explained, the children are set off to explore and enjoy what we have to offer. This week, mud was the order of the day with some of the children from Class 6 setting up a ‘beauty salon’ (yes, even Mrs Morris paid a visit!) and the boys from Class 5 creating their own swamp area.

Having had an hour to explore, the children were called to the fire circle for a talk about fire safety. Mr Dear has lots of experience with Cubs and enjoys talking to the children about the fire triangle. Did you know you need 3 things in order to light a fire: heat, fuel (such as wood or cotton wool) and oxygen. Mr Dear talked the children through each of these and how to cut one of them out to put out the fire. The children were then shown how to use a fire striker, also known as a flint and steel before having a go at setting fire to a small piece of cotton wool. This is one of my favourite parts of Forest School because it can be an excellent demonstration of why perseverance (one of our school’s ASPIRE Values) is so important. Not everybody is able to light the fire straight away but the smiles on their faces when they’ve achieved success are always a delight to witness.

As well as using the slackline, many of the children enjoyed the hammocks. Sometimes some of the children can be a little hesitant to get into a hammock but they’re often reassured when myself or Mr Dear get into them and don’t fall to the ground! It is often nice for us to take 5 minutes to sit back and observe the children without them realising we’re watching them. The children love swaying slightly in the hammocks too but they know not to rock too violently in them because it can damage the ropes.

Year 4 Group 2

Week 2 w/b 9^th January

It was another soggy week for this lot of Year 4s but, again, they didn’t complain! In fact, they made the most of it, with many of them enjoying the mud. There seemed to be lots of face packs going on (as well and mud on many arms and legs – this is why we ask for children to wear old clothes to Forest School!). Even Mr Dear ended up having a facial provided by one of the children!

We brought out the saw horse this week so they children could enjoy sawing some wood. Some of the children (mostly from Class 6) made snails and others cut thin wood slices to create medallions / necklaces. One of the children made a little stick bug – all his own design – which even stood up on the benches!

Two girls from Class 6 created a shelter and were surprised to discover Mrs Morris had chosen to hide in it for a short while. Apparently, she was not a welcome surprise and was kicked out quite quickly! I’m not sure how dry I would have stayed in the shelter anyway – it was quite holey!

Year 4 Group 2

Week 3 w/b 16^th January

Week 3 is always a highlight for myself and Mr Dear. The children have shown us over the previous two weeks that they can be responsible around the fire circle and are rewarded with some food cooked over the fire!

After offering choices of food, the children were most excited to toast marshmallows over the fire, then squashing them between two chocolate biscuits to make ‘smores’. After our snack, there were sticky fingers and faces a-plenty but also lots of smiles.

There were quite a few dens built this week and some Class 4 children even built a seesaw! The slackline also proved very popular with the children going across with their friends. The squeals we hear when the slackline tips them forwards or backwards always make me smile!

Mr Dear and myself also took it in turns to teach whittling with a knife to a couple of children. We only teach whittling with a knife if the groups are calm and settled and we feel able to take a child to a quieter part of the woodland so we can enable that child focus on what they are doing. We talk about knife safety, including when it is safe to use a knife and responsible knife use (including the consequences that will happen when caught on the streets with a knife!).