What a busy few weeks we have had during the first half of the Spring term!

The children have thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the swing of regular Forest School  sessions every week. They have remembered their kits, brought in suitable items of clothing and have come with a real excitement to be learning outdoors.

There has been a great deal of mud this half term and not only have we had some VERY muddy children but our site is struggling with the amount of muddy footsteps every week, this is something we will work on improving over the summer months and hopefully there will be less mud next Spring.

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch:

We started off the Half Term with the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch. We spoke about the type of birds we would expect to see in a rural location, we listened to the birds around us (using the free Merlin APP) and then discussed the habitats suitable for them and what they may eat. This then lead us on to creating our own bird feeders, using a mixture of natural resources and food to support our small garden birds and to try and encourage other, rarer breeds into our setting. Some of our children had a good grounding of knowledge about UK garden birds and they were able to link our new learning with discussions they had had with their family members.

Winter Walk and trees in Winter:

Each class has taken part in a winter walk. We took advantage of our beautiful rural location and took a stroll around the lanes, over stiles, through fields and used public footpaths. We spoke about the importance of ‘leaving places as you find them’, if a gate is open, we leave it open, if a gate is closed, we close it behind us. We discussed which signs show us where a public footpath is and how we must stick to the path and not walk over land which we do not own. The children enjoyed spotting the very first signs of Spring, flowers, buds and animal life.

Class 3 and Class 4 focussed specifically on trees in Winter and how we can use clues to help us identify them. The children were able to identify buds which were opposite or alternate, bud shape and colour, they discussed the shape of the tree’s silhouette and looked for leaf litter.

Using other locations on our school site:

As the mud got worse we started to use other locations on our school site, the children thoroughly enjoyed lessons on The Trail, an area which the older children haven’t used for a while. During their time here we were able to witness some great examples of child-led learning, ranging from tree climbing, imaginary play, team games and problem solving. The tree climbing really challenged some children to take a risk, climbing to a higher height than they would have previously felt they could reach. A group of children from Class 4 worked together to climb a tree that at first seemed out of reach, but through determination and team work they were able to reach a branch they thought impossible, it was great to see how proud they were of their achievement.

Imbolc:

During the last week of term we took time to slow down and notice. We carried out our ‘Sit Spots’ (a time of reflection where the children sit and try to find something which triggers each of their senses). We spoke about the ancient celebration of Imbolc, a festival originally celebrated by Pagans, now a chance for us to see if we can see any signs of Spring, as it marks half way between the Winter and Spring solstice. The children spoke about things they were looking forward to, things they wanted to grow within themselves, signs of Spring or simply came to place an item of interest around our candle circle.