Forest School Blog

What a great Forest School session we had with our Year Five children this morning! Under a bright blue sky, the ground was covered with a blanket of white frost that made everything sparkle. Before we even reached the site, the children were eager to explore. Our new climbing equipment wasn’t used for climbing today, but because the tarmac beneath was completely white over! They loved comparing surfaces, discovering that the wooden trim edge was actually more slippery than the tarmac — almost like a giant outdoor ice rink! As we walked the perimeter of the field collecting spaghetti- and pencil-sized sticks for our fire, we found huge icy shards in the digging trench and stopped to look at our extra-long shadows. Some parts of the field were already defrosting in the sunshine, while others stayed frosty and white, giving the children lots to observe and wonder about.  Down at the Forest School site, we gathered in a circle and practised some knot-tying. We then learned the clo...

What a day! Our brave Year 5s from Hawthorn Class headed out to Forest School this morning and again this afternoon—despite the bitter cold, wind and rain. I was so impressed with the resilience of the first group, who stayed outside for a full two hours in truly wintry weather. Down at the Fire Circle, we revisited the fire triangle and talked about today’s challenge: How do we light a fire when it’s windy? The children got stuck in straight away, knowing we needed warmth fast! Four determined boys worked tirelessly to get our fire burning, and we used Mrs Sunderland’s new antique-shop bellows to keep it going. The children enjoyed wood chopping, willow bow-and-arrow making, and creating bird feeders. We softened lard on the fire, mixed it with seeds, and packed it into hollowed-out orange halves. Some took theirs home, while others chose to leave them in the woodland to help our local birds. Of course, no Forest School day is complete without some delicious treats—toasted crumpe...

  What a brilliant day we had at Forest School today! The children were amazing explorers — we used colour charts to match all sorts of natural treasures we found around the woods. 🌈🍃 Our fire-striking skills are really coming along too… little hands are definitely getting stronger with all the practice! 🔥💪 We got creative by hammering nails into pumpkins and even made our own natural paint using spinach, beetroot, chalk and turmeric — such vibrant colours and so much messy fun! 🎨🎃 Of course, no Forest School session is complete without a warm cup of hot chocolate and some biscuits to finish off our adventures. ☕🍪 Well done Beech Class — what a fantastic outdoor day! 🌿✨

  This morning, Hawthorn Class had a wonderful Forest School session we began our session by gathering around the welly sheds, where everyone was given a colour ID chart. The first challenge was to hunt for man-made objects that matched our chosen colour. Once we’d collected our matches, we set off down the field towards the Forest School site, looking for natural objects in the environment that also matched our colours. This led to some brilliant discussions about different shades and tones, and how colours can look so different in nature compared to man-made materials. When we arrived at the site, we checked in with our Forest School jobs — some children handed out sit mats, others helped put up the fire blankets, and a few filled up the handwashing water. We also made an exciting discovery: when the canopy had been closed over the past week, it had become a cosy home for hibernating ladybirds! We found lots of them and tried to identify the different varieties. Our theme for the...

Yesterday, Beach Class enjoyed their very first Forest School session — and what a beautiful day it was! Under blue skies, we gathered by the welly boot shed, excited to begin our outdoor learning journey. Then came the fun of choosing how to travel to the site — some children ran, some cartwheeled, and others rolled down the field with big smiles. We shared our nature names and talked about how to look after ourselves, each other, and the woodland.  We also learned the fire circle rules and played a fun game called “Matching animal More Pairs” to help us remember the fire circle rules, moving carefully around the benches to find our partners. Den building was very popular, and there was lots of bug hunting — we found worms, millipedes, centipedes, ladybirds, and even some wasps and butterflies, which was surprising for November! Some children loved throwing the autumn leaves, while others showed real determination learning to fire strike. It’s tricky for small hands, but our Year ...

What a fantastic first Forest School session for our Year 5s in Hawthorn Class this today! We started at the welly boot sheds, chatting about our Forest School rules before choosing how we wanted to travel down to the site — there was cartwheeling, rolling, sprinting, and plenty of laughter! Everyone remembered to stop and wait at the entrance before entering the woodland, showing great listening right from the start. Once inside, we talked about the canopy, the weather, the changing seasons, and the important jobs that help our Forest School run smoothly. Each child chose their Forest School role for the next six weeks — from washing up and carrying water to putting out hazard flags, sit mats and tidying resources. Then the fun began! Fire striking was a real hit 🔥, and so was wood chopping — carefully making small sticks ready for the Kelly kettle. Some children got creative with woodcraft, others made zip wires or enjoyed the hammocks, and there was even a lively game of Amon...