Forest School Blog

  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...

What a wonderful way to end our six weeks of Forest School! Under bright blue autumn skies, the children in Pear Class set off full of excitement for their final session. As we made our way down to the Forest School site, the children collected pieces of litter along the field, proudly helping to care for our school environment. When we arrived, we paused to look around and talk about how the woodland had changed since our first visit — the colours, the fallen leaves, and the cooler air. The children shared their ideas about what it might look like in a couple of weeks’ time after the half-term break — perhaps even more golden leaves on the ground! Then it was time to get busy! Some children used our new stamper kit to make beautiful wooden necklaces, pressing designs and letters into the slices of wood. Others tried the Japanese technique of flower and leaf printing, creating delicate patterns by gently hammering petals and leaves onto fabric. There were also lots of opportunities for...

What a fantastic final Forest School session we’ve had after six wonderful weeks of outdoor fun and learning! As we got ready outside the classroom, we chatted about rubbish, the environment, and how to take care of our school grounds. On our walk down to the Forest School site, we took the long way round the field with our litter pickers in hand — and were amazed by how much rubbish we found. There were some brilliant discussions about where it all came from, and we managed to fill a whole carrier bag! Once down at Forest School, we noticed how the woodland is changing with autumn — the floor covered in cleaves and the trees looking very different from our first session. Then it was time for activities! Some children practised their fire striking, while others used our brand-new hammering alphabet kit (thank you PTA!) to make wooden cookie necklaces. A few carried on with their God’s Eye crafts, while our zip wires continued to be a big hit for imaginative woodland play. There was ...

  This morning’s Forest School session could easily have been mistaken for a summer’s day — warm sunshine and a gentle breeze, perfect Forest School weather! As we made our way down to the site, the children were brilliant nature detectives, spotting feathers, rabbit holes, and even dents under the fence — we wondered if they might be made by badgers or foxes! Using this knowledge, we set up our Forest School wildlife camera to see what creatures we might capture on film. When we arrived at the site, hidden around the woodland were pictures of animals and their footprints. The children’s challenge was to find a picture, bring it to the fire circle, and match the tracks to the right animal — lots of great thinking and teamwork! Then it was time to get busy! With lots of conkers to hand, there were conker runs, zip lines through the trees, tree climbing, and den building galore. Some children used mini nails to turn conkers into wonderful little creatures, while others continue...