Week 4 Ash

 This morning, our Year 3 children in Ash Class had a fantastic Forest School session under warm sunshine and bright blue skies—it finally felt like spring! We started by carrying a very special delivery down to our Forest School site: a bundle of sapling trees from the Woodland Trust. As we walked, we identified our new arrivals—English Oak, Rowan, Wild cherry, Field maple, and Grey willow. We also learned more about the trees already growing in our woodland area, including our resilient Field maples and Oaks. Once at the site, we gathered around the fire circle for our welcome check-in, using our nature names. We chatted about the changes we’d noticed in the woodland and signs of the new season. Then, we challenged ourselves with a multisensory, Mexican wave-style rain dance, which required great listening skills! After that, it was time to get busy. Some children worked with Mrs Warner to plant over 27 trees—an amazing achievement! Others teamed up with Mrs Sunderland to use the bow saw, cutting slices of silver birch wood. Using palm drills, they made holes to decorate their wood cookies, creating games and even hammering small nails to form faces. A highlight of the morning was trying the Japanese art of Hapa Zome, where children used hammers to press flowers and greenery onto calico fabric, creating beautiful natural patterns. Meanwhile, others enjoyed bug hunting, playing in the mud kitchen, and—most excitingly—helping to light our very first fire! Willow and Edward took the lead in getting the fire going, and we all enjoyed hot chocolate, squash, and biscuits before cooking popcorn over the fire—a perfect way to end the session. To close, each child placed a droplet of water on the fire to safely put it out and made a special wish for the week ahead. What a brilliant morning of learning, creativity, and teamwork—well done, Ash Class!