Forest School Blog

  Today was Apple Class’s final Forest School session. We began the morning talking about the children visiting us from Cowes Primary. One thoughtful child suggested we make gifts to welcome them… and the creative ideas started flowing! Before long, the children were busy crafting. Some made beautiful God’s Eye weavings, others created pencil pots, welcome signs, or adorable bumblebees from pinecones. We also got hands-on with some new woodland skills:  We learned how to use the bow saw to slice cherry wood safely.  We practiced standing properly around the saw horse and had another go with peelers to whittle wood.  The palm drills made a return too!  Some children built an impressive den, while others relaxed in the hammock, soaking in the birdsong. And then it was time for cooking!  Together we made campfire doughnuts, carefully frying them over the fire. Robyn gave them a big thumbs-up—“10 out of 10!” She declared! To end the morning we gathered in a ref...

 Yesterday, our brilliant Year 3s had a fantastic Forest School session on a very warm day—and it just so happened to be National Bee Day ! 🐝💛 We kicked things off by learning some fascinating bee facts: 🍯 Bees can’t see the colour red 🌍 There are over 20,000 species of bees around the world 🌱 Without bees, we wouldn’t have most of our food—they play a vital role in helping plants grow! After our bee-themed learning, it was time to get creative and active! The children made their own bees using pine cones, wool, and carrier bags for wings. Then they moved on to fire striking, den building, and a splash-filled listening game of Dragons and Knights , complete with water pistols to help everyone cool off. 💦🛡️🐉 A special shout-out to Evie , who got the fire going so we could toast chocolate brioche and enjoy some refreshing squash to end a perfect day. 🔥🍫🥤 Well done, Year 3—you were brilliant, brave, and buzzing with energy all day long!

  Appletree Class at Forest School This morning, our Year 3 children from Appletree Class had a brilliant time at Forest School! On the way down to the site, we explored different sizes of firewood – learning about “spaghetti” and “pencil” sized sticks. The children took on the challenge of finding just the right sizes, and even helped carry a huge bundle of bamboo to use later for making bug hotels. At the fire circle, we sorted and graded firewood, chatting about what makes a good fire and why size matters. Then, with great care and focus, the children used peelers to whittle hazel and cherry sticks into their very own toasting forks – ready for marshmallows later on! Bug hotel building was in full swing with some creative use of donated tin cans, and we even saw some lovely red and white flags being made. There was lots of enthusiastic bug hunting, and we’ve started recording all our nature discoveries on our new sightings board. We finished with toasted marshmallows, hot chocol...

 T his afternoon, our Year 3 children enjoyed a wonderful Forest School session in the sunshine. We started with an important job—helping to carry down some brand-new storage kindly bought by Mrs Yardley. The boxes were a bit awkward (but not heavy!), and after trying a few different methods, the children worked brilliantly together and balanced them on the trolley—great teamwork! Once in the woodland, we talked about how it’s changed over time and reminded ourselves of our special nature names. We played some fun games to reinforce our fire circle rules, then headed off to explore. Some children went bug hunting, others created beautiful woodland people, and everyone got stuck in with creativity and curiosity. A highlight of the day was learning how to use the Flint and steel to make sparks the children showed high levels of determination and resilience as this was not an easy task!  We also played two favourite games—Otter, Mosquito, Salmon and the hilarious Flying Carpet game w...