Forest School Blog

We were blessed with lovely blue skies and an autumn sunshine for our Forest School session yesterday. While getting ready at the welly boot shed, we talked about having our very first small fire and what we would need to collect on our walk down to the site – thin spaghetti-sized sticks and slightly thicker pencil-sized sticks. Each one had to have the all-important snap to show it was ready for firewood! When we arrived, we checked in with our nature names and talked about the fire circle and the fire triangle that makes a fire possible. Then it was time to get busy! Children enjoyed: 🦑 Making clay creatures like octopuses, jellyfish and hedgehogs 🌰 Using palm drills to put holes in conkers and adding ribbons 🪵 Building little dens for their soft creatures in the woodland 🌿 Creating nature bracelets, potions, and even some “blackberry-picking potions” 🪢 Trying out the new hammock (a big favourite!) To finish, we made our own hot chocolate and had biscuits around the ...

What a wonderful Forest School morning we had with Year 1 today! The blue sky and gentle breeze made it the perfect day to be outdoors. On our walk down, the children searched for firewood, learning how to spot the perfect “spaghetti sticks” and “pencil sticks” — with the all-important snap that means it’s ready for the fire. Around the fire circle, we checked in with our nature names, played a game, and talked about the fire triangle before sorting our wood into neat piles. This week was full of hands-on fun: 🌳 Relaxing in the woodland hammock 🌰 Using palm drills to make holes in conkers 🪚 Learning how to safely use a bow saw to cut hazel wood, then decorating and turning them into necklaces 🦔 Chatting about hedgehogs and hibernation, before making little clay and thistle hedgehogs 🪢 Building a zip wire for soft toys with overhand knots 🌲 Some children even challenged themselves with safe tree climbing! We ended the morning with hot chocolate and biscuits by the fire. ...

This afternoon our Year 1 Beech class braved the blustery weather for Forest School! On our walk down, we used colour charts to see if we could match natural and man-made objects – it was amazing what we found. At the fire circle we checked in with our nature names, then looked up at the canopy to spot what was new, different, or changing around us. After that, we got moving with a lively fire circle game, matching our partner or creature with actions and noises – lots of laughter all round! Mrs. Sunderland demonstrated how to use a fire striker safely with flint, steel, and cotton wool, before we set off on our activities. The wind gave us plenty of inspiration: we made wind-catchers from natural materials, threaded ribbons through conkers, and had great fun throwing and racing our conkers in the gusts. To finish, we had a go at fire striking, then we warmed up with hot chocolate and biscuits. We even managed to get some wood chopped ready for our very first fire next week! 

This morning our Year 1 Pear class braved the blustery weather for Forest School! On our walk down, we used colour charts to see if we could match natural and man-made objects – it was amazing what we found. At the fire circle we checked in with our nature names, then looked up at the canopy to spot what was new, different, or changing around us. After that, we got moving with a lively fire circle game, matching our partner or creature with actions and noises – lots of laughter all round! Mrs Sunderland demonstrated how to use a fire striker safely with flint, steel, and cotton wool, before we set off on our activities. The wind gave us plenty of inspiration: we made wind-catchers from natural materials, threaded ribbons through conkers, and had great fun throwing and racing our conkers in the gusts. To finish, we had a go at fire striking, then we warmed up with hot chocolate and biscuits. We even managed to get some wood chopped ready for our very first fire next week! 🔥🍫

Today Beech class had their very first Forest School adventure! The weather gave us everything again! bright blue skies with rainbows one moment and heavy downpours the next – but we embraced it all and had such fun in the rain and wind!  We started by walking down to our Forest School site, thinking about a good Forest school name. Around the fire circle, we played games, shared ideas, and talked about the treasures of autumn – conkers, acorns, and blackberries. Mrs Sunderland showed the children how to use a palm drill to make holes in conkers for threading, and then we picked juicy blackberries from the hedgerow to mash up for tie-dye. The children loved experimenting with fabric, elastic bands, and berry dye to create beautiful patterns. There was plenty of excitement with den building, bug hunting, and even catching raindrops from the canopy. We finished off with a treat of  hot chocolate, and biscuits made by the children themselves – the perfect way to end the first ses...

Today our Year 1 children had their very first Forest School adventure! Half the class explored in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon. The weather gave us everything – bright blue skies one moment and heavy downpours the next – but we embraced it all and had such fun in the rain. We started by walking down to our Forest School site, thinking about a good Forest school name. Around the fire circle, we played games, shared ideas, and talked about the treasures of autumn – conkers, acorns, and blackberries. Mrs Sunderland showed the children how to use a palm drill to make holes in conkers for threading, and then we picked juicy blackberries from the hedgerow to mash up for tie-dye. The children loved experimenting with fabric, elastic bands, and berry dye to create beautiful patterns. There was plenty of excitement with den building, bug hunting, and even catching raindrops from the canopy. We finished off with a treat of apples, hot chocolate, and biscuits made by the c...