Pear Class week 3

 Year 1 had another busy Forest School session today, with lots of opportunities to practise practical skills, problem-solving and teamwork.

Our challenge began before we had even reached the Forest School site! The children were told that their “entrance fee” was two dry sticks – one about the thickness of spaghetti and one about the thickness of a pencil. They had to search carefully on the ground, compare the sizes of different sticks and check that they were dry enough to snap. This was a great way to develop observation, comparing and estimating skills, as well as beginning to understand how we select suitable fuel for a fire.

Once at Forest School, we sorted our sticks by thickness and talked about how we build a fire using different sizes of fuel. We also looked at flint and steel and learnt how striking them creates a spark that can be used to help start a fire.

We then turned our attention to oak trees and acorns. We looked at the life cycle of an oak tree and carried out the simple water test to help us choose acorns for planting. The children discovered that healthy, viable acorns will often sink, while damaged or hollow ones are more likely to float. Some children then planted their own acorn and made a plant label from a recycled milk bottle. We’re hoping to see some tiny oak seedlings appear!

During our child-led choosing time, the children followed their own interests. Some painted tiny acorn cups, others went bug hunting, built and explored in the woodland, practised wood chopping skills, or concentrated carefully on making friendship bracelets.

We also introduced Nordic sling braiding. Long strands were weighted with pine cones and the children worked together to swing them back and forth in a repeated pattern. This activity looks like great fun – and it certainly was! – but it also develops hand-eye coordination, rhythm, concentration, teamwork and communication, as well as encouraging children to cross the midline as they catch and pass the strands.