A rainy day

This week we had a little rain on our session, but that didn't stop the group having a fab time! We started with a great team game, rabbits and foxes, where rabbits have to hide and then make it safely back into the 'hole' before being caught. There was some fab tactical thinking going on!

The children this week enjoyed making dens as the weather wasn't very nice. With some guidance in knot tying, they came up with some pretty cosy spaces to relax in.



We are also becoming more patient when pond dipping and the children found two newts this time!

Our confidence with tree climbing is growing and it a few of us were even brave enough to test out some new trees.


(photos to follow)

Dragonflies

What a beautiful sunny afternoon it was! The pond is looking much healthier and our new group thoroughly enjoyed exploring it. The main highlight for the children today was the visit from a rather large dragonfly! They used large sticks held over the pond to tempt it closer and waited very patiently. It eventually landed on Jessica's stick. Isn't it beautiful?

The children have also enjoyed a team game of hunters and mammoths, where those who were hiding had to leave flour behind as a clue. It got quite intense and we found some great new hiding spots.

Other activities spotted today were den building and mallet use (some fabulous team work and sharing going on there!), some woodland crafts, messy mud kitchens and of course, climbing and swinging from trees!

Cook out

This week we started with a team game. The children had to make the longest line possible whilst staying joined - it was great to see them working so well as a team. Well done Kaiden's team who won (just!)

Then, the children took part in our cook out. They laid and set the fire and prepared cheese and tomato parcels and of course, marshmallows! Thank you children for helping to fill up our safety watering cans and for making sure all our fire kit was out and in order - such a helpful group!

Have a lovely holiday!

Camouflage

Today was all about camouflage for a group that love to get muddy! We started by playing a game of camouflage hide and seek. In teams, we hid a friend and thought about the colours we would need to use to camouflage them well. We were inspired by the caddisfly larva we saw on our Marriott's Way trip who live in ponds and cover themselves in sticks (they are really cool - worth a google!)

Phoebe's team did such a great job that even Mrs Crane needed help to find her! Can you spot her? She's in these photos!

Here she is!

This led to lots of children exploring camouflage in their free play. Elsewhere, mud slime production has continued, the children enjoy collecting their own rainwater from our water butts and getting the consistency 'just right!' I've been told you need equal amounts of water and mud. We've also seen lots of interest in tool use, the saw, gimlets and loppers have been out today and been used very responsibly. Thomas made a log slice and turned it into a necklace.

Next week we are having our cookout and the children can't wait! Watch this space...

Little bird and muddy slime

This week, the children found a small dead baby bird resting under a piece of bark. At first, they were slightly unsure of how to react, but with some reassurance that it was OK to look and ask questions, their curiosity blossomed.

The children wondered how the baby bird had died and how long it had been there for. Clues, such as how it had no feathers made them think maybe it had only just hatched. They wondered if it was perhaps the duck from last week's egg or a baby who had fallen from a tree. The children noticed and named several body parts and told me it must be dead because they could see parts of its insides and it wasn't breathing.

When asked what they would like to do with it after we had looked at it, some of the girls wanted to bury the bird. Florence wanted to make a blue and pink 'Jesus' cross for the bird so it could have a grave and she wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl.

Other children enjoyed spending more time in the mud kitchen. They worked hard as a team to make the perfect 'slime ball', which just had to be the right consistency!

Our gardening team from last week wanted to know what would happen if they burnt the weeds they had cut down, so they were helped to build a fire. They discovered that wet weeds start to put out the fire and make it super smokey!

Ducks!

This week the Group 2 were so excited to get back into the woods! They enjoyed looking at all of our new tools and trying some whittling before heading off to explore the Forest School are in a new season. They spotted lots of things that have changed since winter.

One of the highlights for the children this week was the duck egg which they found by the pond, which was made even more exciting by a visit from mamma and pappa ducks themselves!

The children have also loved getting muddy in the mud kitchen, climbing and swinging, creating bouquets and we have had our very own Sutton gardening team cutting back some weeds for us - thank you team!