Forest School Jo

This last week of term has been a week of Campfires and treats. For so long we haven't attempted a fire because of air quality, the increased risk to needing to call emergency services, and because it has been so dry! But rain and an easing of advice from The Fire Service meant that this week all 12 Bubble classes got to pond dip, sit by a fire, eat some treats, and discuss what they like best about Forest School.... Orange Bubble... Discovering newts Watching the frog Holding a water boatman Climbing trees Climbing high Climbing upside down Peeling twigs Whittling wood Building dens Running fast Digging deep Racing on the tyres Lovely treats Butterflies Survival... Purple Bubble Love holding baby newts Playing with friends Making up stories Love Trees Leaf matching Branch climbing Playing all together Having treats 'If the others were here they would be so happy!' R ed Bubble like Making dens Climbing trees Swinging on ropes Exploring in unknown places Whittlin...

Week 1 getting all 12 'bubbles' outside for a reduced form of Forest School was interesting! We are abiding by our own risk assessment and amended rules and procedure as we go. No bubble has more than 15 pupils in and as every school is finding there are hidden difficulties and sudden incidents that make implementing Social Distancing INSIDE the building difficult at times. OUTSIDE I can confirm it is just as fraught! The space is there for them to move around in, there are multiple trees offering climbing opportunities, but children do like to form groups and interact. Trying to stop them is to go against human nature and requires a lot of discussion, reminding, nagging.... I've said before that part of our assessment is the fact that Covid-19 spreads slower outside. The wind and air circulates the virus quickly and UV light from the sun helps destroy it, so based on the current scientific advice, a 9 acre space with sky for a ceiling and no obvious walls is probably t...

Mama Beech sits on the edge of a Forest School site overlooking the copse that hides basecamp. There's a strip of woodland the children explore, a field of space to run, and the huge tree shields the Fairy Glen quiet space. This site is on school grounds, and across the year as many classes as possible in a two-form Primary take part in full 2 hour FS Sessions... Until Lockdown interrupted and Coronavirus changed the rules. Emerging back into school life routines have changed, lessons have altered, classes are no longer the same size, or pupils, and restrictions due to social distancing and cross contamination make even the idea of Forest School Sessions as I know them fraught. So it's time to adapt. We've made the decision that all the children need as much outdoor time as possible. This stems from some children having been cooped up during the lockdown period and needing the space and freedom to move, the assertion that it's harder to catch Covid-19 outside (b...

This week we brought Forest School indoor at school for the children who still attend. It's always a challenge to keep children engaged when the age range runs from 5 - 11, but some things are too much fun not to engage in!  I have said before - I have a large IKEA bag full of activities for children to do inside. It is rarely needed, but if there is high wind or thunderstorms and I need to take the outdoor learning inside, I am prepared! So we started the day allowing the children to look through all the different things available, Insect life cycles, picturebooks with props, Bug Top Trumps, wildlife encyclopedias, photo books, playmobil wildlife, bird toys that tweet.... etc In the morning we read them all Bog Baby A great book about removing a creature from it's habitat. It caused great discussion about why this might not work, and children's own wanderings through bluebell woods and near rivers and ponds with family. It also sparked a discussion about NOT goin...

As inevitable as the current restrictions of movement are it was still difficult to prepare for it or to judge when it would come. I am on a rota to go into work and help with the reduced number of pupils we have now. But I found myself going in when not on rota because there was stuff that needed doing. Was it essential...? Probably not. But I could do all of it in isolation without spending time with the children or other staff and at that point a lockdown had not been called I started the week by attacking the poly tunnel!  Our wonderful volunteer who runs a Garden Club with Year 2 had already ensured that all their hard work was in the Poly Tunnel's Nursery Garden, so I just needed to attend to all the gardening the small groups had been achieving A path needed finishing, we still have some Woodland Trust trees to plant and we have seedlings bursting out that will not survive in seed trays with little opportunity to water them. The children have worked hard and have such...

Well even though we all knew it was coming, the insanity of this week was still a series of varied surprises to wade through! With the impending closure of schools the race was on to get as many of our Woodland Trust trees into the ground! And the children rose to the occasion! Years 3, 4 and 5/6 helped to get 50 trees into a hedge formation to add a hedge to the Millennium Garden and to start the demarcation of what will hopefully be a story trail by the end of next year. The sun shone and the drizzle soaked and the wet grass made socks soggy but 5 classes managed to have fun, follow instructions and add to our school environment Two of the groups who work with me to earn their Royal Forestry Society Junior Forester Certificate not only helped to plant a further 40 trees - but were able to take over and explain to their classes exactly what was required to ensure the trees would grow well. Year 4s and Year 5/6 experts in the making! Years 1, 3 and ...