On Monday afternoon it was beautiful weather, winter cold but sunny, perfect to go out in nature to explore. The water in the moat was frozen, so we started with a little research. The children tried to find out how and if they were able to break the ice. Sticks and twigs of all sizes were thrown on the ice. Finally, they found a really big one under the chestnut tree and succeeded in making a little hole. What they also discovered was that once a hole was made air bubbles appeared under the ice.
In the forest one of the learners discovered an Earthball of Puffball mushroom, it was a bit open on the top and by pushing on it with a stick, the spores were released. It was magic to see the ‘smoke’ as the children called it, in the sunshine. Our last stop was at our Forest Outdoor classroom. There were many trees cut in the past months, but this gave us the perfect opportunity to build a hut as there were still many branches laying around.
We had a wonderful afternoon in the forest and we are aiming to become a Forest School later this year. Some of the Forest School principles are:
•Forest School takes place in a natural or woodland environment to support the development of a lifelong relationship between the learner and the natural world.
•Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent, and creative learners.
•Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
