Forest School: Blog items
Date: 23rd Mar 2022 @ 4:41pm
This week in Reception we have been learning about the importance of keeping ourself and our bodies healthy. As a class we discussed different ways we an keep healthy including having a balanced diet, regular exercise, plenty of sleep, keeping clean and regularly brushing our teeth and keeping ourselves hydrated. We produced some fantastic pieces of writing and even enjoyed making our own healthy snack 'a fruit kebab'. Outside in the garden we enjoyed bathing the babies. brushing the false teeth, buying healthy snack from our shop and exercising on our balance bikes.
Date: 17th Mar 2022 @ 5:24pm
We enjoyed a super and very muddy Forest School session this week! We looked for worms, did some worm painting using string, squelched in a very muddy puddle and found alot of frog spawn in the pond!
Date: 10th Mar 2022 @ 2:25pm
This week in Reception the children have been talking about the importance of reusing and recycling unwanted waste. We collected a range of different bottles, cartons, boxes, tubs and tubs and used them to create our own junk model animals. We use tape and glue to attach the items together and them used different matterials and paint to decorate them. We made some fantastic wild animlas including parrots, elephants, giraffes, snakes and monkeys.
Date: 27th Jan 2022 @ 7:01pm
Today we enjoyed our first Forest School session of this half term. We loved being back in the Forest School area and this week we explored the fire triangle and the elements needed to keep a fire going. We then split into two groups - one group practised making 'dragon sparkles' with the fire lighters before toasting and eating marshmallows, whilst the other group got creative with sticks and various materials!
Year 3 Our Final Forest School Fun!
Date: 20th Jan 2022 @ 3:56pm
Today we enjoyed our final forest school session and what fun it was. We worked really hard to make a fire, which was difficukt because it was quite damp outiside. We also used a potoato peeler to peel and sharpen a stick. We used this stick to hold a marshmallow that we toasted and turned into a smore.
It was delicious! We had a great three weeks and we can't wait until next time.
Date: 17th Jan 2022 @ 6:38pm
Today we took our Science lesson outdoors! In our lesson today we were introduced to microhabitats and the animals that live in these small habitats. We looked at some examples of different microhabitats that we might find in the local environment and learnt that microhabitats can be as small as a fallen branch or even the space under a stone! We then recapped on what a minibeast is and looked at some examples of the kinds of microhabitats these creatures might live in. It was then time to go outside into our outdoor areas and forest school space to find some examples of minibeasts and their microhabitats! We also collected our own natural resources to enable us to make our own microhabitats!
Year 3 Forest School Fun Strikes again!
Date: 13th Jan 2022 @ 4:06pm
This week we started with the parachute and we loved making a dome to protect us from the wind. We then went splashing around in the mud and made our very own bow and arrows. We spoke about how to use tools safely and carved the wood to create arrows. We cannot wait for next week!
Date: 6th Jan 2022 @ 4:01pm
This week we started our Forest School sessions! We had lots of fun exploring the outside area and espically jumping in puddles! These experiences teach us important skill such as team work and hands on skills of cutting!
Date: 25th Nov 2021 @ 5:12pm
Today in Year 4 we enjoyed our first forest school session. We spent our first session creating shelters, and nicely rounded the day off by toasting some marshmallows. It was a little bit chilly but thankfully the weather held out and our Year 4's had a great time!
Date: 24th Nov 2021 @ 10:34pm
Our Eco Warriors from Reception, Year1 and Year 2 have been busy planting spring bulbs in the pond area of our school grounds as part of the BBC Plant Britain project.
Countryfile Plant Britain wants to get everyone planting in a big, ambitious two-year project where we can all do our bit in the battle against climate change and to help wildlife and our own well being.
Anyone can take part either at home with your friends and family or within the community too.
Get planting and help prevent climate change!
Date: 19th Nov 2021 @ 4:12pm
As part of our final Forest School session, we spent our time outdoors learning different types of survival skills.
Year 5 made dens out of different materials and learnt how to secure them using a range of knots and understood why it is important to protect ourselves from cold weather whilst out in nature. We then made a fire and understood why different factors such as the wind and types of energies can have an impact on their effectiveness.
To finish our sessions, we made pizza, shortbread and hot chocolate.
We have had such a great time and learnt so much about the outdoors.
Date: 12th Nov 2021 @ 4:05pm
We recently started our three week journey of Forest School last week. This is time where we can enjoy being outside and connecting with all things nature!
So far, we have engaged in activities such as singing round the campire, finding frogs and making honey shortbread over the fire.
We all love our time in our dedicated Forest School area, and we are learning so much about how to properly care for wildlife and our planet.
Date: 22nd Oct 2021 @ 11:13am
Today we took part in the activity 'What's Under Our Feet?' This involved digging up a 30cm square section of earth and looking inside the soil to see what lives there. The purpose of this was to see the variety of living creatures available for birds to eat. We found earthworms, spiders and grubs in the ground. We also measured the earthworms to see if there were different types/sizes.
Date: 21st Oct 2021 @ 8:16pm
Today we took part in the 'What's Under Your Feet? experiment.' We chose a patch to investigate in a section of grass near to our KS1 playground. Using a spade, we dug the top layer of soil and grass and tipped it onto a tray. We then sorted and identified the minibeasts we found in the soil, before very carefully putting them back and replacing the grass.
Date: 21st Oct 2021 @ 5:01pm
Over the past three weeks, Year 2 have been getting their hands dirty and enjoying learning outside. In the first session, the children explored the different outdoor areas and enjoyed making cake and other treats in the mud kitchen as well as doing some leaf painting. During the second week, we built dens and bird boxes for next year before learning to light a fire so we could cook apples and dip them in melted chocolate of caramel. This week, both classes learnt about the cardinal directions (North, East, South and West) and what each one represents. We created pieces inspired by Andy Goldsworthy to represent the Earth (North), Air (East), Fire (South) and Water (West). Lastly, we enjoyed toasting marshmallows. We have enjoyed our three weeks outside and look forward to our next sessions in the Summer.
Date: 21st Oct 2021 @ 5:00pm
We took part in 'What's Under Your Feet' task where we had to check the food supply for birds. We threw a pencil onto the grass to select the area and this would be the place we were going to dig up to investigate. Once we had selected our area, we measured 30cm x 30cm ready to dig up. We used a spade to dig up the top layer of grass and soil and tipped it onto a tray. Using rulers and plastic dishes, we placed worms and other wildlife in to measure the lengths of the food source for birds. Whilst we were doing this task, we saw seaguls stamping their feet on the grass to trick the worms into thinking that it's raining so that they would come to the surface.
Date: 8th Oct 2021 @ 7:57am
This week we took part in the whole school 'No Pen Day!' and boy did we have fun! Our lessons were 100% practical and discussion based. We used physical 2D and 3D shapes to learn about their properties and their names by sorting, describing and playing games. We also found the features of information texts using blue tack and string to label a WAGGOL. In the afternoon we were lucky enough to find out about the importance of recycling using Now Press Play.
Date: 28th Sep 2021 @ 7:50am
Year 1 have had a brilliant start to the new school year. We have enjoyed exploring our new classrooms and completing independent tasks in continuous provision, alongside our daily lessons. We have been accurately counting forwards and backwards in maths, writing labels and sentences about 'The Colour Monster' in Reading into Writing and exploring the human body and our five senses in Science. We have also enjoyed our Forest School sessions and exploring our local area
Date: 23rd Sep 2021 @ 7:02pm
This week in Geography we began to learn about physical and human features. We learnt that human and physical features are things we can see all around us. We discussed how physical features are natural and would be here even if there were no people around. We identified physical features such as seas, grass, mountains and rivers. We also talked about how human features are man made and built by people. It was then time to visit the outdoor areas around school and the Forest School area to identify as many human and physical features as possible. Have a look at what we found!
Date: 17th Sep 2021 @ 7:42pm
This week we enjoyed our first Forest School session on a lovely sunny day! In the Forest School area lots of fruits are growing on the trees and during our session this week we learnt about which are safe to eat and which aren't. We also held lots of different minibeasts we found in the area, making sure to treat them with care and put them back where we had found them! We all enjoyed spending some time in the area and are already looking forward to our next session!
Date: 13th Sep 2021 @ 12:22pm
This half-term in Cedar, we are going to be eco warriors!
We started our topic by investigating Miss T's rubbish into what is recyclable or non-recylable. We discussed each item and how some parts of the items weren't and some were so we would have to separate them.
We learned about how must plasic there is in the oceans and seas and what we can do to help. We then used some of Miss T's rubbish to junk model our own sea creatures.
Date: 9th Sep 2021 @ 9:50pm
The children had such a brilliant time during their Forest School session this week.They found blackberries growing on a bush and apples and plums growing on trees! Of course we had to have a little taste and blackberries were the definite favourite! The children loved exploring outdoors and hunted for bugs, made pies in the mud kitchen and made patterns in the playdough using pinecones and sticks. We can't wait to visit the Forest School again!
Date: 16th Jul 2021 @ 1:27pm
Year Two had a fantastic final session with Forest School this week. We had fun mixing potions and making food in the mud kitchen area. We refreshed our knotting skills from earlier in the year by using rope and tarpaulin to create a teepee. We picked and ate our own wild fruits including raspberries, blackberries and goosebeeries. Then we consolidated our Science knowledge of food chains, prey and predators with an exciting game of 'Hungry Squirrel'.
As a special end of year treat, we sang songs around the campfire as we all took turns to melt marshmellows to make delicious s'mores.
Date: 2nd Jul 2021 @ 7:11pm
During the last two weeks year 1 have enjoyed our final two sessions of Forest School. We were very excited to be able to take part in our last sessions before the summer holidays!
Over the past two weeks we have explored teamwork, resiliance and cooperation through a number of different activities. We also linked our learning to our current topic in DT, structures.
We recapped on the key fundamentals of Forest School, looking after nature, keeping ourselves and others safe and having fun!
During our sessions we matched different colours in nature, made plates of food for fairies, tried fruit growing from the trees, collected 'nectar' for the Queen Bee, toasted marshmallows and ate them!
Date: 10th Jun 2021 @ 4:14pm
Today the children took part in their first of 2 Forest School sessions. As part of the lesson, the children took part in a range of activites, inlcuding:
- Mandala making
- Fire building
- Code breaking
- Smore making
The children had a great time and worked well together as a team. They created some beautiful mandala art work where they used the resources found in the outside area. We are looking forward to our session next week!
