new purchases

Have just ordered folding saws, bow saws and fixed bladed knives ready for next term.

Session Six

Well today was the day, we have been so lucky with the weather and finally we had a wet session.  On top of it being wet it was also windy (not great for putting up a tarp shelter) and getting dark and it seemed to take ages to leave the dry warm hall to go outside.As it was our last session before Christmas we had a cook out and a final activity that would leave a mark on the Forest School site.  After a quick round of the animal name game it was straight into clay self portraits on the larger of our trees.  Some did one face, others could not be stopped and would like to still be out there now plastering the trees with clay faces.

While Helen cooked the veggie sausages and boiled the kettle I got picked to be the seeker again for Hide and Seek which becomes quite hard in the poor light of a wet December afternoon, you would be amazed at the number of hiding places around the playing field within sight of the Forest School site that there are!

With the rain coming down, we all sat around the fire eating hot dogs and drinking hot chocolate with the group telling us want they had enjoyed about Forest School this term and coming up with ideas for next term.


We finished the session with marshmallows toasted over the embers of the last fire of the year. 

Session five

A couple of the children went round the whole circle giving the animal name and actual name of everyone in the group today. This shows how well we are all listening to each other.  We missed out on knots so we could work on our den.  A new source of  dead branches was found so once the firewood was collected it was down to work for most of the group.  A few of the children just wanted to sit by the fire on the logs which is fine, at Forest School you can dip in and out of the activities and find something else to do within the Forest School site.  It's all to do with being comfortable within your surroundings.

Last week the group voted to play games this week, so we played Forest School hide and seek.  The seeker has to stay within a square marked out on the ground and the hiders have to be able to see the seeker without being seen.  Once the seeker has spotted everyone he can, he calls out 'prepare to move closer' then covers his eyes and counts to 10.  The hiders move to a new hiding place closer to the square, the winner is the last person to be caught and to get the closest to the square without being detected. 

Sadly its our last session for this term  next week so we are having a cook out, with toasted marshmallows, something we are asked about every week. 
I hope to run Forest School sessions next term but I do need parent volunteers as Helen will be leaving us in the New Year to have a baby so please come and have a chat if you could help.  I provide training to use all the tools and in fire lighting before the sessions so don't worry if you're not Ray Mears! A sense of fun and a warm waterproof coat are all you need!