Chuggy pigs

We would like to know who stole summer and could we have it back.  It was wet and windy at FS on Thursday so instead of going under the trees we based ourselves in the outdoor classroom and the playing field.  Hot chocolate was made using the pump action flask operated by one of the older boys so no one had to try and get a storm kettle going with damp wood.  We haven't done any knots for a while so this seemed like a good time especially as one of the boys wanted to make a lasso.  We started with stopper knots and figure of eights working on the floor.  With eveyone feel confident we each had a long piece of string which we tied a stopper knot of the bite at one end.  With a loop at one end we threaded the other end through the loop making our lasso and then it was out into the drizzle to try and catch a stick or two.  From this how do we make a lasso we end up with a game of chase named by Emily, Fox and Hounds.  One of the boys caught a stick with his lasso and pulled the stick came out of the ground he started running a coulpe of the others chased him to try and catch the stick.  They started to take it in turn to be the fox who had to get to his den before the hounds got him (a large blue cone left by the football team in the middle of the field). this went on for quite a long time.  

Friday was drier and no wind so it was back into the FS site everyone was feeling creative with a couple of groups making dens now the trees have leaves and the grass is getting longer there is a whole new world to hide in.  One boy made a muscical instrument by handing bits of wood he found and then played it adding more wood to get different sounds.
The another group started to build chuggy world starting with a hotel and then swimming pool, roads and olympic staduim.  Digging holes in the ground and covering then up with sticks leaves and flowers.  In the end we had to ask who lives in Chuggy world and of course its the Chuggy pigs or woodlices.

 

Firing the clay oven next week we are going to have a go a cooking cookies in it.

Toad and Monsters

It feels like summer this week and it brought out the wildlife, we found a toad in the Forest School site which was moved to a nice pile of leaves which it was less likely to be stood on.  The children handled it with care and kept returning to the pile to see if the leaves were moving.  It was good to see that they recognised that it was another living being and that it might be scared with all the attention.

The work on the clay oven continues with the removal of the sand on Thursday and four large holes were dug on Friday some we could put a roof over it.  At the moment the roof is only a tarp on a frame next term we may have a go at making shingles as we have a source of soft wood.  If everyone makes two we should be able to cover the oven easily.

One of the boys brought a book with him which he was desperate to finish reading.  The book was all about monster and beast so with the book finished he started to make a giant picture of one of the beast on the ground.  He used materials he found around the FS site this then lead to a number of other boys making their own monsters.

 We have had a sand for digging in for along time and it is hardly used but as we needed somewhere to put the sand form the clay oven it was dumped in the sand pit.  This generated a sudden interest in the pit.  The using it had great fun building roads and houses.  It will be interesting to see if they return to it next week or will it be ignored once again.