The Autumn Chill

As the weather starts to chill, the children have turned their attention to the ways in which nature slows down. The trees lose their leaves ready to rest and store their energy for new growth in Spring, but what are the animals doing?

In Forest School we play close attention to our animal neighbours: we know that the Squirrel has been burying acorns in the long grass and have found last year's forgotten larder as new oaks begin to sprout; we know that the birds are trying to gain fat and are building up their nests to get them through the cold weather; we've even found amphibians hiding away in our log pile. But the group we never see are our nighttime visitors, the nocturnal animals, who busy around after dark, snuffling and digging to unearth their favourite suppers.

Many of these - hedgehogs, bats, frogs and toads for example - are also hibernators, so to help them snuggle up for the winter the Butterfly children have been building Homes for Hibernators. Using hammers, nails and timber off cuts the children have built bat houses and hedgehog hotels to be housed in the Forest School Woodland.

Also this month the children have been paying their respects and making poppy-coloured god's eyes to mark Armistice Day.

Hello Autumn

This term we have been looking at Autumn and noticing the seasonal changes around us. This has included foraging for blackberries to experiment with using natural dyes on fabric, learning about trees and their seeds - horse chestnuts, sweet chestnuts, pines and oaks - and watching the trees change colour as they ready themselves for winter. See what you can find when you are next in nature - will it be prickly, smooth, shiny or dull? The older children have also started to enjoy tool-work using palm drills and wool to create autumn necklaces.

Minibeasts in July

The children have enjoyed a busy summer in Forest School looking at all things creepy and crawly. For our Minibeast term we have looked closely at one kind of minibeast per week. This included ants, snails, caterpillars, butterflies, grasshoppers, bees and ladybirds. We learnt what makes each creature unique and how to identify them using colour, shape and features. The children used crafts and tool-work to recreate parts of their learning and were very proud to take their pieces home. The term culminated in our Minibeast Olympics events with toasted marshmallows around the fire pit.