Hello everyone, here is a selection of photographs from our Forest School camp over the last few months.  For more photos please take a look at the Forest School photo page.

All of the children love their Forest School sessions and at first glance this would seem to be because they regard their experiences as play.  As you know, play is a very natural and important way to learn about the world and to develop the skills we all take for granted as adults.

During every session we always build a fire in our designated fire area and enjoy hot chocolate and sometimes marshmallows. The children have learnt fire safety and have really enjoyed cooking and sitting around a fire telling stories.  We have various swings and dens that the children have enjoyed exploring and playing with. We even have a secret tunnel! We encourage children to construct their own dens and base camps which often lead to various forms of role play.

Some of the younger children enjoy making magic potions and delicious soups using our on-site rainwater supply and various other ingredients like apples, leaves, grass and mud.

Our first Forest School sessions of the school year were with Year 1, so a new group of children for Miss Niki Brakspear and myself, Mr. Tim Proffitt-White, to meet.

Right from the start it was very clear that the whole group were already very familiar with Forest School and the school forest camp. Overall levels of confidence, interaction with the environment and general awareness of their surroundings was very high. This I feel is due to the excellent Forest School sessions the group took part in last year with Kites.

For Key Stage 1, there are a multitude of activities and opportunities for each individual to be involved with:

Den building, tree  and rope-ladder climbing, trapeze balancing, fire building and lighting, using tools such as hand drills and magnifying glasses, learning knots, making art and play objects using natural resources, and bug hunting to name a few!

All of the activities we provide offer the children a way to develop skills such as confidence, self-esteem, communication, satisfaction through accomplishment, fine and gross motor skills, dexterity and building internal motivation.   The children are able to choose exactly what they want to do in each session, Miss Brakspear and I always have a plan but, like all good plans, we are able to tailor each session to fit in with the children’s interests.

We are looking forward to Forest School 2017 and having new adventures,

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a marshmallow-tastic New Year!

Mr Proffitt-White & Miss Brakspear