March sessions

A cold first day in the forest, with the odd rain shower, didn’t put off the hard working Year 4 children.  After taking time to familiarise themselves with the new Spring plants in the woods, and particularly to make themselves familiar with Arum maculatum (one of the most poisonous plants in the woods), they set about learning how to use bow saws.  Working in pairs and individually, the children cut discs from branches, which will be used as game pieces for the new game table that Mr Miekle is making for the playground.  There was time for hot chocolate and rekindling friendships at the end of the session, with bows and arrows, swings and dens.

We had sunshine today!! it felt warm! we noticed that the primroses have begun to bloom and the snowdrops are beginning to fade, further work on bow saw skills and in free time some awesome tree, rope and ladder climbing.

April Sessions

The children have been busy developing their skills in fire lighting, using ferrous rods and fire steels to generate sparks, and subsequently, building small fires using a variety of different collected tinders.  We discussed the importance of fire safety and needing to be with a responsible adult, and having the permission of the land owner before we lit fires.

May Sessions

In our final sessions, we took time to learn some simple whittling techniques including a sweeping cut and how to taper a stick to a point.  We used Opinel folding knives and fixed blade whittling knives safely and made little gnomes using the techniques we learnt.  We also took the opportunity to practice our communication skills, supporting each other along a simple obstacle course, whilst blindfolded, developing self esteem, responsibility, empathy and skills in communicating information and listening.