Week 1 20.4.16
The ever popular Forest School game ‘Giants, Dwarves and Wizards’ proved a little tetchy to begin with as Year 5 children began their journey of working together as a team. After points were won and lost, disagreements and jubilation, we all made sure we thanked each other for a good game.
After listening to the set boundaries and risk assessments, the children set off working in pairs to find 30 hidden objects in the area which would not normally be found in nature. The children were great at spotting the unnatural, including car hubcaps which had strangely made their way to Forest School! Expert hunting also revealed a dead mouse and tracks where animals had dug under the willow fence panels. These of course are the most natural things to find and generated lots of discussion and exploration!
In preparation for working around the campfire, the children listened attentively to the fire risk assessment. We then listened to a campfire story and on hearing a given word groups of children practised moving sensibly around the fire circle and back to their seat…or for some moving round and round as their word kept cropping up in the story. Although a fun session, the children demonstrated great commitment to the importance of the activity.
The children cheered when they were told they could have some free exploration time and suddenly the team spirit and camaraderie was a joy to behold as pockets of children began creating dens and look out places.
Our concluding song, drink and biscuit around the fire circle couldn’t have been more perfect. The sun shone and as did the children’s spirits from being at Forest School. Roll on next week!