Wednesday 25th September

Because of all the September rain we have been having, the natural pond was full of water today. Many children love the opportunity to play with the water in different ways and are always creative with the use of loose part equipment. Through engaging in play this way, the children use their imaginations, problem solve and practically experience science concepts. Many boots were full of water by the end of the session (we hope the children had spare socks with them!).

Mrs Dear put the swing up today and the children loved it! They played safely together and enjoyed the way a rope swing can go in all different directions. Playing on a swing helps develop the children's core muscles.

In order to make use of a few of the "many" wellington boots which had been left in school in July (too many for us to store as spares!), Mrs Dear had purchased some bulbs to plant in them. Holes were drilled in the bottom, and then children helped fill them with gravel (for drainage) and compost before planting the bulbs. Mrs Dear explained the difference between seeds and bulbs and why it is important to plant bulbs in the Autumn. The children added some late flowering pansies on the top to help support the last

Other children were busy creating all manner of feasts in the mud kitchen. Some children decided to write their recipes down so we could make them again! Can you spot the imperative verbs and the different ways they describe the quantities required? Which recipe would you choose?

Thursday 20th September

Wow! The British weather threw a lot at us today! Grey, overcast skies in the morning for Woodpecker class, followed by a mighty storm and torrential rain shower over lunchtime, which passed and cleared to bright blue sky and warmth in the afternoon for Kingfisher class.

Luckily, the storm and rain came precisely between sessions, which meant Mrs Dear was still able to light the fire for the blackberry crumble cooking. The children enjoyed seeing the blackberries change from plump and whole to mushy in the pan as it was heated, and listened to the melting butter in the saucepan of oats. They verbally gave a brilliant selection of adjectives to describe them which supported the English learning they have been doing in class this week.

As well as cooking over the fire this week, all the classes have had the opportunity to draw observational pictures of the bramble plant (if they wished too). They used mud and blackberries as paint!

Children who tied and dyed fabric last week carefully untied their material to see the amazing patterns created! We were all impressed by the vibrant colour the blackberries have produced.

Not to mention the children who found evidence of animals (this was their own words). They were supported in identifying it as being fox poo! And those who found sweet chestnut cases which had come off the tree in the storm!

Tuesday 18th September

Continuing the theme of brambles and blackberries from last week, Mrs Dear has

embraced the dry September weather this week, and got the fire going.

The children were reminded of, and demonstrated, the "respect" safe fire position. Can your child tell you why this is a safe position when using a fire pit? 

Once the fire was lit, Mrs Dear got busy preparing blackberry crumble. The children observed how the blackberries and oats changed when they were heated over the fire - and the change of state of the butter from solid to liquid. Some children noticed that the blackberries started to bubble, and Mrs Dear explained about the boiling point of liquids.

Some children chose to remain at the fire, rather than exploring and playing, to help with the cooking, by stirring the oats and the berries carefully. These are chefs in the making!

At the end of the session, everyone enjoyed tasting the crumble! All of the senses were used at Forest School today with such a multi-sensory activity provided.

 

Friday 13th September

The date may be unlucky for some, but it certainly wasn't for the children of Woodpeckers and Kingfishers for their first Beyond the Gate of Year 2. The gorgeous Autumnal sun shimmered, and the light breeze rustled the leaves, as the children explored, played and learnt.
Like the Tuesday classes, they were given the opportunity to forage for blackberries and use these to dye fabric. 

The children in these two classes played and explored immensely today. Some children in pairs and others in large groups.

Using the multi-use stands, a large group of children became engineers and constructors. Their play evolved from creating a motorway to developing mines in Africa - complete with pipes to reduce flooding! Immense team work and collaboration was seen while they played.

A pair of girls spent their whole session creatively building a den. Their class teacher observed  - careful not to interrupt their play - and commented on the richness of the problem-solving and discussions held by the girls.

Tuesday 11th September

Today the new Robin and Owl classes enjoyed returning Beyond The Gate. It was a breezy, slightly chilly, but bright and sunny day and the children relished the freedom and exploration that their sessions enabled.

Being September, there is an abundance of blackberries on our bramble bushes and so children were given the opportunity to forage for these to use to make dye for tie-dying. A few might have been tasted at the same time!

The children mashed the blackberries with a potato masher, and added a little hot water to make the dye. They used elastic bands to tie up a piece of fabric - using acorns to create gaps - this was great for their fine motor skills. Finally, they mixed their material into the dye, making sure it was completely covered.

They have been left to soak for a while and then will be left to dry. Next week the children will be able to un-tie them and see their results!

 

Tuesday 16th and Thursday 19th July - Year 2's final Beyond The Gate sessions.

For their final Beyond The Gate sessions with us, the Year Two children had the treat of toasting marshmallows on the fire. They absolutely loved this!

 

Whilst the fires were being lit, they were able to share their knowledge and understanding of the fire triangle and how to light fires responsibly and safely (skills for life). They all demonstrated our "safe fire position" whilst toasting their marshmallows and some could explain why this is a good position around a fire pit.

We hope these children will take with them amazing memories of their Forest School experiences as well as retain the knowledge and skills they have learnt. And, most importantly, continue to enjoy and respect nature, appreciating the awe and wonder of our natural world.

Tuesday 9th July - Rain, Mud and Swinging Fun!

Following the Year 2 requests, Mrs Dear put up a tree swing this week! This demonstrates the ethos of Forest School education - where there is a child-led approach to how sessions are planned. 

Giggles echoed around the site as most of the children in Kingfisher and Owl classes had a turn swinging. There were rich risk assessment discussions before using it, and during the play - especially when children were teaching other children how to use it safely. They loved the unpredictability of the tree swing and talked about how this was different to swings found in constructed play parks.

It was an extremely wet July day - especially in the afternoon where we had a torrential down pour (in amongst the constant light rain!). The children were not put off and relished the opportunity to freely play with mud and water again! All kinds of different games and role-plays happened with the mud and water being carried in various receptacles all over the site.

Mrs Dear had put up a vertical board with mud and paintbrushes and some children creatively drew mud pictures.

Other children continued to finish their musical instruments and others chose to create observational drawings of plants around the site.

Thursday 4th July - Moving Up Day!

As part of "moving up day", the lovely Year R children had a taster Beyond the Gate session.

They learnt how to go around our base camp circle by singing a song. Then, took part in a scavenger hunt - collecting their finds on a special stick - and finally they had a little time to freely explore the site and play.

It was lovely to see how amazed they were by the size of the site and all the things they could find. Some children choose to play on the climbing equipment while others played in the mud kitchen. Some created leaf rubbings  and others choose to relax by reading in the  tent.

Tuesday 2nd July

It was a chilly morning today with Kingfisher class - it certainly didn't feel like July - but it warmed up a little for Owl class this afternoon!

Mrs Dear challenged the classes to identify where plants were growing around the site. Using their map reading skills, the children had to mark the location of different plant species on a site map.

Over the last two weeks, some children have chosen to make a "clapper" style musical instrument. To do this, they used both a bow saw (to cut a wooden disc) and a palm drill (to make holes). Today, a few children finished them and the results were fantastic!

 

Thursday 27th June - plant & minibeast discoveries

Today was all about fascinating discoveries of flora and minibeasts with the children of Robin and Woodpecker classes. They were amazed to see hundreds of European Peacock caterpillars on the common stinging nettles near the bell tent. We hope that next week we will see some chrysalis and then, hopefully, beautiful butterflies! This discovery instigated mass minibeast hunting around the site.

The children are observing how the plants are changing as they grow through their life cycle. This week we have seen some buds on the Bristly Ox Tongue and flowers on the Creeping Thistle (which is prickly).  Also, a plethora of Birds Foot Trefoil has come into flower.

Mrs Dear showed the children how the Lords and Ladies plants are now growing their green berries (which will turn red in the Autumn). Three children in Woodpecker chose to draw some observational drawings of these during the session.

Whilst the children were freely playing and exploring, the majority of children were enjoying the opportunities available for developing gross motor skills. The hammock was enjoyed; climbing the big log tackled, and exploring balance by playing on a plank like a seesaw.

Tuesday 25th June

With the glorious sunshine, the children in Owl and Kingfishers enjoyed being Beyond the Gate today. They had the opportunity to make different types of bubble wands and seeing if they could make large bubbles!

Because the children had enjoyed making musical instruments last week, Mrs Dear gave them the opportunity to make a different style of instrument this week. For this, they could use the bow saw to cut a wood disc and then the palm drills to make holes. They then added string and beads. These will be continued next week.

Many minibeasts are being explored using bug hunting equipment and some children have even started using paper and pens to create their own minibeast hunting sheets!

Thursday 20th June - It's the Summer Solstice!

The Year 2 children have enjoyed learning about the Summer Solstice this week while Beyond the Gate. Mrs Dear taught them the science behind why we have our seasons - reinforcing the vocabulary 'tilt', 'spin', 'orbit' and 'solstice'.

Some children choose to use the power of the sun to make sun prints on special cyanotype paper (sun sensitive paper).

Others made jingly musical instruments from household items which would usually be thrown away. They then played them whilst singing a call and response song!

 

And lots had fun creating flower headdresses using cleaver as the base. Mrs Dear was impressed with their knowledge of the flora they were using, and some great discussions were held about how cleaver being sticky helps with its seed dispersal.

April 2024

It has been lovely to see the Year One children back Beyond the Gate in the spring sun.

Mrs Dear challenged the children with a flora scavenger hunt. Firstly, they were given a map of the site and used map reading skills to locate features such as the bell tent, shed, swamp, mud kitchen and bug skyscraper.

Each map had a star on it - in a different location – and the children had to follow the map to find the correct place. They then had to identify the plant which was growing in that location by reading a name label. They had to tell Mrs Dear the correct plant name for that point and then were given a different map. They loved this challenge and hopefully can tell you the name of some plants found around our site!

After this, the children were free to play and explore as they wished. Some children chose to continue their plant identification by leaf bashing and labelling, or collecting a leaf, cutting it in half and drawing the other half.

Amongst many different forms of free play, Mrs Dear observed one group of children making a seesaw and heard their independent risk assessment discussions: “be careful – I don’t think it is safe yet!”; “We need a team to help make it safer!”; “we need 4 people to lift that,”; “let’s be builders and build a park!”