Our Week in the Forest...
Last Friday at Kew we based ourselves near a big pond. We observed the large koi carp swimming around and counted four of them. The children decided that they wanted to do some fishing and this led to a search of the bushes nearby for the perfect fishing rods to catch these extra-large fish. With rods in hand they were quickly back at the pond on their stomach, leaning over the edge to see what they could catch.
Back at Kew on Monday, half the children went to explore the rose garden and observe the white, red and yellow roses growing together. The other half climbed up the steps to the top of the Treetop Walkway. We were able to count 24 steps before we lost count. We read all the signs about the trees and enjoyed the view of the walkway below. In the afternoon we went to the conservatory and looked at the cactus growing in the arid zone as well as checking the tanks, locating a tiny black and yellow frog as well as many, many fish. We scoured the whole of the conservatory but still couldn’t locate the iguana. Maybe she’s enjoying a summer holiday!
In our Monday cooking class with Becky we enjoyed baking jam tarts. This involved rolling out the dough, cutting out the shapes, putting them in the tin, and spooning jam inside our tarts. They sure tasted delicious!
In the forest the children have been enjoying the rope climbing frame which has joined two trees together like a vertical bridge. This has presented a new challenge in balancing as they try to move through the criss-crosses in the rope. The children enjoy hanging from and bouncing on the ropes holding tight as they sway back and forth. A new log swing presented a challenge as the children needed to get their legs on either side of the rope in order to sit on the log. As they found this difficult to do on their own they came up with a new use for the swing, turning it into a see-saw and calling a friend to share the ride with them. Singing ‘see-saw see-saw’ over and over as they moved up and down in turns.
One day we set off on an adventure walk through Chiswick House and Gardens. We found lots of rubbish on our walk that the adults began to collect. The children were interested by what we were doing and this was a great opportunity to talk to the children about keeping the park clean and why it is important to look after our environment. The children were very good at locating rubbish and glass and telling the adults so that they could clean it up as they were wearing gloves.
Sitting quietly in the grassy meadow and looking around, the children noticed the yellow leaves beginning to fall from the trees. We were able to talk about the first signs of Autumn with the leaves beginning to change colours and fall from the trees. We have definitely noticed a change in the temperature as the mornings are getting cooler and fleeces and beanies are beginning to be worn to and from nursery.
The children enjoyed playing with the grass seeds in the meadow, talking about how they looked like wheat. They shredded them from the stalks and collected them in a large pot. We asked what they could use the wheat for and they talked about making Weetabix. We also talked about how wheat can be used to make bread like the children had made in their cooking class with Becky. They were occupied shredding wheat and stirring it carefully in the pot, collecting handfuls and feeling the texture of the wheat. They played so nicely in this group throughout the afternoon working together on a common goal of collecting as much wheat as they could.
Have a lovely weekend!
Little Forest Folk Chiswick