This week, we’ve had fantastic weather, lots of fun, and a wonderful new manager, Georgia, who has stepped into Donna’s big shoes! There’s no need to manage expectations—this week has truly been fantastic! 🌤️☀️🌈
We started the week strong with a "loose parts" day—, to be candid, I had no idea what that was until Monday. I felt a bit like a "loose part" myself at the time. Luckily, I'm more clued in now—though not as clued in as the children! The aim of the game is open-ended creative play, so of course, the children are more than clued in... they were experts. 🧐
We laid out a variety of equipment and materials for our Little Forest Folk-ers, allowing them to arrange and play with them in whatever way they felt inspired. Naturally, our creative little ones quickly transformed the materials into a caterpillar and then an obstacle course! This required the children to assess risk and find safe solutions when stacking, which they did wonderfully! We watched them closely and were very impressed.
We always aim for open-ended child-led play in the forest, and this activity excellently showcased how the children respond with incredible creativity when not guided. It also allowed some of our 2-3-year-olds to practice expressing preferences and making decisions alongside their older friends. Which is lucky, because this was one of our learning intents for our 2-year-olds this week!
On Tuesday, the children once again demonstrated their ability to be mindful of safety in play, as we did a very special flower-pressing activity. This was a one-on-one activity with an educator, which required good listening skills! Each child found and arranged flowers on fabric, and then, under close supervision and following safety instructions, used a hammer to crush the petals onto the fabric, dyeing it in the process. 🔨🌸🌷🌺
This activity was a great opportunity to explore creative compositions and colours! It also offered a chance to discuss changes in the world around us, like why some flowers turn brown and produce brown dye—one of the learning objectives for our older children this week. Everyone was so responsible with the hammers and listened incredibly well to instructions, whilst remaining fully focused throughout the activity—it was truly amazing!
On Wednesday, in-line with our goal to understand the world around us, the forest turned into the London Underground! 🚇
There was no need to mind the gap between reality and imagination because our setup had it all: three different tube lines, Oyster cards, a moving train, a train conductor, waiting benches, literature for reading while waiting, and a tap-in/tap-out system to avoid fines! Unlike the actual Underground, our train drivers reminded everyone to tap their tickets, which was quite helpful! The children were so enthusiastic, it was as if they’d been training to be train drivers and commuters their whole lives! 👨🔧👷♀️ On Wednesday, we had the Metropolitan Line, and on Thursday, we had the Met Office! 🌤️🌦️⚡️⛈️🌩️☂️
In line with one of our older childrens’ learning objectives: to describe what we hear and feel outside. We became meteorologists for the day! Armed with a map of England and weather symbols, we predicted incoming rain. We also checked our weather apps, which showed high UV levels, so we all put on sunscreen. However, according to our forest meteorologists—who are far more reliable in my experience—we might be expecting all sorts of biblical weather, from hail to lightning storms. Luckily, so far, the weather has been nothing but sunny!
In summer, this week in the forest, we've enjoyed clear skies and sunshine, with a 100% chance of cheerful Little Forest Folk-ers and educators all around! 🌤️🌩️☂️🌸🚇
Little Forest Folk
Fulham