Our week in the forest...
Wimbledon children this week have huffed, and puffed, and gobbled down their delicious honey-and-lemon pancakes. Celebrating two big things has gone down a treat: Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day and World Book Day!
Pancake day was a day of excitement for the children, who buzzed with delight at the thought of pancakes for tea. What they hadn’t realised was that we were going to eat some forest school pancakes too, warmed over an open fire. The children had gleeful faces when the warm pancakes came to them, smothered in honey and lemon. And their smiles when they ate them, well, it was enough to make your heart melt.
Thursday was World Book Day and as much as possible, we wanted to celebrate our children’s love of all things written. We had more books in the forest for the children to peruse at their leisure, as well as reading sessions all through the day, including a very interactive ‘Three Little Pigs’ at morning snack which the children put their all into – the wind that day had nothing on all the huffing and puffing the children did to blow down those houses.
Our stories also influenced the children’s imaginings and from them, the joy of den and house building came through. Houses made of sticks were here, cloth covered tents were there and all through the meadow children scampered to find building materials and nesting materials to make the finished structures that little bit cosier for everyone. We hope that the children continue this splendid story role-playing and enjoyment at home with their favourite tales and maybe even some new stories to share!
Tyres, tree stumps, anything that rolls really. The children have had an interesting week experimenting with things that roll. In the forest we have two tyres that have been in constant use being rolled, dragged or pushed around the meadow and races between the children to be faster than the rolling tyre down the hill have been an awe-inspiring sight. The children’s development in running and moving over uneven terrain is marvellous to behold and watching seven or eight children sprinting down a rutted and lumpy hillside without falling or even stumbling is testament to the power of outdoor learning.
And if running and rolling things down a hill wasn’t what the children were interested in, then pushing and rolling tree stumps up the hill might be the right activity for you. As challenging as this task seems, the children are really proud by however far they roll their logs and we, as staff, are always brilliantly pleased to have a helping hand when moving old stumps.
Food in the forest:
Our March menu will be introduced next week! See all of the menu changes in our update.
Our new dinner on Tuesdays:
Slow cooked beef, root vegetables and potato hotpot
The casserole steak will be seasoned and slow cooked in the oven with swede, parsnips and carrots, onions, garlic and mustard. It is then mix it with seasoned, boiled potatoes. A very hearty and healthy stew which also tastes delicious!
Our March food in the forest can be found HERE
Have a great weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon
