Forest & Meadow School
Forest School w/b 2nd February 2026
This week it was Year 4 and 6's turn.
Year 4 were very good at identifying and suggesting potential hazards in the area. They also understood the importance of looking after the living things around them. The focus for their session today was creating a 'journey stick'. This involved the children collecting a stick the length of their arm, tying a length of string to one end, and then collect Forest School 'treasures' to add to their stick. Our learners had to show lots of perseverance when tying the objects on. The finished journey sticks were very creative and took many different forms.
Year 6 were given the option of either creating a natural picture frame or a hanging leaf mobile. If they chose a natural picture frame, they needed to use four sticks and then tie these together with string. Some children then chose to place these on the ground and create a picture using natural materials, others used string to weave natural materials in and out of the frame. Those children who made hanging leaf mobiles, selected leaves and then hole punched them to be able to hang them from different lengths of string. With both of these activities, it was great to see the creativity, perseverance and team work on display.
Forest School w/b 26th January 2026
This week it was Year 1 and 5s turn for Forest School.
In Year 1, we started our session identifying the potential hazards in the Forest area. They were very sensible with their suggestions on how we could all keep safe. Mrs Bond noticed that we have daffodils starting to grow and the children were very good at making sure they didn't tread on them. The focus for our session was on Animals, including humans. More specifically thinking about how animals bodies are all different, this linked to the learning the children are currently doing in Science. The children worked in groups and used natural materials to make humans, penguins, foxes, fish and a whole lot more!
In Year 5 we used large pieces of wood to make dens. The children worked well together in groups to problem solve in order to make a den structure that would stand. Some groups decided to make smaller dens that might be able to be used by animals, whilst others chose to make larger structures to fit themselves in. One group even included a bed and a fire in their den! It was great to hear the communication between the children and how they planned their structures.
Next week its Year 4 and 6's turn!
Forest School w/b 19th January
This week marked the start of our Forest School sessions, and kick started with Year 3 and Year 2. The children loved accessing the area and started off their sessions with identifying boundaries and potential hazards in the area. By identifying the hazards, it helped them to move more safely around the area and be mindful when selecting their natural resources.
Year 3 were set the challenge of using natural materials to create mountains, hills, valleys and settlements. It was great to see the learners working together as a group and communicating about what they were doing next. You can see from the photos that they showed a lot of resilience in trying to make their mountain and hill structures stand.
Year 2 were set the challenge of creating the structure of a plant using natural materials. This linked with the learning they have been doing in Science and Art. Lots of the children told me they were being artists like Andy Goldsworthy by making Land Art. Again, the children worked in groups, and each had the responsibility of a different section of the plant to create.
Next week it is Year 1 and Year 5’s turn
