This week our little ones in The Nest have been getting stuck into Forest school. Due to the sun being unseasonably warm, Autumn seems to have crept up on us without us realising all the leaves are off the trees and crying out to be played with! Even at such a young age our Forest school ethos runs through our planning as well as the emphasis on “being about the process not the end product”. With this in mind, off we went ventured to the Greenway with our carrier bag to collect leaves of different colours, shapes and sizes. Some children took this opportunity to have a snooze, others waved and excitedly pointed to dogs, cyclists and passers-by whilst watching as myself and Jemma wondered when summer had gone.
Once we had foraged enough leaves they were all tipped into our indoor tuff spot for the children to investigate using all their senses. The leaves were picked up, waved, thrown, sniffed, ripped and occasionally nibbled, which we quickly discouraged!
We spread rolls of paper out on the floor with autumnal coloured paint. The babies were encouraged to use this to explore using any body part they wished as well as mark-making with the leaves. Each child approached this in different ways using their hands, feet and in one case their nose to move and spread the paint.
We have had lots of fun up in The Nest this week getting messy and embracing Autumn with the natural resources around us.
Thank for reading,
Lisa