We have enjoyed a great week on Forest School and we feel very lucky with the weather we experienced.

This week the tree house (fort) has been our main play area, using our climbing and balancing skills to move around. It has been nice to spend time here for the newer children who have started in the Burrow to allow them to experience the challenges the fort can bring. The older children not only gain in confidence repeating these climbing challenges, they also act as great role models for the more hesitant, younger children.

Independent risk taking is a key theme running throughout Forest School sessions. How do you feel standing near the edge of the steps? Is it a good idea to push past our friends on the bridge? Questions like these, help to equip our children with the thinking skills necessary to make safe and measured decisions for themselves and others.

We observed increased confidence in climbing during the week. It was great to see the difference between the older and younger children in the fort, many of the big children just needed support rather than help. One little boy told me “I don’t need your help I’m a big boy.’

As well as climbing, imagination was a key theme throughout the week. The fort was a boat, a cave, a house and a bridge (Billy Goats Gruff is in the planning for next week). It is a delight to observe what children can think of in their play and how quickly they can turn their thoughts into meaningful play experiences.

Thanks for reading,

Lauren