It was really difficult to hear. My Forest Schoolers rarely dishearten me over things they might mention during the sessions but one had stopped on the Timber Trail on one particularly wet Forest School session.
Read moreLeaf Crowns
It’s my favourite time of year. There’s something very comforting and familiar about Autumn. The kaleidoscope of colour. The falling of leaves. The chill in the air. The smell of wood fires. Hot drinks and woolly hats. It's a riotous assault on the senses.
Read moreFire: Sparking their Curiosity
Fire; the one tool in my Forest School arsenal guaranteed to spark creativity, curiosity and focus. Seeing a child make their first fire is something very special. We have been harnessing and bending it to our will since time immemorial, and even now, after all the fires I've lit (a lot), it still captures my attention and draws my gaze
Read moreMacho Macho Kids
Our Forest School focus over the past few weeks has looked at the children’s perceptions of strength. If you ask any child if they’re strong and you’ll get a mini Mr & Mrs Universe lineup of bicep tensing as a visable display of their perceived strength!
Read moreIs it a bird? Is it a plane?
No! It's Free Range children flying down the zip line with the greatest of ease! Over the past few weeks, our focus on Forest School has been all about challenging the children's perceptions of their confidence and physical ability and just how far they can push themselves to conquer fears.
Read moreForest School in the Den
Forest School at Free Rangers is our bread and butter. It's what drives the nursery and it's our aim to get your children learning, exploring and (most importantly) playing outside as much as we can.
Read moreGrowing up in the Hive...
Over the past few years I've seen many babies grow up and develop into the cheeky little toddlers they are today... Whether they are now in the Burrow or Den, or maybe even school! (Yes I've been here a while!)
Read moreThe Colour Monster is in the Den!
Every week we have a story of the week that is read to the den children during transition times. This week the book of the week is ‘The Colour Monster’.
Read moreNatural Maths
The Den Team wanted to share what we have been doing in the Yurt in our group activity sessions this week. Our activities have been great examples of just how much learning comes from having fun!
Read moreMystery Visitor #1
The Den would like to send a massive thank you to our first Mystery Visitor. A parent, who is a secondary school art teacher, came to visit us and shared some of his skills with working with clay.
Read morePumpkins
This week in the Den the children have been using hammers and nails to make holes in pumpkins.We like to use seasonal vegetables in the foods that we eat, so why not in our creative and exploratory space in the Den!
Read moreIntroducing Pilar Fernandez de la Vega!
Hello Free Rangers! My name is Pilar and I work in the den room of the nursery.
Read moreWelcome to Paloma!
Hi Free Rangers family! My name is Paloma, which means “Dove” in Spanish.
Read moreCooking with Jayne
At Free Rangers we aim to provide children with a healthy, nutritious and varied diet of foods. We also aim to support children to gain and develop important life skills in a fun and interactive way.
Read moreHealthy Habits lead to Healthy Outcomes
Some of you may recall a few months ago when we asked families to get involved in our ‘Greenway Challenge’. Back then we were working towards achieving our Department of Public Health: Healthy Outcomes Certificate, which we received in March.
Read moreFood For Thought
There's something wonderful about allowing children to make a legitimate mess. It can provide such fantastic learning opportunities. It's when we apply a certain level of meaning to the mess created that we can see the magic happening...
Read moreTea from the Hedgerow
What do you do when the hedgerows are burgeoning with ripening blackberries, and the early apples are starting to drop? You make sure you use them in as many ways as possible! Blackberries have been a focus across the Nursery and in the Den we opted to make some hedgerow tea!
Read moreFrom The Hive to The Burrow and from the Burrow to the Den
It’s that time of year again when we say hello to our new children and goodbye to our older children as we move into new rooms. Don’t panic yet, the official moving date won’t be until September
Read moreWhat we've been up to in The Den in June.
During June in the Den we have been making dens – using material to create enclosed spaces. Talking about sun safety – understanding the effects of sun on our bodies. And learning all about Cray fish!
Read moreWhy We Love REAL Tools
We love working with tools at Free Rangers and they have become a key component of Forest School, providing another avenue of access to the natural world. Tools help create and inspire, they help us understand the world, as well as ourselves and help promote confidence.
Read more