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 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 moreIntroducing Pilar Fernandez de la Vega!
Hello Free Rangers! My name is Pilar and I work in the den room of the nursery.
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 moreLanguage and Imagination
Last week’s Forest School activity was focused around language and imagination. Our setting for this activity was the inside of the willow dome, a natural ‘room’ or enclosure, a cosy space perfect for storytelling
Read moreSunflowers
Back at the beginning of April a group of Den children planted some sunflower seeds. Over the last few months we have been watering them and observing their progress.
Read moreReady, Steady, MOVE!
Children like to move. If you've ever tried to keep a child sat still for any length of time you'll agree that it's nigh on impossible. So when we go on Forest School we make sure we keep any stillness to a minimum!
Read moreThe Assault Course is Dead. Viva la Timber Trail!
In the first year of Free Rangers opening, we did some serious development of our blank canvas. From the outset, we knew our outdoor space was special and we didn't take it for granted when planning its conception (nor do we now!) Our brief: to make it as appealing, varied and challenging a space for our little adventurers as possible, turning bare grass into the tangible, climbable, and jumpable. We built it, and they came. But that was a long, long time ago...
Read moreEvery End is a New Beginning
As my apprenticeship draws to a close, so will my time at Free Rangers. It has been such an amazing opportunity for me, studying at college once a week and working in the Den for the remainder of the week over these past 2 years. I have gained more experience and knowledge than any textbook could have ever taught me.
Read moreNot Everyone's Cup of Tea
As spring thoroughly forges ahead, the newest, tenderest shoots are often the fodder of deer and rabbits. But back in March on Forest School, we decided to make use of some rather more volatile ones for ourselves...
Read moreFinding Their Own Path
I should probably apologise. If your child has been coming home and making arrows from anything they can get their hands on and appropriating foods at dinner times for arrow making purposes, then apologies for any lost property and distracted children at the dinner table...
Read moreTeamwork Makes the Dream Work
Many hands make light work! 💪🏻
Happy New Year lovely parents and readers! I hope 2017 has started well for you all and I'd like to personally offer a warm welcome all of our new Den room families! I look forward to sharing all our Forest School adventures with you over the coming months. We've jumped back into the outdoor fun with plenty of work to keep our bodies warm and the site looking ship shape!
Read more"That's not a knife, THIS is a knife!"
If, when picking up your child from Nursery or Kindergarten, you were informed your 3yr old had been whittling with a fixed bladed bushcraft knife whilst sitting out in the cold, what would your immediate reaction be?
Read moreWe're Going On A Blackberry Hunt!
Double Thumbs for Blackberry Picking!
Today the Den children were lucky enough to venture out of the nursery grounds to search far and wide for blackberries!
Read moreMove. Think. Play. Like a Bug!
If I asked any of our Forest Schoolers which space they like to play in the most, I would know. It's simple really. It's the space that offers the most diverse options for play. Our Tree House gets an absolute hammering from the children, but then again so does the rest of the site...
Read moreThe Three Little Pigs & Esteban The T-Rex
These past two weeks of Forest School have seen the children take to building: both through the assembly of structures and the construction of stories. And what a fascinating two weeks it's truly been.
Read moreBig Play
Yeah. That's right. I climbed to top. On my OWN!
Muddy bottoms. Bruised knees. Smiling faces. THIS is what makes all Free Rangers children awesome. I'd like to say that I have a big part to play in this awesomeness (at least that's what I tell myself), but to be honest they do it all on their own. And this week's Forest School in the Den was no different...
Read moreOne man's twig, is another bird's house
The theme of last week has been developed from the previous week’s planning; where the children were magically turned into birds, and the children had to hunt for their food (Wiggly worms made from wool!)
Read moreThe Early Bird, Catches the Worm
FLY MY PRETTIES! FLY!
You may recall back in January, we built some rather lovely little bird feeders, to give our feathered friends a little energy boost throughout the scarce Winter months. We've looked again at the feeders and why they were an important source of food. It didn't take long for the last feeders we made to appear on the radar of the birds around Free Rangers. Especially the Robins.
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