Adapt and Survive

This week's Forest School has been a real assortment of activities at Free Rangers. Mixed weather, staff and child illness and increased numbers has meant mixed activities and re-planning in order to maintain some focussed outdoor time for the children. The initial plan for this week was to take the children off-site on an exploration walk, based around an “adventure” - the learning intention of this being to learn how to cooperate and help each other over mixed terrain and work on their creativity/storytelling abilities. This was a very enjoyable activity, and one I would like to feed into next week if I can. The walks highlighted how even those children who struggle outdoors or indeed socially can rise to the occasion and show their true colours. There was the ‘Muddy Mile’ to contend with first: a stretch of mud with a trail of planks as a bridge, followed by a good 10-15 minute walk up a quite steep hill through the plantation overlooking Free Rangers HQ.

Horses have been using this field as of late, and during the current wet weather had churned up the ground, leaving round ruts and hoof marks creating a challenging surface to navigate. However, every group we took managed the trek and the views back down towards the brook and Otter Brook Wood were worth it. In fact we spent a good while pointing out features of the landscape. Once there we snacked, and then let the children explore the plantation looking for interesting objects and signs of wildlife (armed with magnifying glasses).

As the week progressed, we were hit with staff illness so low numbers meant I was drawn inside to help out. Nevertheless we still gave the children the opportunity to get involved in some focussed outdoor activities, like improving balance and coordination on our timber trail, as well as partaking in some tool work. Because our wood bender (traditional structure made of bent and lashed hazel poles) had once again taken an almighty hammering over the half term Forest School Club, I decided for a hands-on supervised activity that could be done safely inside the nursery garden, we could do some tool-based wood processing. We sawed up lengths of seasoned wild cherry, willow, ash and fir, reinforcing our tool knowledge, safety and respect beforehand. They then used the axe, with supervision to split some of the small pieces to allow it season quicker.

We then loaded up a trolley and wheeled it out to our new shelter in our on-site Forest School area. We are building the walls up with firewood which is a technique I saw used in Norway in a outdoor shelter. This acts nicely as a windbreak and moveable wall, as well as seasoning your firewood and keeping it dry at the same time. We also used some loppers and pruning shears in an end-of-the-week attempt to build up the open sides of our shelter using another technique called dead hedging, but we didn’t get very far on Friday as we succumbed to the bitter winds!

So although a bitty week, we have achieved a lot on Forest School and I hope your children have come home with stories and information to share! Do comment below with anything you would like to ask or share yourselves.

Enjoy your weekends and see you all next week!

R. Fox

February Half Term Holiday Club - Red Fox Review

With another Forest School Holiday Club done and dusted, it’s important to look back and review its successes and indeed where it could be improved. As a forest school leader, as all educational practitioner do, it’s paramount to review your practice. This enables you to develop and progress your own skills and implementation of sessions and, just as importantly, better the children’s experience for the next time they come. The week saw very a very positive turnout of children over the 4 days we ran it, but unfortunately also bore witness to some extremely cold and inclement weather and even some snow! This had a real impact on the longevity of some of our smaller members despite having a roaring fire and plenty of activities to take their mind off the cold north-westerly wind that whipped through the trees. It was also testing for the staff members, as those in the know can appreciate how much preparation and clear-up there is to deal with during such events.

With the weather not improving over the course of the week, we took the decision to run the rest of the course on site at Free Rangers Nursery, so the children were closer to our facilities, (the woods is a good 10-15 minute walk depending on the size of your legs and how tired you are) but could still be outside and enjoying themselves. It was a hard week, but the children make the best of every opportunity to play in the outdoors, and we did all the activities we normally do during a Forest School day: knife work, shelter building, fires, cooking over the fire, creative activities like paining with mud and sculpting clay embellished with natural materials as well as some slacklining (“Slacklining? What’s that?” I hear you say! Click here to see - redirects to YouTube). We also tried felting, making some little eggs to go into a bird nest made of materials found around the grounds. It was great to see the nursery forest school area being used by older children, whose group dynamic showed me different ways of utilising the space; this gave me some definite food for thought on developing the grounds.

As a result I have taken the decision that next year in the February half term, we will run dedicated “Forest School Skills” sessions in one of the barns at the Nursery. This will enable us to build upon the skills the children have put in place as well as having closer access to our Nursery Forest School area without having to contend with the chilly weather for too long if needed!

Weeks like this are hard and tiring, and it’s easy to lose focus on why you are doing it in the first place. However, I was warmed by one child, a frequent visitor to our Forest School, who went out of his way to make me a poster of his time that week. It showed our woods, the sun (which believe it or not did shine!) our fire pit and the cold wind blowing through as well as token flower for added flair. I was really touched and it has pride of place above my desk. It’s moments like this that you remember why you do what you do, and even more rewarding that children take your sessions home with them continuing their learning and passion.

And yes...to JV who drew this picture. I do like it. Thank you very much!

We look forward to welcoming our Free Rangers back in March (25th - 28th) to bask in Spring's glory and to some hopefully warmer weather!

R. Fox

Creeping for Crawlies (Or Crawling for Creepies?)

Another eventful and again chilly week at Free Rangers has seen the children on their hands and knees, armed with magnifying glasses and collecting jars scouring the nooks and crannies, under stones and logs and through Vince’s hair for a variety of bugs, creepy crawlies and mini beasts. The goal of this week was to look at the differences between the insects we found, as well as how they differed from ourselves (EYFS: Understanding the World). They utilised a range of different tools and equipment to fulfil this including jars and tubes, spoons, and magnifying glasses. Once the children had found a good selection, we brought them back to a 9 section specimen tray (see gallery below), so it was easier for the children to identify any differences between them.

Before embarking on our travels, books were skimmed for inspiration and there were extensive conversations over snack about what bugs we thought we could find, where we would find them and how they thought they could be found. Whilst some children thought pouncing on them would give them the edge, others felt the “softly softly, catchy wormy” technique would secure them a bug or two. Normally winter is a torpid (dormant) time for many creepy crawlies (until we woke them up that is) but there were still many finds on the ground to delight the children with: a range of beetle larvae with their menacing mandibles, the stripy Brandling or Tiger Worm (no they don’t growl), earwigs, slugs & snails and several different caterpillars. Also, thanks to the children, I now know 13 different comical names for Woodlice and Pill Bugs.

We also took the children down to the Pond to see what aquatic invertebrate we could net out. There is a great sense of nostalgia for me with this activity and I was quickly transported back to summer days with jam jars fishing out tadpoles from the pond at home. Here, we found pond snails, freshwater shrimp, Caddis Fly & Damsel Fly Larvae, a common frog, Greater Water Boatman and a beautiful but ominous dragonfly larva. The added element of fishing these from the murky depths only added to the activity, whether they found anything or not. Having Vince on board for these sessions is also invaluable as his knowledge of all things bug related is second to none. What Vince doesn't know about the slimy, the creepy and the wriggly, isn't worth knowing.

Another part of this activity which I am very keen to stress is of respect for what we found, and handling the mini-beasts with care. By instilling these values into their learning at this foundation stage when the children are still so open to new ideas and experiences, we hope to create a generation of naturalists that will continue the work of caring for their local habitats. If only a handful of children decide to take steps to better the environment and lives of all things great and small, and pass these values onto their children then surely it has all been worth it? I hope so. Similarly, I hope their time at Free Rangers Forest School will conjure heartfelt memories in their futures that will stay with them into their adult lives, and will inspire them back into the outdoors as it did for me, whether as a weekend pursuit or even a career.

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Fingers crossed the children have been telling you about what they found. If not ask them what they can remember. Have a great weekend and see you all next week for more mini-bug adventures.

Tally Ho!

R. Fox

p.s. Why not go on your own mini beast hunts in the garden or park? Let us know what you find or even draw us picture!

Play with Clay

How often do we get the opportunity to use our creativity without the constraints of specifications and boundaries? This week I offered the children a chance to create whatever they wanted out of a fantastic open medium. The only stipulation I made was they were to hunt for natural materials to decorate, embellish or transform their clay from mere grey sticky matter to a wonderful creation. What they made was up to them. It was interesting to see what each group brought to the activity throughout the week. Very often, one or two children would forge ahead with an idea, and the rest would follow. Others simply played with clay creating a variety of ‘things’ some relating to what the rest of the children were making, whilst others just explored the textures and malleability of the air drying clay. Some simple tools were available such as wooden rolling pins to aid their work.

Importantly there was no agenda for the children to make a finished article to take home and I stressed that if they didn’t want to make anything that was fine. This was much more about the process of how they got there and the theories behind it as well as learning about the materials they were utilising such as Ash Keys, dried Dock, dried Bay Leaves, grass, elder and bay twigs and Ivy berries. But children are proud and like to show off their hard work to you, the parents, so many of the children opted to make something to take home and I’m sure you’ll agree that they made some remarkable art, ranging from sandwiches to dragons, to butterflies and magic slugs. Fantastic stuff.

Enjoy the sunshine this weekend whilst it’s here, and see you all next week!

R. Fox

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p.s. Just a small reminder that we are running Forest School Holiday Club for 5-11s in February at Free Rangers and there are still places so please book if you’d like a place! Also for the younger 0-3s we have a FREE Stay and Play session at Brokerswood on Wednesday 20th Feb. Click on the highlighted links for more info!

There's no business like snow business

Chilly greetings from Free Rangers! Another cold week, and one that has brought disruption to roads and transport, but on the other one that has brought a chance to enjoy the crisp white snow falls with the ride on a sledge or the toss of a snow ball! The original Forest School planning was quickly scrapped to revolve around Snow activities, making the very most of it whilst it was with us. The main activity this week was the creation of an Igloo made by packing snow into plastic tubs to make snow bricks which we layered up to make the walls. This was really interesting to do with the children as they were constantly testing the differences between the soft malleable loose snow as a building medium and how it felt, its limits and its shape after it had been compacted. Unfortunately, the children often tested that rigidity whilst pushing down on the walls or dropping them on the floor. Despite that the walls looked really good, and even though it wasn’t finished the children liked using it as a hiding place and wind block from the icy blasts. Those very same icy blasts and very cold hands meant the children’s staying power was pretty low, so quite often the work force went on strike, leaving both Vince (who conveniently happened to be a bricklayer in another life!) and myself to carry on whilst the children went off to make snow faces, snow angels or throw a few snowballs.

Of all the snow themed activities the children participated in, I think the sledging was easily the most popular. Although we didn’t have a sledge, we adopted a plastic water trough which worked amazingly well! Attaching some paracord around it, so that the children could hoist the sledge back up again (sometimes with the children still in it) was great at keeping the children warm, but also was a very good example of how the children display co-operation through their play.

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I hope you managed to get out in the snow and it wasn’t too much of a disruption for you all. Share your snow activities in the comments below and let us know how you enjoyed yourselves in the beautiful white landscapes.

Until next time.

R. Fox

p.s. Have you cleaned your bird feeders out? Keeping them regularly scrubbed prevents the spread of bacteria, mould and infections for birds.

Cheers! Here's to our 'Fine Feathered' (Wooden) Friends

Has everyone has enjoyed the snow? I hope you've wrapped up warm in what was an exceedingly chilly Forest School week! Hot drinks (fruit tea with a little maple syrup) were a must to warm hands and hearts through and through. Unfortunately I couldn’t get in to Free Rangers on Friday, but I had a good walk in the snow over the weekend and enjoyed the winter wonderland. Continuing the theme of tools, last week the children made some wooden birds to add to their growing collection of hanging creations. Apologies if you're running out of space... The design of the birds followed closely that of the Reindeer before Christmas. The main dilemma, again as with both the wooden based festive activities, is how much work you leave for the children to do, and how much preparation is completed beforehand to enable all the children to make one per session. It’s a tricky one from an practical and educational stance, as the learning objective of the session is tool practice and safety and shouldn’t necessarily be about an “end product". Trying to aid 8 children in the assembly of one each during a single Forest School session can be stressful especially in cold weather. However, children can gain huge satisfaction from being able to take home a completed piece of work, whilst being able to utilise and experience a variety of tools to enable them to do so - so it's paramount to try and balance both these aspects.

The bow saw and hand drill made an appearance again, along with the pruning shears and when weather was really cold and not even a roaring fire could keep the children outside, we created them in the new ‘Hide’ using the electric drill for a contrast in tools. Inside, the children (and Red Fox) also got to grips with a hot melt glue gun, so the birds feathery plume could be added as a finishing touch. This was a really interesting tool to use with the children as the gun tip and glue were quite hot, but the children all listened very carefully to the instructions I gave them, and managed to glue on some super feathery displays!

I think you’ll agree that these little birdies look really great and am sure they have pride of place in their new homes. As I am not in today (Friday) those children who have haven’t yet made one will be able to do so next week.

Wrap up warm and see you all next week. (unless it snows again!)

R. Fox

p.s. - Please don’t forget to fill up the feeders for the birds in this snowy weather, as food is much harder to find!

A very Happy New year to you all!

I hope this finds you all well rested and that 2013 has started well for you. We’ve had plenty to get stuck into this week at Free Rangers what with new rooms and spaces to get used to, and exciting new developments to plan for. The objective of this week’s Forest School, and on top of the agenda, was filling up our wood store after it took something of a hammering during the run up to Christmas on those chilly December days. Not the most exciting of sessions for some of the children, but never-the-less one they can get involved with and learn from. Tool use and safety are the true learning intention of these sessions (the bi-product being we get plenty of logs to season for later in the year) and we take this seriously during Forest School. Each session follows the same procedure of making sure the children can name and safely use the tool(s) in question; this week the Bow Saw (although some children have taken to call it the Bone Sword, much better I think) and the Loppers, both of which deserve the same level of respect. I ask if the children can tell me where the dangerous parts are and how we handle and move them safely looking at where our hands and bodies should be - both for the user and onlooker. Similarly, it’s also important to gauge an emotional response towards tools. Before starting I ask the if the children are happy to use planned tool for that week - I don’t want to force a child to participate and create a negative association with it.

By promoting a positive working relationship, we can encourage children to further develop and progress themselves not just for their motor skills and dexterity, but also expressively and creatively as well. We hope to have a “green” working station at the nursery soon so children can employ a range of tools to create art and sculpture, as well as more practical items such as bird boxes or insect homes. By reinforcing these procedures and questions each week or whenever tools are used, it starts to become second nature and part of the children’s management of risk. Slowly this behaviour is modelled around the nursery, whether this during Forest School, something the children are saying to each other, or modelled through their play. This is immensely rewarding to see. [nggallery id=8]

As a part of these kind of sessions, I think it’s important the children can use as many senses as possible when we plan activities around wood. It’s great to allow the children to smell the different aromas, explore the colours, patterns and rings and feel the textures of the barks. This enables a deeper appreciation and connection with the outdoors, and is just as important to me as the tool safety aspect is.

I guess the true test is knowing when a child has taken on board something you have shared with them. For me it’s simple: A role reversal. As a Forest School practitioner best practice should be modelled at all times. But then sometimes when you think none of the children are looking, one slips into “adult-shortcut” mode and perhaps picks shavings off the saw blade or crosses the fire circle (naughty I know) and is then thoroughly reprimanded by the children for it. And quite rightly too; practice what you preach as the saying goes. Although with some of the Forest School children, it’s like being told off by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight...

Until next time, stay wild Midsomer Norton.

R.Fox

Next week: Wooden Birds - Continued tool use, and further exploring the children’s fine and gross motor skills.

Looking back over 2012 - Forest School

Well 2012 is quickly coming to a close, and I can’t quite believe where it’s gone?! It has been a fantastic year for Free Rangers, gaining both a Outstanding accreditation for Ofsted across the board as well as coming first place in the Royal Forestry Society’s ‘Schools Award’ for increasing young people’s understanding and appreciation of the environmental, social and economic potential of trees, woodlands and forests. The site has developed also, and our Nursery grounds and outdoor spaces continue to thrive. This year has seen a conservation pond installed, our timber trail in the paddock, several hundred hedgerow and standalone trees planted not to mention our newly planted Orchard. It’s been a busy year and 2013 will no doubt be just as busy. There are plenty of plans in the pipework to develop our grounds so watch this space!

All that is left to say is a huge thank you from all the team at Free Rangers for all your continued support and help to make the nursery what it is today.

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

See you all in 2013!

R. Fox.

Christmas Activities - Wooden Reindeer

Last week the children were faced with a tricky session, testing various different abilities and skill sets as they made their Snowmen. I was really pleased with how it went, but thought it might be a little much to ask them to make something as complicated. So this week saw them making some delightful little hanging Reindeer, using the familiar body shape to the snowmen. The process was similar to last week (arms/antlers, noses, threading, drilling & snipping) so the children could easily access the activity and again I was very pleased with the children’s progress throughout.

Although they weren’t using the bow saw this time round, children still utilised the brace drill and pruning shears with great confidence and enthusiasm and they looked fantastic hanging up to dry with their little red painted noses. Very festive! I hope they have pride of place in your homes alongside the Snowmen as the children really worked very hard on them. We kept them minimal, but by all means add to them if you like - perhaps some facial features, or some tinsel in their antlers.

It would be great to see some of your creations here on our Facebook page.

Greetings from the woods,

R. Fox

Christmas Activities - Wooden Snowmen

Continuing the Christmas themed activities, the children will be making some Wooden Snowmen this week. This activity will test the children’s fine and gross motor skills as they put their tool use to practice and thread the snowmen pieces together. Originally the snowmen were going to be free standing but it was very tricky to make pegs a set size and there were time restrictions on the sessions so we opted for a hanging decoration instead. Prior to starting the activity, we talked about which tools we were going to use, how we use them, the motions or actions associated and then the safety precautions we should take. It’s amazing how much they remember, and I was impressed to see them actively changing their kneeling positions whilst using the Bow Saw and keeping their hands away from the end of the drill. Some still needed some reminding but that’s why we do it every time we use tools. Once learnt it will stay with them, and help them manage their own safety in the future.

Although the body and head were already sawn and drilled for speed and convenience (having to make 80 snowmen in one week takes a whole chunk of time!), the children still had to saw the two ash and elder parts of the hat, drill holes for them, and drill a hole for the nose in the head piece. Then the children threaded the whole lot together and went searching for some arms and a nice carrot like nose!

Once made the children could then adapt their creations, giving them names and personalities. I was really pleased with the tenacity of the children in the cold weather of this week to persevere outside in the cold, whilst doing some focussed tool work and fiddly threading. I hope they are being hung somewhere with pride!

Well done Den! :)

R. Fox

The Free Rangers Conservation Orchard - December 2012

It has been several months in the planning, but the trees are finally in. Friday the 7th bore witness to Vince and Blair travelling to Lodge Farm in Gloucestershire to pick up our 15 mixed fruit trees to start our Conservation Orchard. They arrived in good shape, bare-rooted and ready for planting. Vince got right on the case, alongside Blair’s expert knowledge offering advice on how to plant them. We ordered an array of different Somerset and Gloucestershire species varying from apple varieties like ‘Chiver’s Delight’, ‘Egremont Russet’, ‘Beauty of Bath’, ‘Blenheim Orange’, ‘William Crump’ and ‘James Grieve’; plum varieties such as ‘Green Gage’ and ‘Herman’ and a fantastic black Mulberry. We chose some of these dessert variety of apples for particular reasons, such as the old rare variety the ‘Devonshire Quarrenden’ (c1676) being recommended by the RHS as an excellent attractant and nectar source for bees and other beneficial insects. Similarly, the other Gloucestershire apple varieties ‘Jackets and Waistcoats’ and ‘Puckrup Pippin’ are particularly rare and of heritage and conservation value. It’s great to finally see them in the ground, and look forward to sampling the delights of the Autumn harvests ahead.

I thought it important to also include some wassailing lore in this blog post, as it is such an integral part of the orchard history and tradition. Wassailing has its roots in Pagan religion and translates from the Old English wæs hæl as ‘good health’. It is a tradition of blessing the apple trees for a healthy plentiful crop the following year with a raucous party where mulled cider, and apple cake are usually consumed. This usually happens in January; the exact date varying with each orchard and county, but most on the Twelfth day of Yuletide (5th January) or Old Twelfth Day (17th January). Wassailing ceremonies vary but most follow the same principles: participants enter the orchard banging saucepans and generally making a lot of noise to awaken the trees from their winter slumber and to scare away any bad spirits that may interfere with trees’ growth and vitality. Shotguns are sometimes fired to frighten away the bad spirits ensuring a bumper harvest (although I think we probably won’t fire any shotguns into our trees...). A Wassail Queen is chosen and hangs some toast soaked in the Wassail punch (mulled cider) into the boughs of the oldest or largest apple tree to tempt the good spirits (traditionally represented by the Robin) and remainder of the punch being poured around the roots of the tree. Below is a ‘howl’ which is chanted after the preceding events, and trees are tapped with sticks all over to further awaken any trees that fancy a lie in. It’s words are rather fitting for our little maidens in the ground don’t you think?

Long may they fruit. “Hatfuls, capfuls, three bushel bagfuls!”

R. Fox

A Wassail ‘Howl’:

Stand fast, root! Bear well, top!

Pray God send us a good howling crop:

Every twig, apples big;

Every bough, apples enow!

Wassail the trees, that they may bear

You many a plum and many a pear:

For more or less fruits they will bring,

As you do give them wassailing.

Wooden It Be Nice!

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Fire lighting skills at Free Rangers

Out in the paddock the children have been keeping warm by practising their fire lighting skills. Our Forest School Leader Ed, teaches the children about the fire triangle, fire safety and how to light and extinguish a fire....oh and how to rustle up a delicious snack too.