2nd-8th March
More filming this week and have been making a couple of items and completing my tool talks. I am feeling more confident now using the tools and talking about them and this has come from the fact that I have had lots of practice now using them and like anything the more you practice the more confident and able you become. I can really see the learning journey that I have gone on and it really does echo the stages of competence put forward by Noel Burch of Gordon Training International which is also used in educational psychology and sport coaching has really highlighted my increasing levels of competence and skill.
Our second session of Spring 2 went well, and the children started their own nature journals and some of the entries that they put in their journals were wonderful. We had observation drawings, poems and a worm diary created. These journals will be available each week for the children to add to but it will not be forced and I really wanted to start moving their knowledge of plants and animals on and I thought that journaling would be a lovely way to do this.
9th-15th March
During our third session our theme was worms as this had been something that the students had become really interested and fascinated by. They made a wormery, found out facts and learnt the importance of these incredible creatures. We talked about how each plant and animal has a role to play within its eco-system. They loved discovering more about one individual creature and they were all really focused throughout the session. At the end of the session during our reflection time they suggested making natural Mother’s Day gifts as the activity in the next session.
15th-22nd March
In session four we made Mother’s Day gifts and this was achieved by using the technique of Hapa Zone and read the story “Tiny Perfect things”. The children also used clay and pressed flowers into the clay to create pendants for their mums. We continued our conversation about how every little thing in nature has a role and an important place in nature as we do and that we gratitude is important. The children were proud of their creations, and all took a gift home to their mums. The children are building their sense of place and really have a deep appreciation of the natural world.
29th March-10th Apr
In session five we turned our focus to spring and looked at why many animals have their young at this time of the year. We talked about animal babies and named adults and young. We read the story “Monkey Puzzle” by Julia Donaldson and discussed the variety of creatures that young changes and does not look like the adult animal when young such as caterpillars and frogs. As an activity we made bird houses that we will put up into the trees to encourage more birds to nest in our Forest School grounds. The children were excited about the prospect of soon having Easter and at the end of the session they discussed how they wanted to have an Easter egg hunt in their final session before the holidays. The grounds are now really coming alive with spring and the children each week are noticing and talking about the changes in the environment.
