Forest School Blog - Friday 1st May 2020

SORRY FOR THE DELAY WE HAD SOME TECHNICAL ISSUES.

It's fantastic Friday again!

It has been quite a wet week, but the forecast is looking better for the next few days.

Here are some more ideas for you to try.


First of all here are some creative ideas using stones


All you need for this activity is your imagination. Use whatever natural materials you can find and have a go at creating as many animals as you can. 


Another idea ........



This is an activity that just keeps giving, firstly collect some flat stones and paint white. Once you have done that draw pictures on all the stones, different things on each side, as random as you like.

Then line the stones in different orders to make stories, the more random the stones the more creative they can be.

Once completed take a photo and send it in so that we can put it on the blog.


Knot of the Week


This week it is the square reef knot.

Have a go.


Hedgehog Awareness Week 2020 - 3-9th May


Next week is hedgehog awareness week, why not check out the link below, which tells you all about hedgehogs and how we can help them.

Website: hedgehogstreet


Bird Watch

Here are the latest pictures. Unfortunately, no babies yet but Mum is busy keeping her eggs warm.


Self portrait

How is the guessing going? Here is another portrait sent in by one of the TAs.

Can you guess who it is?


Your photos

Finally, here are some of the photos you have sent in this week. 

Thank you and keep sending them in!

Mrs Cherry and Mrs Turland


A spring walk


Flower painting

Forest School Blog - 28th April 2020

Welcome to terrific Tuesday.  What a change in the weather - we have been very fortunate to have such dry weather.  We're now forecast for a couple of weeks of mixed wet weather.  So keep an eye for the dry spells and try to spend sometime outside.  

Did you guess who our first self portrait was? We have had a few more entries .....

Please send your entry to your year group email and your teacher will forward them onto us.

 MAKE A WORMERY

This activity is great for learning about soil and the marvellous little worms that make our soil healthy. To make a Wormery simply cut the top off a large clear bottle, fill with a layer of gravel and then alternating layers of sand and soil, on top of the last layer of soil add a few worms from the garden. Finally cover with some leaves or vegetable peelings like grated carrots for food. Keep moist with a few drops of water and watch the worms tunnel their way up and down.  After a few days, please release the worms back into the garden! We would love to see some of your pictures.


DANDELION PICTURES

Something you can do inside.  Toilet rolls are on everyone’s mind, could it be possible that people are using more these days? Anyway, there are so many useful projects we can make with the interior cardboard part of the toilet roll and now more than ever before, making the most of every bit of toilet rolls has become very important to many.  Dandelions are one of my favorite flowers.

You will need:

  • Empty Toilet Paper Rolls
  • Scissors
  • Poster Paint (white)
  • Cotton Wool (or cotton balls or squares)
  • Dark coloured paper
First, cut fringe at one end of your toilet roll then make a little pool of paint, either on a plastic plate or on a piece of foil and start dipping and stamp painting the beautiful dandelions.

Next use the cotton  wool, dipped very lightly in the paint, dab on spare paper first to get rid of most of the paint, practice a few times before you go for it on your picture. Next add the detail, you could use a strip of thick card dipped in paint to make the stalks.

We would love to see your masterpieces - again, send then to your year group email address.


Just wondering....could we form a Forest School Band?

We challenge you to find a dandelion trumpet.  Look for a dandelion with a big chunky stalk.  Have fun hunting down dandelions and if there are only a few, leave them for the bees and search out a bigger patch.  Before you pick the dandelion just think where it is, make sure it's not from near a road or where dogs and other animals might have been! Remember you are just blowing through the stem...not eating it!

I managed a squeak!  Below is a 'youtube' link to show you how it works.

Again, we would love to see/hear your creations.


Mrs Turland's Veg Patch Watch

Week 6

Well, with the glorious weather - I have been able to transfer some of my plants from the greenhouse to my raised beds. Fingers  crossed the drop in temperature, especially at night time won't affect them.


Keep practicing the knot Mrs Cherry shared with you last week - you will need this skill at the end of the week!  

Some pictures you have sent in to share...

Take care,

Mrs Turland

Forest School Blog - Friday 24th April 2020

Fantastic Friday !!

Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather.

The weekend forecast is looking splendid. So why not get out in the garden and try some of these simple but fun activities.


Self portraits

It's time to get really imaginative!

Can you create your own portrait out of natural items? Gather up what you can find on the ground in your garden or out and about and use your imagination to create a masterpiece. Be creative and think outside of the box, you can be as abstract as you want.

You could make a portrait of every member of your family and play a guess who game.

Below is a portrait of one of your Forest School leaders. Who do you think it is?

 

Don't forget to send in your pictures via your teachers and let us know who you think it is.


Make bark and leaf rubbings

Nature loves a pattern.

They can make fascinating pictures if you know where to look.

All you need are some colourful crayons and plain paper, then head outside.

To make the rubbing, simply place the paper on top of a natural object and rub a crayon over it sideways to create a fantastic print. Tree bark is ideal - the more knobbly the better!

You could even turn it into a competition by getting your family members to guess which tree or natural item you used to make the rubbing.

Good luck! And again we would love to see pictures of them.



Knot of the Week
Here it is the Square Lashing - hope you have been practicing your clove hitch as you will need it this week.

Square lashing is used to bind two poles together and it is designed to be load bearing. It is good for creating a rectangular frame using sticks (a clue for next week).


Square Lashing Knot Tying Instructions

1.Tie a Clove Hitch around the vertical pole and pull the knot very tight. 
2.Begin the lashing of the two poles together by twisting the short end from the clove hitch around long end of the rope.
3.Then wrap the rope over the front of the horizontal pole then around the back side of the vertical pole and over the front of the horizontal piece.
4.Continue around the back side of the vertical pole, the front of the horizontal and back side of the vertical and front of the horizontal.
5.Continue with this wrapping, alternately going over and under each pole for three turns.
6.Tighten your wraps down by making two or more "frapping turns" around the ropes.
7.Finish the knot by making two or more half hitches next to the original wraps.


Forest school News


Mrs Cherry had a helper in the garden over Easter

As I was quietly minding my own business, merrily weeding a flower bed, when I spotted something sitting tentatively next to my feet. It was looking up at me with dark black eyes. Instantaneously, I jumped back and let out a scream, thinking it was a rat. After my heart had stopped pounding, I had a closer look. To my delight, sitting there was the cutest baby squirrel, who was very tame and proceeded to follow me around the garden for the rest of the afternoon. However, he or she had not experienced a pond before and thought they could walk on water! Little did they know......


Bird watch

A friend of Mrs Cherry has a bird box in their garden, in which they have fitted a camera and have been sending updates of the nesting blue tits. Below are some of the photographs of the two birds building their nest and the eggs that they have laid.

Will update the blog next week with further pictures. Fingers crossed there may be babies.


Your pictures

Finally, here are some of the pictures that you have sent in. 

Thank you and keep sending them in. It would be lovely to collate them all together at the end and make a display in school.


Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Cherry and Mrs Turland



Forest School Blog - Tuesday 21st April 2020

Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed the Easter break and made the most of the sunny weather.

How did you get on with spotting the signs of spring? If you have any pictures or diary extracts you would like to share – just email them to your year group email and they will get forwarded onto us.  We can, with your permission, post them.

A few activities you get you started this week

Butterfly Feeder – with the warm weather some of the smallest visitors to our gardens are in need of a little help – butterflies and bees.  You can look online for other ideas…

 

 

Sky Scanner – not very ‘high tech’, but just as enjoyable.  Decorate your own scanner and take time to really look closely at what can you see. How about adapting it to make a flower bed or grass scanner...

 

 

Have found this posted on a school website – with all the talent we have at CRJS, we think we would be in with a good chance of winning – give it a go….

 

https://creativeplayuk.com/playground-design-competition/

 

Mrs Tuland’s Veg Patch Watch

Week 5

Well, after coming to an understanding with my little visitor…I feed it cornflakes and he leaves my seeds alone…I have lots to show this week!

As you can see spring has sprung in my greenhouse – I have turnips, tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, sweetcorn, spring onions, beans, peas and onions.  If you look closely, you can see emerging from the initial leaves each plant is starting to grow it’s first proper set of leaves – in a few weeks they will be big enough for me to ‘pot on’. Lettuce and onions are coming to life in the raised beds and potatoes are starting to sprout .

Is anyone else growing plants? Mrs Parrott and Mrs Cherry have now joined in the growing game – why don’t you?

Enjoy the rest of the week - Mrs Cherry will be FS Blogging on Friday

Mrs T


Forest School blog - Friday 3rd April 2020

Good Morning

The weather forecast for the weekend and into next week looks amazing. A perfect time to get outside and enjoy spring! 

This will be our last blog before Easter so we have included some activities you can do over the period. 


1. Spot the signs of spring


The beauty of spring is hopefully giving us all a much-needed boost of cheer and positivity.

Why not try to see how many spring sights you can spot in the garden or out and about during your daily exercise.

Ideas

  • Make a list before you go out, keep your eyes peeled and try and tick off everything.
  • Take pictures while you are out and send one of your favourites in so that we can include it on the blog
  • Keep a diary with hand drawn pictures of what you have found.
Example of a list

  • Frothy blossom falling like confetti
  • Buzzing bumblebees - see if you can spot the different types
  • Different colourful spring flowers - can you name them?
  • A butterfly resting on a leaf
  • Ladybirds in the grass
  • Fresh vibrant leaves bursting out of buds

Here are some pictures taken yesterday from Mrs Cherry's garden.


2. Easter tracking game



What you will need:

  • stones
  • sticks
  • easter eggs
Method:

  • Lay out a trail using stick arrows
  • Make it more difficult by using a code that you can construct yourselves
  • Hide a easter egg at the end of the trail
For example:


crossed sticks mean - do not go this way

a stick with a stone on the left means- go left

 a stick with a stone on the right means - go right

a stone on top of another means go straight


3. Pretend to be nature pirates


Fun for all the family!

How much hidden loot can you fit in your miniature treasure chest?

Search for tiny natural items in your garden or when you are out for exercise. See who can fit the most inside a matchbox or small container.

See if you can find tiny twigs, blossom petals, grass, leaves etc. The list is endless!

Why not set a time limit and see who will be the winner.


4. Knot of the week

Here it is the Clove Hitch - also known as bunny ears, a good one for Easter!

This knot will come in handy for an activity after Easter, so get practising.


5. Your pictures of activities


Thank you everyone who sent in their pictures and own instructions of how to build a bird feeder. Below are some of the beautiful pictures.

We especially love this one of a robin contemplating a nibble.

Don't forget to send in any pictures of the activities you have completed, we would love to see them! Email them to your teachers and they will pass them on.

Finally an update on Mrs Turland's vegetable patch. It has been discovered that the vegetable patch has a little visitor who is partial to a little nibble at the seeds. Poor Mrs Turland has to start again! 

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. 

STAY SAFE.

MRS CHERRY AND MRS TURLAND X