Forest School in the News
It's becoming more common to find Forest School articles making the news and for all the right reasons. Out of the turmoil of lock down came some good news stories, and here is one that we wanted to share with you.
Lockdowns were “a chance to get off the treadmill” for families, says Lewis Ames, co-director of Devon-based forest school Children of the Forest. They’ve seen a rise in applications since the start of the pandemic, with about 150 families on their toddler-group waiting list, and 50-60 children on the waiting list for their forest school for home-educated children.
Feelings Stones
Resources: Stones, pens/paint
For the body- Clay, mud, play dough or sticks
Implementation
In these unprecedented times we are all aware how important it is to be extra aware and look after our well being. Your children could use play dough to make a body and parents or children could draw pictures of a range of emotions on stones, so then each day your child can choose how they are feeling and talk about that emotion and the reasons why.
Intent- Learning Goals
Personal Social and Emotional Development – Managing feelings and behaviour
22-36 months
- Can express their own feelings such as sad, happy, cross,scared, worried.
30-50 months
- Aware of own feelings, and knows that some actions and words can hurt others’ feelings.
Personal Social and Emotional Development – Self confidence and self awaremess
22-36 months
- Expresses own preferences and interests.
30-50 months
- Can select and use activities and resources with help.
- Welcomes and values praise for what they have done.
- Enjoys responsibility of carrying out small tasks.
- Shows confidence in asking adults for help.
40-60 months
- Confident to speak to others about own needs, wants, interests and opinions.
- Can describe self in positive terms and talk about abilities.
Communication and Language – Speaking
22-36 months
- Uses language as a powerful means of widening contacts, sharing feelings, experiences and thoughts.
40-60 months
- Uses talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events.
Impact
How did this activity go? Please use this space to record any findings, adaptions, reflections and quotes from your children. We would love you to email them back to us or share them on Tapestry, Instagram or Facebook.