At Muddy Bugs we start our sessions together and welcome everyone to the space. We then share ideas and decide on some of the things the children would like to do during each session, before heading off into the woods.
We will have a temporary camp in an area of the woods, putting up a tarpaulin shelter if rain looks likely. The site will be checked by staff for safety and a risk assessment completed with the children. The session is then a mixture of child-led exploration and play, coupled with Forest School activities such as those listed below. Adult interactions are encouraged making sure the children are supported when necessary and empowered to direct their own learning and achieve their own goals.
We vary the activities each week and as the seasons change, so that the children are always stimulated. However, we revisit activities if the children wish to do so.
An important part of every session is reflection time, where the children think back over, and talk about what they have achieved. This is done in a variety of ways depending on the children and may be based on making a picture or a collection of artefacts. This is used as a basis for planning follow up sessions.
We operate on 39 weeks of the year on Monday mornings during Surrey term time.
Forest School activities
Here are some examples of the kinds of activities that might happen:
Action:
Climbing trees
Digging
Rope swings and bridges
Gardening
Building dens
Building snowmen
Games such as hide and seek
Wildlife:
Minibeast hunts
Birdwatching
Recording bird calls
Animal homes
Pond dipping
Creative:
Leaf pictures
Painting with natural pigments
Making kites
Making perfume
Texture hunts
Creating collages
Weaving grasses
Willow wands
Habitats for real or imaginary creatures
Singing
Music making
Sketching
Imagination:
Mud kitchens
Pirate ships
Story telling
Fire and Tools:
Whittling
Using saws and hammers
Building a camp fire