Year 3 Woodland Day
It was great to get out to Pennthorpe School in Rudgwick last month. I worked with Year 3 and helped facilitate their woodland day.
I laid on a range of forest school activities so the children had the opportunity to try out fire-lighting and low-ropes. We also had bug-hunting, clay play, charcoal for independent drawing and mark-making, plus den-building.
I put up the ever-popular hammock which was well-used! And of course there was plenty of time for free play in the woods where the children could express themselves, practice risk-taking in a safe environment and enjoy the freedom of being outdoors.
We also had the fire circle going and toasted marshmallows. A mug of hot chocolate finished off snack time! For lunch, it was sausages cooked on the fire.
The children freely chose their activities and had a great day.
After I’d packed up and left, the children went on to end the day with a sleepover in the classroom.
Find out more about what the children got up to and see some photos on the Pennthorpe website.
This is an example of the kind of activity experience I can lead in local schools. If your school or group has an outdoor area, or you’d like to get out in the woods for forest school activities, then please do get in touch!
About the author: Jon Borley
Jon qualified as a Level 3 Forest School Leader with the Sussex Wildlife Trust. He works independently as a practitioner running forest school clubs and also within schools both in a forest school capacity and as an outdoor learning teaching assistant, working with preschoolers to secondary-aged children. He has previously led sessions for adults as part of professional development events for the Sussex FSA, and is a member of MIAS.
