We have been having great fun and learning so much too. In one game we split into two teams: each who had to find and label certain plants and trees in the garden. After they had run round and made their decisions they got to point out what they found. We were all delighted to find the sweet chestnut has finally produced large enough nuts to eat. As we wondered about we began to talk about what plants are good for and these ideas helped us in our wild first aid.
Wild first aid
We enacted some first aid situation’s and the children decided what they could do and applied wild first aid: using plants like plantain for cuts, bleeding, stings or bites or a scarf to make a sling for an injured arm.
Flow learning
We have begun to apply Joseph Cornell ‘s flow learning. Using games to discharge our energies and wake us up to where we are by moving around in the environment and then activities to focus our attention and have a direct experience of being in nature.
In this picture we are playing salmon, otter and mosquito. This encourages team work reacting on the spot and fun.
Splitting wood
In Fridays session we got our hands muddy trying to make blobsters, from the earth, it was a bit unyielding so we added water.
More successfully we have used coppicewood college to our advantage and children have recently sawn through and then split wood carefully using a billhook and beetle and used a knife to carve out a small amount of wood to make a kazoo.
Making blobsters and then making a place for them to live. One of the blobsters lives in a tree and has a contraption for getting up and down.
We have been taking longer walks in the wood and finding new places where we have opened up to the environment and our senses. Listening as if we have deer ears, touching unknown objects while blindfolded, and playing an amazing version of hide and seek.
Break times have meant taking on a job to make the snack happen like: collecting apples, washing and chopping carrots, turning toast on the fire, and putting on spreads. Just delightful.