Skip to content ↓

St Matthew's CE Primary School

Faith • Respect • Achievement • Friendship

Forest School Blog

Hello! Welcome to our Forest School Blog.  We will be updating this page frequently so that you can see what we have been up to in the forest. 

 Mrs O and Mrs P - the 'Forest school Fairies' (aka The Forest School Team)

September 2021

  • Willow Class 30.9.21

    Published 30/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Willow Class enjoyed taking part in lots of different activities today. We started the session with a group game of 'sheep and wolves'. Some of the children then went off to build dens using the silver birch wood, and others decided to use the tools to cut wood and make holes. The children spotted lots of interesting minibeasts and we used the 'Seek' app to identify them. 

    Read More
  • Apple Class 30.9.21

    Published 30/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Apple Class enjoyed using the 'scramble net' today. A group of children also tried fire lighting and den building. Some lovely clay models were made as well. The children enjoyed playing a group game on the 'bank' at the end of the session, and were howling like wolves and 'baaaing' like sheep. 

    Read More
  • Oak Class 29.9.21

    Published 29/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Oak Class enjoyed cooking marshmallows on the fire today! A lot of the children were using the wool to decorate sticks with. Some of the children built their own fire circles, and one group made a castle using logs and tyres. The children were using their imaginations and being very creative!

    Read More
  • Sycamore 28.9.21

    Published 29/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Sycamore enjoyed being creative in Forest School today. After a few group games on the 'bank', the children enjoyed using the clay to make leaf decorations, wool to make friendship bracelets, and some of the boys  enjoyed whittling the silver birch wood to make swords. Together, they decided to collect up lots of pine needles and bury Elliot with them. The children really enjoyed the session, despite the slightly damp weather!

    Read More
  • Beech 28.9.21

    Published 28/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Beech had a productive Forest School session today despite the rain! They enjoyed playing some different team games at the start of the session, and then the children walked to the Forest School area. We found a fantastic supply of silver birch wood (thank you to the person who donated it), and the children enjoyed whittling the wood, turning it into various objects. Some of the children were den building using the tarps so that they would shelter from the rain.

    Read More
  • Rainbows 24.9.21

    Published 24/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Rainbows enjoyed their first Forest School session today. They met 'Stumpy' and asked the forest if they were allowed into the woods. The children listened carefully to the rules, and played a game around the fire circle to remember that they are not to walk inside the circle.

    We then went for a walk around the Forest School site and onto the 'bank' area. The children collected natural objects to add to a 'sticky strip' to remember key areas of the Forest School area. 

    The child really enjoyed their first Forest School session and sensibly followed the instructions.  

    Read More
  • Willow 23.9.21

    Published 24/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Willow Class enjoyed completing a range of activities this afternoon. Some of the children made dens using tarps, a small group of children tried fire lighting using the 'Kelly Kettle' bases, and others went tree climbing. 

    The children also enjoyed collecting natural resources and opened up their own 'shop', and some of the girls were collecting blackberries to make potions. 

    It was a lovely session with all of the children joining in with an activity. 

    Read More
  • Apple Class 23.9.21

    Published 23/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Apple class enjoyed foraging this morning. They were picking stinging nettles to make 'nettle tea'. It was a little challenging to get the main campfire going this morning, but the children persevered, and eventually we were able to boil the nettles and water in a saucepan over the fire.  Most of the children were involved in this activity, but some of the boys were testing out their strength by working together to roll the big tyres. The children made forts using the tyres and enjoyed peeking out of them. 

    Read More
  • Oak 22.9.21

    Published 22/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Oak Class enjoyed completing a range of activities today. Some of the children were using a variety of tools to cut and trim wood, and some of them decided to make a campsite and were pretending to camp. A group of girls made a fairy garden out of clay and natural materials, and some other children went bug hunting. It was lovely to see the children choosing their own activities and using their imaginations. 

    Read More
  • Beech 21.9.21

    Published 22/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Beech class enjoyed playing group games during Forest School today. They also tried whittling, and a big group of them decided to pick blackberries and make 'blackberry juice'. 

    Some of the boys put up a tarp near ground level so that they could practise 'army crawling' underneath it, and then they extended the activity by creating an obstacle course.  

    Read More
  • Sycamore 21.9.21

    Published 21/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Sycamore had a very productive Forest School session today. Some of the children boiled water using the 'Kelly Kettles', and then used the hot water to make hot chocolate. A group of children worked with a parent helper to build dens using ground sheets, and the rest of the children were content making clay models and forming a band, using logs as the drums. All of the children were motivated and focused, and they were working creatively with the resources they had available. 

    Read More
  • Willow Class 16.9.21

    Published 21/09/21, by Rhiannon Searle

    Willow Class enjoyed using the 'Kelly Kettles' today, and they were successful in boiling water! Some of the children enjoyed tasting the water after. A group decided to go tree climbing, and Charlie decided to drill a hole into a wood cookie using a 'palm drill'. He turned it into a necklace.  The rest of the class enjoyed using the clay to make models, and picking blackberries to make potions and soups. 

    Read More