Spangle Gall

This was found during our walk around the site the other day and the children wanted to know what it was.

The Wildlife Trust has this to say about it:-
The Spangle Gall is caused by a tiny gall wasp, Neuropterus quercusbaccarum, and can be found on the underside of oak leaves in early autumn. It is common and widespread, and a single leaf can host up to 100 galls, each containing a single larva. The galls fall to the ground and can be seen around oak trees during autumn; the larvae continue to develop through the winter, and emerging as adults in April.

It appears it can be found almost anywhere.

Also found today Silk Button Spangle Galls

Spy Camp

Year 6 have started reading Stormbreaker by Anthony Horrowitz and wanted the children to experience  what it may be like to train as a spy as part of their learning using the Engage phase from the @CornerstonesEdu and Forest School.

We planned nine activities to allow the whole year group to take part at the same time and maximise the time outside allocated through the Forest School timetable. The two sessions had 5-6 adults to supervise activities.

Each group had their own Spy Chart to collect points.

The activities were:-

1. Tree Climb
2. Putting up a Hammock
3. Slacklining
4. Pea Shooting
5. Camouflage
6. Code Making and Breaking
7. Den Building
8. Tracking
9. Water Challenge

The activities were planned to develop specific skill that the children would need when they went out on a mission.

Here are some children's thoughts about the activities:-

listen to ‘Spy Camp Reflections’ on Audioboo

Team Building

We just get back to school and it stops raining and out comes the sun. An opportunity to start the Year outdoors with ninety excited children from Year 6 with some team building activities.

Children were split into ten teams of nine and a series of activities were placed around the Forest School site and garden.

listen to ‘Year 6 Team Building’ on Audioboo

The teams could compete in:-

The ball of string relay- Two teams compete to transfer a washer down a length of string tie it on and return in a rolled up ball.

Atomic particle collecting game - Time to save the earth by collecting atomic popping corn with oversized protective gloves

Build it - What can you make with a collection of materials? No talking allowed!

Raise the flag- Use knotting skills to raise the flag

The code breaker relay- Large space needed to match letters and numbers to crack the code, but the need to run and remember numbers can cause lots of confusion.

Endings and Beginnings

As last term ended and each group sat round giving feedback of their first year in Forest School a small rumble of enthusiasm would overtake each group... 'Do you remember when... ? and within a short time nearly every lesson of the year have been covered with someone's favourite moment or with something that had happened which caused everyone to laugh.

As a school we are trying to build learning memories in to children's lives, by giving them experiences and an enthusiasm for learning that will last a lifetime.

As we start the new school year plans are busily being put into place to launch the Cornerstones Curriculum after a successful trial of the Champions unit at the end of the summer term.

Forest School is contributing to those memories, getting children excited about a different way of learning. Already walking down the corridor children are asking, 'Are we doing Forest School? Is it group A this week?' and as the first children emerged for Spy Camp in Year 6 and exclamation of 'Freedom!'

Forest School Olympics

To link in to the Cornerstones Champions project being run across the school in the final half term two of the year groups used their sessions to develop games for a Forest School Olympics.

The children discussed the different skills used by athletes and contrasted this with the attributes they need to succeed at a higher level. Then splitting into small teams went away to collect materials to create their own games.

Here the children's creativity came in to play. Time after time children came up with imaginative, individual games. They were thoroughly involved through planning, negotiation, imagination, cooperation, listening, watching, suggesting, testing. Their methods of presentation were individual too.  From groups that explained and demonstrated to those who turned it into their own TV show with commentators, awards and presentations.

Given the chance and a purpose this activity has shown just how creative and imaginative children can be.

Sometimes it rains

Sometimes it rains in Forest School. So it's Friday afternoon last lesson and we're to be outside making games to be played in Forest School. "Someone says can we stay in and watch the film?" So they take a vote on it. No one wants to stay in and out we go, get soaked but have a great time, for some like never before.

Making Music

This really simple but effective idea was picked up at the Embracing Outdoor Learning Conference in a workshop run by Chris Holland.

We started off with children finding a calm place on the site to sit and listen to all the sounds around them. Collecting back together the children shared their sounds individually. Next we put a conductor in the middle of the circle who began to blend together some of the different sounds using loud and soft and quick and slow to bring variety to the music.

Next I demonstrated how bits and pieces found in Forest School could be used as a form of musical notation. The children quickly picked up the idea and began to add suggestions and changes to my notation to develop the music further.

The children then divided themselves into pairs and began to compose and arrange their music in their own way. After a period of composition and practice each pair performed their piece of music.

There are ways to develop this further but working with Y3/4 this was about enough and we finished with a game. Hide and seek tig is the favourite at the moment.

Where a skills based curriculum is being used this activity is becomes easy to assess.
Level 2 Create and repeat short rhythmic patterns. Use symbols (standard and invented) to
represent sounds.
Level 3 Improvise repeated patterns. Compose and perform simple melodies and
songs independently. Can represent different sounds, e.g. The trees - birds singing (whistles), wind blowing/crash of thunder(clap) etc