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