The aim for this week was to put together a den base, using tarp, a ground sheet and a hammock. Some children helped with the building, showing safe use of the mallet. The year 6 group members  supported the year 1 members to use the tool. This demonstrates good Forest School practice, allowing children to pass on the skills they have to others builds confidence and resilience. 

Other members of the group decided to make a Christmas mud cake for when the den was finished. 

The boys set to work digging a hole, lots of teamwork was needed and sharing of the tools. 

To wrap up our session we had a game of Forest School hide and seek. 

This week the year 3's decided to tidy up the site, team work was used to dismantle a natural den and rebuild the stick pile. 

The site still had some snow remaining and with the temperature still freezing the children enjoyed building with the snow and removing the ice from the pots and pans. 

Both groups got to toast marshmallows over the fire. Great fire safety was demonstrated and I didn't have to remind anyone about using the respect position near the fire. I was encouraged not to give up with using the flint and steel to light the fire and was reminded by the children to believe in myself!

Our resident mole has moved over to the back of our site after attempting to push the earth up under a sturdy wall the children had built with bricks. Our site is rich with invertebrates, with such a feast it's no wonder the mole has chosen our site as home. 

Over the half term break the trees have covered the ground in the most wonderful autumnal blanket.

We started our session by going on a stick hunt but couldn't resist running through and throwing up the fallen leaves. The children loved the crunchy sound under their feet and spotting what was hiding amongst the leaves, mainly fungi. We discussed safety around the fungi and talked about their important role in the eco system. 

We collected our sticks and returned to site to make our Remembrance Day crosses. The children used their clove hitch skills to start to the activity and learnt a new knot technique, square lashing. 

The group came well prepared with wellies and waterproofs to our afternoon session after a very rainy morning, however, the sunshine came out and we had a successful afternoon of knot tying and nature spotting. 

Our Forest School site may be small but we are blessed with diversity in what species and habitats it offers a home to. Each week we seem to find something new. This week some of our keen eyed nature spotters found some cocoons and a garden spider finding shelter behind sunshine lodge. 

Lifting up our logs we found that our resident mole had attempted to tunnel under them and we got to see what their tunnels look like. We noted that it may have had feast under the logs as we found lots of invertebrates such as millipedes, centipedes, earthworms  and slugs which make up a moles diet. 

We attempted our first knot and the first step to den building - The Clove Hitch. Next week will we look at ridge lines and the timber hitch. 

To close our session we sat around the fire to put together ideas for next week. The children were able to recall the fire pit rules and demonstrated good fire safety. 

Our first group session in the Autumn term was all about getting to know each other and the site. 

The children got to grips with the site rules and how to keep themselves safe when at Forest School. 

We played 5 minutes finds. The children found ladybirds, dandelions (which we saved for Pepper and Patch), mole hills, apples and tree bark. 

This session was very much led by the children who spent much of their time in the mud kitchen making potions. We had strength potions, friendship potions and magical potions. 

We had a very brief introduction to den building, further sessions will be planned to build the children's den building knowledge. 

We came together at the end to discuss what we had enjoyed and what we would like next week. 

The children told me they enjoyed Forest School hide and seek, this seems to be a favourite with most groups. 

The children would like to get straight into planting, so as part of next weeks planning I will include planting some bulbs that the children can take home.

We were lacking in potion ingredients, so over the week I will collect natural items that the children can include in their creations. 

Our final Forest Session was spent being creative and reflecting on our time together over the year. 

As a Forest School lead my aim is to build community with in the group, in this cohort community was a huge success. The support and encouragement they gave to each other was incredible. Feeling at ease with in a group often means children feel able to push outside of their comfort zone in turn being resilience. 

In the latter part of the session we sat around the fire and reflected. We talked fondly about what we had enjoyed throughout the sessions, what we had learned and what skills we had gained. 

This was our first fire, the children listened carefully to the fire safety talk and were able to show me fire safety throughout the session. A perfect end to our Forest School journey as a group. 

With only 2 weeks left of Forest School for this group it was a perfect time to try out their new skills. The children formed 2 groups and we had a competition to see who could build the best den. Mrs Gowshall was looking for a sturdy ridge line, safe use of the mallet, 45 degree angles and well tied knots. The children worked brilliantly in their teams and even better they didn't let the competition come between their community, with compliments and support offered between the teams. 

As the session came to a close the children dismantled their dens making sure to leave no trace.

The offering of new habitat is paying off on our site and we are finding that animals are choosing to make their homes in and around our Forest School. We have found 3 clusters of spiderlings, we believe from our identification knowledge that they are garden spiders. We have wood pigeons nesting in a tree that sits just over the fence and in our most recent session we were lucky that some freshly fledged blue tits had come to explore with us. Management of the site is a skill that the children will learn so it is important they know what uses our site and when, so we can manage and protect the area accordingly. 

Earlier on it our sessions we noted the beautiful apple blossom, this has been cross- pollinated and has transformed into tiny apples. We are looking forward to harvesting these later on in the year.

We have spent much time perfecting our den building skills, over the recent sessions we have been looking at natural den building using the sticks and logs available to us. 

Forest school sessions are planned week by week. At the end of every session we come together and talk about what we have enjoyed and what we would like in the following session. Acting on the feedback from the children and being child led is a key Forest School principle. 

After building confidence with knots last week, the children put their new skills to use and made their first successful den. There was some superb team work and the den provide some welcome shade from the sunshine. 

Our mud kitchen and potion making station arrived and were soon put to use, the children made potions for feeling calm. They told me how the scent of the flowers and watching it swirl around made them feel calm. They showed respect to our site and only picked flowers that we have in abundance (daisy's and forget me knots). 

The most exciting part of session, was the eagerly awaited arrival of Pepper and Patch our Forest School guinea pigs. The children listened carefully about how to care for them and were quiet and gentle around them to help them settle. 

We have a vision of making a sweet pea den, we have put together the frame and the plan for next weeks session is to sow some sweet peas. 

Following on from last week we researched and discussed ways to help hedgehogs. We checked our site to make sure it was hedgehog friendly, looking for gaps under the fence (hedgehog highways), log piles, thick growth for hiding and that our pond had a bank for an escape route. We know our site is rich in invertebrates from our mini beast hunts and we do not use slug pellets which can poison wildlife. 

We made posters to raise awareness and to promote Hedgehog awareness week which is from the 5th - 11th May.

One of our objectives was to perfect the clove hitch, the children decided to take on an extra challenge of some different knots, unaided two of the children accomplished the two half hitches knot and the figure of eight knot. 

We begin each Forest School session with a game (I'm not a stick and Forest School hide and seek are favourites), or 5 minutes finds. Five minute finds is just that, what can we find and identify in 5 minutes. This week we were thrilled to find some hedgehog poo, Mrs Gowshall explained how these wonderful mammals are endangered in the UK and that to have them on our site is a real treat. Next week we will research how we can make our site hedgehog friendly and encourage them to stay. 

Our older children supported the younger ones with some missed activities, showing them how to make a clay hedgehog. 

One of our Forest School group members made a miniature natural shelter for wildlife.

As the weeks roll by the children are learning what weekly jobs need doing and are taking care of our site by watering, weeding and litter picking. 

In our first Forest School session back we looked at how our site had changed over the Easter Holidays. The children noticed subtle changes, like the newly germinated meadow seeds and more noticeable ones like the beautiful apple blossom. 

Our pond has already has encouraged new species, with a sighting of a water boatman, who was too quick to photograph! Our flowering rush has crept up over the water line and Mrs Liley has kindly given us some pond weed, which will really enhance the pond habitat. 

For the creative element of the session we gathered sticks to make clay hedgehogs, all children took this opportunity.

We revisited the clove hitch, an essential den building knot. We showed great resilience in giving it a go but more practice is needed to perfect the skill. 

Other opportunities on offer for the children were natural den building, the reading cove, hammocks and identification equipment, these opportunities are child led, with gentle encouragement from the Forest School lead in making the most of each opportunity.

In the Spring term at Forest School, we have been busy exploring and getting to know our site. Through exploration we have been able to identify what we share our site with and how we can improve our habitats to encourage more wildlife. 

We have also started to gain basic knot tying skills ready for den building.