After a game of hide and seek tag, which included some fantastic hiding places, we listened to the story of ‘Why the trees lose their leaves’. It tells the tale of a sparrow who couldn’t fly south as the seasons changed, due to having an injured wing. He knew he had to get shelter before the cold weather came and asked the oak and maple tree if he could nestle in their leaves. Each one said no. Then the sparrow asked the pine tree, who could only offer tiny leaves, more like needles, and who had much less branches than the other trees. The pine tree agreed to share what it had. The sparrow spent the winter in the pine tree and recovered ready for the other sparrows returning in the spring.
It was because of this that the Creator decided that the Oak and Maple trees’ leaves would wither and die in the winter, as they refused to share what they had plenty of, and the pine tree, who had so little, and gave so much, would remain green throughout the seasons.
After this the children chose the activities they wanted to do. And oh my goodness, proud doesn’t even begin to cover the rest of today’s session at Forest School! Everyone wanted to have a go at fire lighting. We have some brand new flint and steels to do this. Lighting a fire with brand new steels is REALLY tricky as there is no friction between the two metal parts. But the Forest Schoolers showed SO much resilience. Even though I told them how hard it was and they might take 2-3 weeks to master it, they were so determined to do it. And do it, they did.
The squeals of joy, confident smiles and self belief that followed was amazing as one by one, children manged it. Some children tried for over an hour and then cracked it. Others who finally did it, then supported others and gave them ideas and tips to help them achieve as well. One child said that they just wanted to start fires for every session at Forest School! They were so proud.
We certainly needed the toasted marshmallows to keep our energy up but we weren’t too tired to remember the respect position in front of the fire to keep us all safe. Other activities included an autumn tea light holder using some glowing red and albern leaves and the strapline.
A massive well done to all Forest Schoolers for your patience, kindness with one another and demonstrating such determination. Next week, there will be more fire lighting and some more cooking on the fire; as requested by you!