Purley Church of England Infant School

Woodland Star: Macie

Read all about our woodland adventures!

What is Forest School?

Forest School originated in Sweden in the 1950’s and was introduced in Britain in the late 1990’s. It is an inspirational process that offers regular opportunities to appreciate and enjoy the outdoors. Learning occurs in a relaxed environment using all of the senses. Choices can be made and risks understood and taken. Forest School happens all year round and so children should wear warm, waterproof clothing. The ethos of Forest School is that learners should be allowed time and space to explore, develop skills and interests and understanding through practical, hands on experience. Forest School promotes good health and fitness and an awareness of good hygiene. It helps children’s social and communication development as they work together problem solving, developing motor-skills and coordination in a fun and relaxed environment. Children also learn a sense of personal responsibility and respect for their environment as well as developing their confidence, self-esteem and independence.

Woodland School - 22/09/17

September 26, 2017

Our return to the Woodland was great fun. We were lucky to see the sun and get a visit from a brave robin who watched us eat our snack pears. We wondered if robins like pears so we investigated. We sat really quietly and he did return, but he didn’t eat the pear!

Most of us thought of pirate themed activities: Henry found a piece of chalk and used it to mark an X to show where the treasure was. Darcy, Isaak and Zayneb practised their balancing skills walking the plank. Jessica, Lukas, Ciara and Ollie split into two groups to play pirates with two separate ships. Mason enjoyed being a very loud captain, carrying a cutlass to keep order. Belle was busy finding treasure in a sandy, stony bank beneath the beech tree and Layla created a kitchen with wooden knives and bark plates, fern meatballs and old bark to chop. It was a brilliant start to the year! Mrs Hodsdon

Woodland School - 16/06/17

June 16, 2017

This week the children continued to practise safe climbing and den building. Ciara and Jessica decided to use one of the dens as a café, writing down orders with twigs on pieces of bark, and serving sausages and salad on bark plates. The children looked carefully at the patterns they could see on the natural materials in the woods, and made rubbings to compare them. Harry noticed a piece of bark with worm holes looked like the night sky when he held it up to the sun. Mrs Burton

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Woodland School - 09/06/17

June 9, 2017

The children’s fascination with sticks continued this week as they used them as drumsticks to beat rhythms on the huge logs with Mr Adamski, and tied string to curved branches to create bows. They also worked in pairs with one child wearing a blindfold while the other gave instructions to move around the woods. They practised using positional and mathematical language to guide each other safely around, over and under obstacles. Jessica and Ciara even managed to direct each other around the...
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Posted by emma morel.

Woodland School - 26/05/17

May 26, 2017

This week the children explored the site near the gate and spent time getting to know the new boundary. They learned about climbing trees safely, keeping three points of contact at all times and taking turns. The children worked in groups and used information sheets and dials to help to identify and compare the many types of leaves. Much of the area was overgrown and we all felt like we were trekking through a jungle! Unfortunately the nettles were also in abundance, but luckily everyone had ...
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Woodland School - 19/05/17

May 19, 2017

As it had been raining, the woods were rather damp this week and the children had to think of safe ways of moving over the logs. They worked as a team to build a shelter to keep the water bottles and bags dry. The children sensibly worked in pairs to carry heavy, long sticks, or remembered to drag them safely. The children listened to the sounds in the woods as they shared their snack and hot chocolate whilst sitting on a waterproof mat. Mrs Burton

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Woodland School - 12/05/17

May 12, 2017

The Foundation children enjoyed their first visit to Woodland School this week. They walked the boundary and listened carefully to instructions to keep them safe and have fun in the woods. Ollie and Lukas challenged themselves to find different ways of moving heavy logs, and the children practised carrying sticks safely. Isaak challenged himself to walk across the big logs independently, and Sienna and Darcy raced the balls as they went down the ball run.

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Woodland School - 31/03/17

March 31, 2017

Elm Group demonstrated their resourcefulness when tackling the egg tower challenge this week. Frankie and Casey chose to use a piece of bowl-shaped bark to form a cradle to support the egg at the top of their structure. Jaiden and Charlie managed to build a taller structure, but the egg bounced off a few times! The rest of the group worked together using branches taller than themselves, which led to much fun trying to solve the problem of how to put the egg on the top. The group finished ...
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Woodland School - 24/03/17

March 24, 2017

Oak Group’s last trip to the woods had an Easter theme as their challenge was to use their construction skills to build the tallest, self-supporting tower to support an egg.

The children paired up and began building using sticks, each pair choosing to construct in a different way. Some towers resembled cones, some were Jenga in design, and some looked more like bonfires. The children used a tape measure to judge their creations and the winning pair were Toby and Sydney, with an impressi...

Woodland School - 17/03/17

March 17, 2017

This week Elm Group noticed that the woods were coming alive with sound and colour. Their hunt for signs of spring yielded purple flowers and yellow celandine growing low on the woodland floor, and Jaiden noticed birds with beaks full of twigs busily building in the trees. The children decided to make a new ladder and they tested branches to see if they were strong enough to take their weight, and measured the rope to tie them together. Mrs Burton

Woodland School - 10/03/17

March 10, 2017

Our challenge this week was to look for signs of spring, and the children found dainty snowdrops growing alongside the springy new moss, tight buds on branches and tiny seedlings curling their way up from the squidgy mud. Molly noticed the crows building nests in the tallest trees – they were making such a racket! Toby and Davontay challenged themselves to balance along and jump between the damp logs, Elsie used a pronged stick as a carrying tool, and Harry used a twig to write ‘We love w...

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