Mama Beech

This week it was the weather that was up and down. It's generally mild for Autumn across most of the UK, but two days saw a tiny sparkle of frost and the temperatures start off really low, while most afternoons I've needed the car window open to drive home! I'm happy to deal with whatever the weather throws at us, and slowly the children have got used to that. 'Wet Play' as school is a strange thing as the children sit it out in class because of the rain only to come out to Forest School after playtime! This is on the larger agenda for the school to manage, but meanwhile, come rain or shine the classes head out to basecamp smiling.  The rain that filled the dig pit last week creating a good-sized pond had sunk into the soil and was pure mud! It led to discoveries when bird footprints and cat paw-prints were making patterns across the surface. Using the mud to create a "it's purely decorative" bridge, building an obstacle course around the area, and for

It's been a very mixed week.  The children started making art on the floor last week, so this week I gathered resources for them to use.  The option to create patterns and pictures was there for them to explore, with some examples of the work by Hannah Bullen Ryner and James Brunt for inspiration.  Children from all year groups had a go, and when James Brunt responded on Twitter to their photos they were thrilled!  Using Nature's windfalls gave the opportunity to further discuss why we never taste anything we find, as well as the chance to explore the colours of berries and leaves, cones and petals...  It was also the best way to get up close and personal with the properties of these, working out how to incorporate the 3D pine cones and the rolling Hawthorn berries onto a flat surface.  Plus the children we amazed at the berry of the Spindle Tree close up, the colours and the shape. Yes, we know it is poisonous. It's the first thing most children ask about anything they f