Mama Beech

This week in Forest School we have been readying the Wildlife Garden for Winter. It sounds a little premature, especially after such glorious weather, but as we see the Garden as belonging  to the Wildlife, we decided to ensure there were more Hedgehog Houses in the hedges, more Toad Abodes in the Amphibian Village, more nesting material and opportunities for a House for a Mouse, and more feeding stations available for all creatures.  We've been working flat out to make sure every class has the chance to contribute. We want these things in place for the Chartham Wildlife to acclimatise to before they look to hibernate later in the year. This specific area of our grounds we see as a large Natural Science Area, a chance to link everything in the curriculum regarding life cycles, food chains, hibernation, plants, habitat, care and understanding, teamwork, observation, and seasons (to name just a few curriculum threads) to real life experiences. Building a terrace of hedgehog...

💓💓💓It does verge on an obsession! 💓 💓 💓 Trees are one of our favourite things. Who doesn't enjoy Forest Bathing ?! Or marvel at how trees can create their own weather ?!?! Or the brilliance of their communication skills... The Wood Wide Web ?! Mama Beech is eternally grateful that we're all smitten!! Twice a year, every year, the Woodland Trust makes trees available to schools, community groups, charities etc. If you have some space - even if it means you will grow them in containers - you can apply for FREE trees. These can be planted in the hope of strong tall saplings in a few years time, or as a hedgerow to encourage wildlife. You can choose trees for your purpose, and their website offers great advice on what will work best for your space and circumstances. We have an awful lot of space. In March we ensured every class had the opportunity to plant 10 trees, and also created a couple of new hedges to grow into maturity over the next decade. We were lucky enough to a...

There are so many ways to develop learning outside. Certainly there is a marked different between taking whatever you plan to do inside out, and outdoor learning which utilises the space and environment specifically. But both have a place in the school curriculum. Forest School is one part of learning outdoors, it's pretty well known, and requires training. After that CPD isn't always straight forward or cheap! I have learned over the years that sharing good practice, online and in person is the easiest way to find good ideas, but now and then I also stumble across an event or course which potentially adds something into how Forest School is provided. For instance local walks and talks, in woodland or parks these are often free, or come  with a small fee, and allow you to go on something like a 'Tree Identification' wander with like minded people. Sometimes this just reinforces your confidence, often it throws up a nugget of information you never knew! Online, the Open ...

I have honestly given up counting the amount of days or weeks that Lockdown has commandeered. School is open, for some children, and when I am in I try to do as much outdoor learning as I can, and I know other staff use the outside as much as they can. This week I had the opportunity to have a long look around and it seems the great outdoors hasn't missed us at all! The trees are full and vivid and the grass id full of daisies. Despite the dry April everything seems lush and vibrant and enjoying it's human free world!   The wildlife garden is full of fifty shades of green, and the shrubs are aiming for head height! The Pond has allowed the willow to sprout and a few reeds have started to grow. The grass is growing long but isn't as patchy and the wildflowers are coming through. The birds have cleared out all the feeders of course and the winds have demolished the bird hide roof! So I need to do some shopping and some planning - there is wood for the hide to have a...

As inevitable as the current restrictions of movement are it was still difficult to prepare for it or to judge when it would come. I am on a rota to go into work and help with the reduced number of pupils we have now. But I found myself going in when not on rota because there was stuff that needed doing. Was it essential...? Probably not. But I could do all of it in isolation without spending time with the children or other staff and at that point a lockdown had not been called I started the week by attacking the poly tunnel!  Our wonderful volunteer who runs a Garden Club with Year 2 had already ensured that all their hard work was in the Poly Tunnel's Nursery Garden, so I just needed to attend to all the gardening the small groups had been achieving A path needed finishing, we still have some Woodland Trust trees to plant and we have seedlings bursting out that will not survive in seed trays with little opportunity to water them. The children have worked hard and have such...

Well even though we all knew it was coming, the insanity of this week was still a series of varied surprises to wade through! With the impending closure of schools the race was on to get as many of our Woodland Trust trees into the ground! And the children rose to the occasion! Years 3, 4 and 5/6 helped to get 50 trees into a hedge formation to add a hedge to the Millennium Garden and to start the demarcation of what will hopefully be a story trail by the end of next year. The sun shone and the drizzle soaked and the wet grass made socks soggy but 5 classes managed to have fun, follow instructions and add to our school environment Two of the groups who work with me to earn their Royal Forestry Society Junior Forester Certificate not only helped to plant a further 40 trees - but were able to take over and explain to their classes exactly what was required to ensure the trees would grow well. Year 4s and Year 5/6 experts in the making! Years 1, 3 and ...