9 October 2026

P3/4 joined P1/2 & L1 for Forest School today. They gathered at the outdoor seating in the playground to wait for the younger children to finish getting ready (dressing into puddle suits & wellies is a learning task in itself!) and while they were there, they practised our Forest School song and told their teacher about the whistle rules. Our P3/4 teacher is joining the Forest School fun and beginning the forest school leader process which we are delighted about. Her class are well established in the rules and routines of Forest School as they have enjoyed sessions since P1 so it will be very exciting to watch them progress in their Forest School journey! Once everyone was ready, we paraded up to the Forest School site, joyfully reciting our song as we went. During today’s session, it was lovely to see the children from 3 different classes playing together and cooperating on meaningful tasks involving heavy lifting, imagination and creativity. Some of the older boys discovered a few tyres that had been stored next to our site and were delighted when given permission to use them within their play. We tend to find that when children are expecting to be told, “No.” and instead receive a response of, “Yes, as long as…” they take greater responsibility for their actions and decision making, so if it is safe and reasonable to say yes, then we do. Inside the log circle, an invitational art activity was set up using a bamboo frame and a wonderful selection of leaves, conker shells and other autumnal items which have been donated by a member of the local community who often visits Mount Stewart. The children who chose to play in this area were fascinated by the scale of some of the leaves and set about collecting other natural items from around the site to add to the collection and create some lovely loose parts artwork.
When the session came to an end and we had ‘left no trace’, there was a significant show of ‘thumbs up’ and one of the children commented quietly to her teacher, “I really loved that today.” Forest School Fridays are a wonderful finish to a busy week and always provide something to look forward to for children and adults alike.