1 April 2025 – Whittling Sticks & Smores

Pam from Forest Schools NI joined us today for our second Forest School session, this time with our Primary 7 pupils. During the session, the pupils were taught the skill of whittling sticks.
At the outset of the session, the rules of Forest Schools were explained to the Primary 7 pupils. Similar to our previous session with Primary 3, we worked on establishing boundaries and discussed the animals on the cards and their homes.
The pupils were also introduced to the whistle and quickly understood that one blast of the whistle means stop and two blasts means to return to the teacher.
Pam then demonstrated the craft of whittling sticks. The children were then instructed on how to handle their equipment and challenged with building a ‘shelter/den’ . The children were grouped into smaller groups and allowed to explore the forest to decide on a location and build. After break we reconvened the activity and each group had the opportunity to discuss what they did why they did it and to0 share good practice.
Our final activity saw us introduced to lighting a fire and cooking smores. The children were made aware of the rules of the fire and the square which the fire pit sits in. Children were instructed on how to safely handle their Toasting Forks and Marshmallows. Approach and use on both knees and then sent to an adult to prepare the smore.
We discussed how to extinguish the fire and used the full 5l of water to ensure the embers were out and the colander was cool before finishing the session with a vote of how we found the tasks today.