4 February 2026

Children were introduced to the rules of Forest Schools. We discussed boundaries- whistle meaning- we gave expectations of what Forest School is and how we behave while completing a lesson and how we show respect to the area in which the lesson is taking place. Firstly, the children set out the boundary markers- and because we are doing houses and homes/food we talked about the habitats/ diets of the animals on the markers. With these in place we played an opening game of Beans on Toast- this was a great way to warm up.
The main activity was planting a pea to watch grow and helped introduce our new topic Food Glorious Food. We entered the green house- sat carefully and they children listened as I gave the instructions and showed what we were going to do. The children each had a pot with their name on it which they filled half way with soil, they made 3 small holes with their fingers and placed one pea into each hole and finally covered with some soil. The new seeds were placed on a tray ready to take to the classroom. To finish we made our way to base where we all sat around the firepit. I had the fire pit base ready- but we discussed fire safety- added the boundaries using bamboo sticks and talked about what a fire might need. This allowed lots of opportunity for talk and discussion. once the fore was lit- the children noted the way the wind was blowing and were able to move out of the way. They made a que with Louise (CA) to get a skewer with marshmallows on it which they in groups of 3 toasted carefully over the firepit. Then they could make smores or pop-mallows if they wished. We ended with a little song- extinguished the fire to ensure we left no trace. The children had a ball for their first lesson and cant wait to do their next.