Miss Hickson's Class (2017 -2018)

Thursday 23rd November 2017

On a rather cold day we sadly began our final Forest School session. We completed our risk assessment portfolio by filling out the daily check sheet for the Forest School area. 

After this, we tried a two new problem solving activities. The first one was called the high rope. We had to get the whole team safely over a rope 75cm off the ground and the second was called floating islands. Mr Thorpe asked us when we finished to reflect on all the problem solving activities we had completed. We had to think of words to describe the characteristics of good team work. We then spent sometime reflecting on how these skills are relevent to everyday life.

Our next activity was working together in pairs to make a table. For this activity we needed to use two different lashings. This proved to be very difficult but we managed it by closely working together.

In the afternoon we made our own Mayan chicken stew, which we ate under shelters we had made. It tasted delicious! We finished the day off reflecting on our Forest School experience. Some of us were a little sad, as this is the end of our sessions led by Mr Thorpe but we are hoping to continue our developing our skills back in class.

Thursday 26th October 2017

Another great day was had by everyone at Forest School. We started the day off by making a set of safety instructions for all the tools we had used so far. We also took some time to think about how much progress we had made in our understanding of risk.

Next came the amazing problem solving session. We had to complete 3 tasks in groups of 10. The most important thing we learnt today was listening to each other.

After a quick welcomed break we moved onto some clay work. We worked in pairs to make Mayan masks and pots. This took alot of time and Miss Hickson was very pleased with the results.

In the afternoon we moved onto fire lighting. We had to prepare the fire wood by splitting it with a knife. Mr Thorpe talked to us about how much progress we had made with our knife skills. We all managed to light the fire but, we quickly realised how important it is to add more fuel to the fire aotherwise it will go out. 

Thursday 5th October 2017

Forest school started this morning with a hazard check with a twist. We had to use maps of the forest school area to mark on where the hazards were. We found out that you needed two skills for this activity. One was being precise when marking where the hazards were on the map and the second was tracking where you were. We then moved on to sanding down our Mayan Temples and painting them. They look fantastic so please come and see them.

In the afternoon we were set the challenge of making a Mayan City using natural resources. We had to use a map to check we had placed things in the correct places. We finished the day off by having a fire and a toasted marshmallow. 

Thursday 14th September 2017

Year 5/6 have had a brilliant day in their first Forest School session! We learnt lots of new skills which helped us to make Mayan jewellery and temples! We also played a variety of games to enhance our communication and teamwork skills. 

"I love Forest School because I love nature"- George McGuinness. 

"Forest School is so much fun!"- Oliver Mowat.