It was the children’s first time on the minibus, so excitement was definitely in the air! The weather was beautiful…even tropical for this time of year. Once in Leafield village, Lisa noticed another minibus, the sign read ‘Railway children’ so after very many years of visiting Leafield Community Woods we were going to be sharing the space with another group. As we got through the gate, along by the hedgerow Lisa showed us how the blackberries were decaying/dying off, going mouldy! Just along from these she was also able to show & pick for us some juicy blackberries that we chomped, some even having quite a few. She explained this was unusual for the time of year & what a nice surprise for us all. Once in the second section, we had our snack in the open glade & then played with some of the children from the other group. Lisa narrated the ‘Stickman’ book & then each adult demonstrated how to make a stickperson, facilitating the children while they made their own. All the children had to find their own 2 sticks to make it, then when finished Lisa encouraged the children to give each one a name…most chose their own.
Some children really enjoyed climbing the trees, pretending to be animals, while others went off to find them their food. They made a pretend fire collecting sticks, then got more, pushing the crab apples onto the ends of the wood, holding them over the ‘fire’ to toast them…these were the ‘pretend’ marshmallows! A few even squealed out in pain, telling Lisa they had burnt their mouth/lips on the very hot marshmallow!!! There was lovely role-play, showing friendly behaviour with great ideas, collaborating and resolving conflicts when necessary. During lunch, most stripped off…it was getting even hotter! So funny really, as it is October and even funnier when Lisa spoke earlier about autumn, leaves dying, weather changing getting cooler…she was so wrong on that count!
All too soon it was time to head back, the children collected their bags, picked up the individual stickperson they had made…and off we set to board the minibus.
By the second weeks visit to Leafield Community Woods, the weather had changed slightly, not tropical but still pleasant for the time of year. Hardly any blackberries left to try & Lisa was able to show real decay & dying of grasses, leaves, especially on the hedges. We mentioned that the berries on the hedge were for the animals, birds, not for humans, as they would make us very sick! Inside the woodland we revisited danger again, when mushrooms were spotted, saying they could even kill you!!! Also finding pockets of fungus on the ground, as well as on the bark of some of the trees, the children were told not to touch, but they could look, all were fascinated.
There was some risky play with great exploring, delving into the prickly abyss! Also, some great co-operative play to construct dens/caves, being animals, others scary monsters!
See Photo Gallery for more photos.