Tel:01453 883205

Email: admin@bussage.gloucs.sch.uk

Head: Mr. Andrew Ferguson

Children’s Mental Health and wellbeing week in Forest School

As part of our week to support awareness and understanding of how to have good mental health and wellbeing every child in the school was welcomed into the Forest School to enjoy time outside in all weathers. We used the words quiet, calm, fun and reflection to describe the different parts to our Forest School time. The children took part in quiet activies such as looking, listening, sound mapping, cloud watching. Calm activities included natural mandala pattern making, finding different viewpoints and looking for and creating faces in the trees. The opportunities for fun were the children’s free choice of challenges, they chose den building, playing games, whittling, bug hunting, cooking in the mud kitchen, exploring and having time with their friends. At the end of each session the children had time for reflection, creating Haiku poems, thinking of words to add to our word cloud and sharing their experiences. We all left Forest School feeling calm and happy after our adventures.

A Coronation Celebration in Forest School

A wonderful afternoon celebrating King Charles III’s coronation, Rainbows created crowns, painted union jack bunting and made a celebration tea party in the mud kitchen.

 

Year 2 Forest School – Autumn 2022

Year 2 are learning to use the whittling knives and loppers this term. They have created some beautiful forest weaving and are busy using their imaginations in their Forest School time play.

Year 3 Enjoying Forest School in Winter

Year 3 have learnt to whittle using whittling knives – something that requires a lot of perseverance! They used this skill to create wooden ‘Forest Friends’. Over the weeks this term Year 3 have used their Forest Friends to create stories and small world environments for their friends to live in. The children have also explored den building and making music in the wild. A busy term of learning.

Whittling 16

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Christmas Forest School Club

Children from Years 2 to 6 have been enjoying the after school Forest School Club this term. The activities have included; The Great Bussage Mud Bake off, den building, camp fire and s’mores and we finished with mini Christmas willow wreath making.

 

Year 5 Forest School – Autumn 2021

Year 5 have continued to explore their theme of World War 2 through a variety of Forest School activities. On November 11th they used the fallen leaves to create poppy art to commemorate Remembrance Day. They learnt to read a map and completed orienteering challenges. The following week they imagined being a child in WWII and created toys and games to play using their tools skills. Finally they developed their knot tying skills to make stretchers to carry their friends off the battle field. 

Year 5 – WWII – Forest School

This afternoon Year 5 listened to a real account of a British pilot being shot down, we talked about how we could survive and send a message to get help. The children got busy working in teams to create camouflaged dens and then practiced their Morse code skills.

Tool use

Today in Forest School we learnt to safely use a hammer. We used it with a long nail to make holes in a tin can. The end result is two beautiful lanterns. The children also used the iPad to take photos of their friends using the hammer.

Rainbows Start Forest School

Rainbows had their first Forest School session. They learnt all about the Forest School rules, played 1, 2, 3 where are you and then enjoyed exploring the Forest School. Some chose to den build, some practiced threading with leaves and some went bug hunting. Everyone had a fantastic afternoon!

Balancing

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Year 4 – Forest School

Year 4 have been enjoying a busy term in Forest School. Their current theme is ‘What have the Romans done for us?’ so we started by exploring what life was like before the Romans arrived and built Celtic round houses. The children have spent the following weeks developing, extending and adding to these round houses. They’ve learnt to use a variety of tools safely and confidently select which tools they need to complete their challenge. During the sessions the children have also devised a team game called ‘Celts and Romans’ which they have had a wonderful time playing and negotiating rules and tactics for.

cooking-with-mud

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