KS2 Forest School - Silent Forest Walking | Using Tools | Hibernation

This week Key Stage 2 had an exciting forest school session. The children worked hard, with some encouragement in the form of dojos, to walk silently through the forest. They experienced a whole host of sounds that they normally don’t notice including rustling leaves, scurrying in the long grass and multiple different bird songs. It also gave them the opportunity to see deer close up! They saw one hiding behind the wood piles, and one darted out from some long grass as we walked near.

The children had to work in teams to move some small sections of log to our campsite. They learned about bladed tools, including the billhook and whittling knives. All children were very respectful and safe around the tools when they had a turn at their activities. Sycamore class were developing their whittling, while Oak class worked in pairs to split some logs. On this occasion, the logs did not split, but the children will revisit this later on in the year, when the logs are more seasoned (dried out). 

When they were not working with tools, the children increased their awareness of hibernation, and built some hedgehog houses from natural materials. They also began to identify where other hibernating creatures may spend their winter, and realised they would need to be extra careful in the coming winter months not to disturb the leaves too much.