Forest School -Year 5

27th September 2024

Well, what a day! We had alot of rain, but this didn't stop Forest school with our year 5's today. 

We had a great time, even if we did get a little damp. We had a shelter up so we didn't get too wet.

Today we made some pencils made from Elder wood.  

This was a great experience for the year 5's. As the weather was very wet, we did not use a bow saw as this would not have been the safest option. So instead we had some pre cut Elder branches. The children used a loper to cut their individual pieces. 

Once everyone had cut their lengths for the pencils we used a palm drill to make holes in the branch. Elder wood is perfect for this sort of activity as the center of the branchs are very soft.

We used some natural willow charcoal or the centre of our pencils.

Once this was done, the children decorated their pencils with feathers and various other designs.

There were a number of skills needed for this activity. Concentration being a very important one, we also needed patience as sometimes it can take a bit of time to get the charcoal in the middle of the the pencil without it breaking.  

Creativity was also something we used. Listening came into play as it was vital everyone paid attention to the safety instructions - especial because of the inclement weather.

I was really impressed with everyone! 

They all showed team spirit and great communication!

As usual the big highlight was lighting a fire and having some warm hot chocolate!

We were very thankful for the 'basic fly' shelter we had up. This kept us mostly dry from the rain! 

See you all next week.