Some girls climbed onto some think bendy and bouncy branches and bounced up and down while chatting to their friends. Others went to the spot they did some shelter building and mapping in a couple of weeks ago - interesting they felt an affinity for the place they explored recently.
A mixed group sat round a "pretend" camp fire made of sticks and stones (they had made this after putting up their tarp shelter a couple of weeks ago) and chatted.
One girl wanted to climb as many trees as possible. As they beech trees are aorund 100 years old they are easy to climb up around 1.5m up where most have a platform where they divide into 2 or 3 trunks. She spent the whole session doing this on her own, quite happily, despite usually being very social.
One final group of boys were using a branch as a "trampoline" and throwing small sticks around. They tried to hit a tree trunk with their sticks and eventually used a bendy stick as a kind of catapult. There was good team work as one bent the branch back and released as another dropped a stick just as the branch sprung up and then flew across to the target.
What was great was how safety conscious they all were and no one was silly with the sticks or wire.
The main thing I noticed were all the happy faces.
What a lovely opportunity to observe children at play. If you had the time and energy, it would be interesting to repeat the exercise but have some of the experiences and outcomes from CfE in front of you to see what is being covered through such informal learning activities.
ReplyDeleteI thought I would repeat this to see how much the learning developed in a few more sessions. Yes, having the Es and Os would be an excellent idea and would surely produce evidence of this learning happening. It's sad we have to give children these opportunities which were so much a part of our own childhoods but absolutely essential in the world we live in now.
DeleteJudy, I love that you take the older children out into the woods & just allow them to 'be', no resources, no worksheets, no fancy plan, just allowing them 30 minutes of down time to clear theri heads ready for the next thing. I love following your blog & will share this on my fb page. Keep up the great work, Kierna
ReplyDeleteThanks Kierna. I loved watching them play and interacting as and when appropriate. I will definitly do this again and will see how their play develops.
DeleteGreat idea, so important for children of all ages to be outside! I grew up in the city of San Francisco, but it seems like we were always outside (back in the 1970s when most moms stayed home but kicked all the kids out of the house and away from the TV!). We ventured to Golden Gate Park, the beach, empty lots, school yards, the zoo... some of my best memories! The only time inside was mostly for eating, sleeping, homework, and being sick!
ReplyDeleteI started taking whole classes out into our school wood in September-totally non directed-pupils can chose to bring tools or string etc but are not prompted by staff; the pupils take the responsibility for remembering and carrying!! I have had great feedback from pupils but also from staff who are seeing benefits not only socially but also in pupils taking more responsibility for their learning, from reception through to year 6. It has been scary for the teaching staff but the benefits are so great they are carrying on even though I've now moved onto working with different classes. Keep having fun in the woods!!
ReplyDelete