We’ve had some wild weather this week so took advantage of our Forest School being near warm classrooms to enjoy making placement art with natural materials. The learning focus over the last few weeks has been to recognise the difference between things of abundance and those that are more fleeting. Once we can tell the difference we can then understand how that informs our behvaviour. We are mindful that we take only what we need and in a way that doesn’t damage the plant.
In previous sessions we have collected abundant plants such as daisy’s and dandelion’s safe in the knowledge that by the morning more will have appeared. This week we looked at plants that only flower briefly at certain times of the year. For example the cherry blossom is abundant on the tree but is fleeting in the year. We then discussed museums and why we use them to store items that may be beautiful, unusual or rare. The children then created their own mini-museums from plants they had gathered. Through reflection they were encouraged to explain what features made each plant special to them. As a final creative exercise they made images using the natural materials. It was interesting to see how some children used the plants as a whole, using their shapes for parts of their pictures. Whereas others broke the plants into their component parts to create textures and detail.
The Nature Principle: Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural wooded environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world
Article 13: We all have the right to share what we learn, think and feel with others.
