On Wednesday 18th May Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had an early start for their Forest School trip to Wimbledon Common.

The girls were in high spirits and the sun was shining to welcome their arrival for the first Forest School trip of the year. They spent the day exploring the forest and learning all about habitats and shelters. In the morning they built their own birds’ nests, making sure to think carefully about the structure and important features of a nest. Following this they built their own mini shelters – some even complete with flooring, fires, and doorways!

In the afternoon Reception re-enacted the lifecycle of a butterfly by performing all of the different stages, thoroughly enjoying pretending to be beautiful, fluttering butterflies. The girls created their own fabulous butterfly art using natural materials such as sticks, leaves and feathers, with some even creating different stages of the butterfly life cycle. Following this they ventured further into the forest on their own minibeast hunt where they used their magnifying glasses and special minibeast containers to find a huge variety of insects such as caterpillars, millipedes, beetles, spiders and worms.

After giving themselves special animal themed forest names using the alliteration skills that they learnt this week, Year 1 enjoyed pretending to be all kinds of different animals one might find in the forest. They danced like buzzy bees, wriggled like caterpillars, marched like ants and fluttered like butterflies. They spent the afternoon on a habitat scavenger hunt, looking for clues as to which animals might be found in the area. They used their mathematics skills to fill in tally charts, showing the different habitats that they had found and deciding which were the most common. They enjoyed looking for footprints, droppings, slime trails and nibbled leaves, and using these clues to think about what animals and insects might live on Wimbledon Common.

Year 2 had their maths hats on as they went on their own minibeast and habitat hunt. They created Venn Diagrams using hoops and the results from their mini-beast hunt, assessing the features of each of the habitats that they found and what they had in common with each other. They enjoyed building bug hotels with an impressive creation by Dana of the “The Bug Khalifa”, complete with “twelve storeys and a masseuse”.

We were so impressed with KS1’s positive approach to outdoor learning and the displays of growth mindset that we saw. The girls all took part in the activities with vigour and used their problem-solving skills to overcome any challenges. We cannot wait for more Forest School trips to come! Well done Reception, Year 1 and Year 2!

Miss Pople, Year 1 Class Teacher

Yesterday we went to Forest School on Wimbledon Common. We did lots of fun activities like making shelters. The weather was boiling. I built my nest with moss, twigs and leaves. My favourite part was when me and Amelie made a camp. We learnt that bugs need homes and about their habitats. I rolled down a steep hill. It was so much fun! At the end of the day I felt tired but it was the best day ever! – Lila, Year 1

Yesterday I went to Forest School in Wimbledon. There were damp, brown, soggy leaves on the ground. We played Foxes and Squirrels. The bees went “buzz buzz!” I smelt gorgeous pink flowers and we built birds’ nests with bright green leaves. We rolled down a humongous fresh hill. Did you do that when you went to Forest School? Me, Marlena and Helena rolled down the hill together. My favourite part was making bug hotels and birds’ nests! I want to go again! – Elizabeth, Year 1

Yesterday we went to Forest School on Wimbledon Common. The weather was extremely hot and it toasted me like bread! I made an animal name, it was Elsa the Elephant. We also played a running game called Foxes and Squirrels. I learned how to build a shelter for the bugs and a nest for birds. My favourite part was running down the hill because it was so exciting. I felt very fresh because of the smell of the flowers. The forest was so fresh. It was as fresh as a cup of ice. The flowers looked and smelled like lovely lolly pops. The leaves were so shiny that they lit up my eyes! – Elsa, Year 1

Yesterday we went to Forest School. We made birds’ nests, bug hotels and we played some games such as where you have to pretend to be the animal on the piece of paper that the teacher holds up. To build the bug hotels you may need leaves that are dry and thick to make it waterproof and some nice, damp sticks to keep warm and make the walls. The forest smelled very fresh and damp. We sang a song as we walked up a huge, dry hill that was as soft as hay. Next to the hill we made a camp. It had some sticks put up in a triangle shape. It also had some leaves in the middle and one hanging from the top. I had such a glorious day that I would like to go again! – Marlena, Year 1