Forest School According to Lady S

Hello, my name is Sophia Durdin and I am almost 10. I have been coming to Forest School since I was 3; first I was in the toddler group, then I was in the family Home Ed group and now I am in the older Home Ed group on Fridays at Exeter Forest school where I stay all day by myself. In the older Home Ed group there are children between the ages 5-13.

Forest school is a place where we can do what we want to do within limits, for example, there are activities every week which we can join in on if we want to and if someone wants to play a game like crocodile crocodile, capture the flag ,or floor is lava they can organise it and you can choose whether or not you want to play it. I really enjoy forest school so I am going to select 5 things I’ve especially enjoyed over my time at forest school (it will probably be things from the older Home Ed group because I don’t think I can remember things from the family Home Ed or further back).

1: PIZZA! At the end of term we either make pizza or play wildcraft*. For the pizza, Chris (one of the leaders) brings in pizza bases, cheese (I love cheese and put lots on my pizza), pepper and mushrooms, and if we want to we can bring our toppings as well then Chris puts them in the pizza oven and cooks them.

2: Wildcraft* Debbie’s (another of the leaders) wildcraft is the game we often play at the end of term. Basically Debbie hides stones around the woods and we get split into teams and we have to find them, then we trade them in for bug pots which we have to catch bugs in to get more points, potion pots which we have to make potions in to get more points, or a treat. Sometimes it’s cookies or sweets or cupcakes. The aim of the game is to get the most points, you can also get points by finding mushrooms or animal tracks and at the end of the game any stones you have get you points. Which team has the most points wins, you also have to stick with your team

3: Campfire Cooking (My favourites are fry up, stew or crumble). Over the time I’ve been at the older group we’ve done these things quite a few times. Fry up: When we have done a fry up in the past we all bring something in for example someone might bring in eggs while someone else might bring in tomatoes and someone else would bring bacon. Then we cook it over the camp fire. Stew: When we do stew we peel the vegetables then Debbie or Fab cuts them up and put them in the pot with some water, then it is cooked over the fire and after that everyone who wants some has some in a mug. Crumble: When we make crumble at forest school we make the topping and then the bottom fruity bit the we cook it over the fire and we all have a bit. YUMMY!

4: Floor is lava. Floor is lava is a game we play at forest school. What you do is that there is a lava judge and the lava judge shouts “ Floor is lava in 3 2 1” and every one has to get off the floor like into a tree or on a stump or log and if you are still on the floor by the time the lava judge says 1 you’re out. The last one standing is the winner, and you can only have one person on a thing at a time.

5:Cargo Net. At Exeter Forest school we have a cargo net though every one there calls it the bouncy net. We play lots of games on it like crocodile crocodile we also sit on it and chat and we bounce on it it is very bouncy and that is how it got its name.

As well as all of these we have also done a nature conservation award, den building, fire lighting, stream dipping, bug hunting, bird surveys, wild meadow planting, green wood working (I made a staff), teamwork games like the human knot, and leaf fire work pictures.

Over all I think forest school is great and it helps us build confidence and make friends. I love going every Friday because I love being in nature and spending time with my friends.

Author: Sophia Durdin, Age 9
Date: 25 November 2019