Is That a Deer I Hear?

A rare treat presented itself for our Year 4 Forest School group today, a fleeting glimpse of a deer bounding through the woodland. Keen eyed Adam and Bailey alerted the group after they noticed movement in the trees ahead of us. We crouched quietly behind a hill and saw the majestic beast weaving its way between the trees and down the slope towards the beck. We had suspected that there may be deer in the woodland but it was wonderful to confirm it with our sighting today. Unfortunately, it was too quick for us to capture it on camera. To find out more about deer commonly found in British Woodlands, click on the link: woodlands.co.uk/a-guide-to-deer
Once we had got over the excitement of our sighting, we set about marking out our boundary area and playing the ’123 Where Are You?’ hide and seek game.
Next we played a Forest School favourite ’Meet-a-Tree’ . The children split into pairs. On child was blindfolded and the other child carefully led them to the trunk of a tree (describing the terrain and any obstacles as they walked). The blindfolded child then felt the trunk of the tree and the area around it to build up a mental picture of what they were feeling. Their guide then led them back to the start point. The blindfolded child then removed their blindfold and attempted to find their way back to the tree they had felt.

The children then took their time to explore our woodland base and choose something that interested them to share with the group.

Kayden and Ibrahim chose a branches that they found on the forest floor, “We like the shape of it because it looks like a giant Y.”

Ellis found a long black feather, “I like it because it looks like it is from a big bird.”
Adam chose a tree with shiny vertical branches, “I chose it because the bark looks like silver.”
Anisha like the oak apples she found scattered on the forest floor.
Bailey liked the wibbly wobbly ‘witches’ butter’ (Exidia Glandulosa) fungus he discovered on a rotting oak branch.
We just had time for a warming drink with our reflection time, before making our way back to meet the Nursery group ready to walk together back to school.
Our reflection sentences today included:
Someone I can depend on – Bailey said that he could depend on Adam, because he had guided him safely to a tree.
What I would like to do next – Anisha and Adam said that they would like to make a den.