Having a very active 2 year old it’s open hard to think of activities to keep him occupied whilst also encouraging his learning. We came across the perfect thing a Willow’s Forest School. When I say school this session was lots of fun and enabled Noah to improve his knowledge of the natural environment and also the opportunity to develop his enquiring mind.
On the walk up to camp Noah had already started picking up twigs, looking at some fruit the wild animals had eaten and exploring in the trees.
Once we reached the main base, his little eyes nearly popped out of his head. We had a craft activity, a digging area for muddy play, a kitchen with lots equipment he could use to make mud pies, a den, pirate wreckage and looking for treasure, building, toys to play with, books to read, trees to climb, bugs to find with our fabulous bug kits, a hammock, and a swing. These were all in the natural habitat of the woods.
The classes are for 1-4years of age so Noah was the perfect age to explore. He loved playing with the wheelbarrows and making mud cakes in the kitchen, he had great fun using the water from the butt so he could create a muddy puddle, and had great delight in splashing around.
We walked the plank of the pirate ship and looked around the woodland base to find their hidden treasures. Great fun was had painting with mud and getting dirty playing with toys. Noah loves being out in the fresh air so combining playing, learning and exploring this was great.
There is something for every child to enjoy whether its building dens, going on scavenger hunts, identifying bugs, using hand tools, or singing and story reading. We found the magnify glass so we could identify the insects on the ground, and a great book so we could hear the different bird noises.
At the end of the session we all gathered round the campfire but due to the recent heat we were unable to toast any marshmallows, so instead we had a teddy bears picnic whilst listening to a book and singing songs.
This was such a great lesson, a safe place for little ones to explore, a chance to get to see nature and learn about the outdoors. From mud pies to making stick men Noah thoroughly enjoyed himself and were looking forward to coming back next term and seeing what adventures Autumn brings.
