Day 18 - Forest School

Today was Forest School day. I volunteer with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust one Saturday every month to help with three forest school sessions. For the first time ever today, we had only three people booked for the first session, and no one on the second, so the first two sessions were cancelled. This worked well for me though as I did have things to do and with my feet being so painful at the moment, a full day of it wouldn't have been easy!

I still helped with what would usually be the third session of the day though. As it's almost the solstice, summer was the general theme for today's activities.  The plan was to make 'magic wands' and nature crowns, then make some clay elves or fairies on the trees as it's said elves and fairies dance behind trees at this time of year. We were also going to mix up some smelly potions and write out a summer spell to go with them.  However, the children were so engaged with wands, crowns and clay (and some free play too) that we didn't get to the potions before the session ended.

I didn't take many photos and somehow I took more that were out of focus than in focus today (I don't know what was wrong with me!) but here are a few...

thorns for teeth and "eyes on stalks like a snail". This was an ogre, rather than an elf.

This one was made by a creative mum

One parent and her daughter asked what the froth was they'd found on some of the plants and I was able to show them the froghopper nymph inside before returning it safely to the cuckoo spit.

I also had the chance to have a good look at a swift. One of the parents had found this dead by their house and kept it in the freezer to pass on to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. They're not sure what they'll do with it yet as the quote from a taxidermist was £300 to get it stuffed!

How was your Day 18?

Last year on Day 18 I blew bubbles in the garden with a visiting toddler and we found a frog and some woodlice - http://louises30dayswild.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/day-18.html