since september, we have spending our monday mornings at a local forest school type parent and toddler group. it's such a lovely thing to take part in and really starts the week off on a positive note. so all wrapped up, whatever the weather, we go and meet our friends in the woods for stories, singing and lots of seasonal nature activities. there is always a cosy fire to sit around and usually we cook something on it too. this is an apple cake that was baked and steamed with the ashes from the fire. we quite often have vegetable stew and last time we all helped wrap up little potatoes in foil to bake in the fire.
we learnt how to dry slices of apple by coring an apple and slicing it into rings then hanging them from a hazel stick to dry. ours never made it back home to the airing cupboard though!
and we've also done things such as making fruit leather out of hawthorn berries, dipping colourful autumn leaves in wax to preserve them and we made a hideout using twigs and leaves.
we have a nature display of sorts at home now, where our little clay and teasel hedgehog, we made at the group now lives. he's been glued back together several times and is accompanied by little bits and pieces that we find when we are out and about.
we love our little woodland group! it's such an antidote for the sometimes hustle and bustle of our busy town lives. and i always leave feeling so inspired, and i know my little stan does too.
sarada x
8 comments:
How've I managed to miss THREE posts in just over a week! You two sisters have been so busy! The pumpkin biscuits look delicious - I must try out the recipe when wee wonderfuls visit. Also the pen drawings are really good and a brilliant antidote to the stress of exams - hope you pass Rose Red. But the Forest School is something else! Wish there'd been such things when Little Stan's dad and his brothers were growing - what a wonderful way to learn about having a good balance in our lives and getting close to and appreciating nature. Thanks for all the news girls! X
I know we are very lucky these days with all the lovely groups we can go to and all the information about parenting in different ways. it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming though with so much choice!
Forest school? That sounds fabulous! I would so go ...
Thanks Hashi,
we do love it!
the woodland group sounds fantastic and so rewarding too... love the wee hedgehog...
wishing you a happy week
ginny x
Thanks Ginny x
Hi, Snow White and Rose Red,
I love this posting. I was very inspired by an article about Kindergarten in the Woods in Mothering magazine this past winter. I had never heard about it before, but this took place in Switzerland. The children went into the forest each and every day, no matter the weather, and hiked to their base, taking their time and exploring along the way. The grown-ups built a fire, the children learned to whittle...I was amazed. Now you are doing something like this. I'm especially interested in learning to cook more than just hot dogs and marshmallows on the campfire. How long did it take to cook your apple cake...? love, Beth
Hi Beth, I would love to find a pre-school a bit like that for the future. I can't quite remember, we put it on at the beginning and it took about 45 minutes, I think. But to make it cook quicker we put hot ashes from the fire on top of the cast iron pot, so it was a bit like a steamed pudding. We often make stew on the fire too.
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