Hintlesham and Chattisham
C of E Primary School
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Wild Woods
This year, our Reception and Year 1 children will spend every Friday afternoon exploring and learning in the Wild Woods with Mrs Leaf, Mrs Polley the Parrot, Mrs Ladybird and Mrs Hedgehog. The other classes will all enjoy some sessions later in the year.
"The best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky." Margaret McMillan
If you go down to the woods today...
Summer Term 2 2023
14.7.2023 ANNUAL WILD WOODS WATER FIGHT!
It rained...but we didn't let it spoil our annual water battle! Great fun was had by all and everyone was suitably wet and muddy by the end of the session. I officially declare the winners of the Hintlesham and Chattisham CofE Primary School water battle (dun dun dun...cue suspenseful music)...EVERYONE! Thanks for another wonderful year in our Wild Woods.
30.6.2023 INTERNATIONAL MUD DAY!
Well...it was messy but it was SO much fun! From mud spas to muddy puddle jumping (and bathing!) Thank you to all of the children who embraced the mud-and well done to those who managed to stay clean!
A great time was had by all-we can't wait until next year already!
23.6.2023
We began our session in the Wild Woods with a 'sit spot' where we took the time to notice all of the wonderful things around us. For the rest of the session, our favourite activities were looking for special treasures to create some artwork with (in the style of Andy Goldsworthy).
16.6.2023
EYFS and Year 1 have enjoyed another fun week of exploring in the Wild Woods. Some of the children really enjoyed creating our new weaving loom and hanging a 'magic feather' line whilst others LOVED chatting to the creatures and their friends on the bush telegraph.
Summer Term 1 2023
9.6.2023
We just love spending time outside! More bees were created this week alongside climbing, swinging, digging and exploring.
26.5.2023
After lots of fun playing together (Year 2 joined us as well) and taking a moment to be thankful for all of the lovely things surrounding us, we had a picnic together, sang some songs and released our butterflies into the Wild Woods.
19.5.2023
To celebrate National Bee Day 2023, the children enjoyed learning some bee facts, creating their own bees and enjoying some hapa zome (hammering flowers to make a print).
12.5.2023
It was another wet and muddy afternoon in the Wild Woods with lots of muddy puddle jumping fun! There was plenty of time for swinging, climbing, drawing (using natural colours), talking on the bush telegraph and making bug hotels too.
22.4.2023
Thank you so much to Mr and Mrs Leney for our amazing new seating in base camp-we were all very excited to sit in our log circle today. Once we had looked at the patterns the beetles had made on one of the log stumps we went off to find more patterns in nature. We also enjoyed our favourite activities like bug hunting, digging, den building and swinging.
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Spring Term 2 2023
31.3.2023
If you want to jump in muddy puddles...you must wear your boots!
We had a very muddy time in the Wild Woods this afternoon hunting for eggs and jumping in the muddy puddles! Much fun was had by all!
24.3.2023
We enjoyed finishing off our name cookies, playing with our friends and drinking delicious hot chocolate to celebrate another fun and successful half term in the Wild Woods. We are all feeling very lucky that this is part of our curriculum offer at Hintlesham and Chattisham.
17.3.2023
Today we enjoyed some woodland craft in the classroom due to the weather conditions. The children loved using the clay to make something they might find in the Wild Woods. We also had lots of fun learning to make 'God's eye' spider webs and pom-pom spiders.
24.2.2023
This week was all about creating seesaws, hunting for worms, making a feast for the birds and den building to stay out of the rain!
13.2.2023
Another super afternoon in the Wild Woods. This week we learned how to use a hand drill safely. We all drilled a hole in our name cookie ready to thread it onto our elder bead necklace next week. We also helped to clean up the woods by picking up the leaves and sweeping. There was also squeals of excitement over the many worms that wiggling around in the woods.
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3.2.2023
We are absolutely LOVING being back in the Wild Woods this term and we are all very excited that J (Forest School name-'The Big Bad Wolf') is now able to join us,
Today was mostly about swinging, climbing and working together to spread the bark clippings throughout the woods. Super team work Ruby Class.
Autumn Term 2 2022
18.11.2022
This week in the Wild Woods we have continued making elder beads and threading them onto a piece of string. Lots of us also finalised our Wild Woods name and decorated our name cookie to add to our necklace.
Following on from the children's interest in balancing last week, Mrs Leaf found some planks of wood for the children to use-they worked together to create a super obstacle course and had lots of fun completing challenges that they came up with.
Elsewhere in the woods, there was lots of climbing, swinging and cooking in the mud kitchen. There was even a worm school!
11.11.2022
We’ve had another super afternoon in the Wild Woods. We started this weeks session with a ‘sit spot’ (where we find a special place to sit quietly and think-this week about anyone who has been involved in war or conflict).
We then came together back together at base camp where Mrs Polley the Parrot showed us some elder branches and talked to us about elderflowers and elder berries. We found out that elder is a soft wood and that there are lots of things we can make with elder.
This week, Mrs Polley the Parrot taught us how to make elder beads. We enjoyed carefully using the secateurs to cut the wood and then used a stick to push out the middle to make it hollow. We then thread the beads onto some string to make a necklace.
Lots of fun was also had digging, swinging, climbing, cooking, den building and having fun with our friends in the beautiful outdoors.
4.11.2022
We have all enjoyed another session in the sunny Wild Woods today. We loved saying hello to Grandma Oak and playing owl eyes altogether-some of us are getting very good at hiding now! As it is Bonfire Night tomorrow, some of the children chose to create a large bonfire in base camp. They carefully dragged the large logs to make a sturdy base (thank you Fireman Sam for the tip!) The children added leaves to the bonfire-talking about all the different colours as they threw them on. Mrs Leaf also spied some smaller bonfires that had been built throughout the woods. Some of the children chose to create some leaf sparklers whilst others chose to swing, cook, climb, dig or create some amazing dinosaur traps.
We were all very excited when A and G discovered some teeny tiny bugs crawling all over one of the wooden poles-they have named them 'boot bugs'. We are looking forward to investigating them further next week.
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Autumn Term 1 2022
14.10.2022
This afternoon we enjoyed toasting marshmallows on the camping stove to make s’mores. Everyone was very careful and safe around base camp and the stove and really loved our end of half term treat! (no woods next week as it is a PD day).
There was also some SUPER den building, bug and woodland treasure hunting, cooking, swinging and climbing going on as well!
I am so proud of how well the children behave, learn and play in the woods-it really is a very lovely place to be!
7.10.2022
This week we enjoyed exploring the pond area and doing some pond dipping. We were all excited when N found a baby newt! We also collected lots of Autumn leaves for the compost bin and created a super den.
30.9.2022
Lots more fun was had in the Wild Woods this week...den building, swinging, digging, climbing and playing in the great outdoors!
16.9.2022
We all thoroughly enjoyed our first session in the woods this year. We started the session by choosing our 'Wild Woods' name during our opening circle. Some of us are newbies to the woods so we had to think of a name, some of us have kept our names from last year and some of us have chosen to change our name for this academic year. We are looking forward to making our name cookies to hang in the welcome tree soon.
We had a quick game to remind ourselves of the boundaries and then we all got busy playing. There was lots of climbing, swinging, digging, den-building and bug hunting going on!
9.9.2022
This afternoon Ruby Class enjoyed exploring in the Wild Woods ready for our first session with Year 1 next week. The climbing tree and rope swing were very popular! We had a super time playing together.
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Summer Term 2 2022
WATER BATTLE IN THE WILD WOODS-PHOTOS COMING SOON!!!!!
17.6.2022
It was a hot one in the Wild Woods today! During opening circle, we excitedly shared a new book called 'Slow Down' by Rachel Willliams. We chose the page about geese and learned about what happens when a flock of geese take flight-it was very interesting! After making loud honking noises and flying off into the woods, we enjoyed swinging in the hammock, playing on the swing, bird spotting (which resulted in some beautiful pictures) and some water play to keep us cool. D and W developed their pulley system even more and we all had ice lollies for snack!
10.6.2022
This week we enjoyed pond dipping and had lots of fun digging, swinging and den building. D, B and W worked together to make a super pulley system that the animals could ride up and down in! It also got a little bit muddy and Mrs Leaf got mysteriously covered in muddy handprints-I think there may have been some mischievous imps and fairies in the woods today!
Summer Term 1 2022
20.5.2022
Unfortunately we didn't make it down to the Wild Woods today but we really enjoyed celebrating World Bee Day in the Ruby class garden. We were super excited to find a beautiful creature that we had never seen before too. After trying to work out what it could be (a red dotty butterfly, a paint splodge butterfly, a red and black moth, a ladybird moth, the most beautiful creature I have ever seen), we used our favourite bug book to identify it as a cinnabar moth.
13.5.2022
This week we really enjoyed pond dipping in the Wild Woods…we found lots of things living in our pond, including water boatmen, damselfly nymphs, water fleas and a great diving beetle. If the children didn’t get a turn this week, they will next week. There was lots of den building, digging, spider hunting, swinging in the hammock and climbing in the tree fun too! We finished the session with our yummy spider cakes for snack.🕷
6.5.2022
What a glorious afternoon we have all had in the sunshine today. We talked about the life cycle of a frog in our opening circle and then enjoyed exploring in our school pond area. As we have a net over our pond through the Autumn and Winter, we learned that no frogs would have been able to lay their frogspawn so we won’t find any tadpoles or frogs. The children are all excited to do some pond dipping next week and find out what is living in our pond. We also enjoyed our usual activities of den building, digging, bug hunting, swinging on the rope swing and in the hammock, cooking in the mud kitchen and climbing the tree alongside helping Mrs Rouse the Robin plant some vegetables.
Spring Term 2022
25.3.2022
What a perfect sunny afternoon to enjoy being outside. The children were very excited to find our new tree swing in the Wild Woods and were super at taking turns-agreeing on 5 swings and then swap! We also enjoyed our usual activities of bug hunting, den building, digging, cooking in the mud kitchen, and relaxing in the hammock.
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18.3.2022
This week we spent some time looking for signs of growth in the Wild Woods as part of our Science Week learning. We enjoyed doing some bark rubbings of the trees we found and doing some observational drawings of flowers and insects. Then it was time for some den building and hammock swinging as usual!
11.3.2022
It was nice to return to the woods today after the very cold weather and events in school kept us inside for a while. Today in the Wild Woods we enjoyed whittling sticks, chilling out in the hammocks, climbing the trees, digging, den building and bug hunting. Some of the children helped Mrs Rouse the Robin plant a new Heather plant in the prayer garden. We finished our session with a few games of ‘owl eyes’ 👀 and ‘watch out for tigers and pterodactyls’.
4.2.2022
It was chilly and wet in the Wild Woods this afternoon but that didn’t stop us from having some fun. We started our session with a story about the tiger that came to school-he drank all the water in Emerald Class, all the oranges in Ruby Class and all of the school dinners in the kitchen! The children then set off to explore-keeping their eyes peeled for he tiger, just in case he had come back!
We enjoyed den building, going on a tiger hunt, digging and climbing.
We played tiger tag 🐅eagle tag🦅 and frog tag🐸 to warm us all up before heading back inside for our Lunar New Year snack.
Back in Ruby Class we tried some noodles and rice with hoisin sauce-we invited the tigers back and were pleased when they didn’t eat all our food!
28.1.2022
We began our session by finding a ‘sit spot’ and counting how many garden birds we could see for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch 2022. Back at base camp we shared the names of the birds we had spotted-some pigeons, a blackbird and a robin. We talked about the similarities and differences between the birds and what identifying features they have.
The children had a super time exploring the woods for the rest of the session and were excited to find some cuttings from the hedge next door. They used them to create giant bird wings to fly around with, dusters to clean up the woods and also discovered that they were very useful for den building. Some of the children worked together to make ‘Christmas tree land’ by making holes in the ground, pushing them in and decorating them with woodland treasures. Amazing ideas everyone-it was sad to tidy the ‘Christmas trees’ away but we can do it all again next week!
We finished the session with a quick snack and some quiet reflection time.
21.1.2022
Today the children were asked to find a special treasure to bring to opening circle. Some children found beautiful green leaves, some found interesting sticks and rocks and some found feathers. We shared our Wild Woods name, explained why our treasure was special and then carefully placed them into our treasure box before going off to explore and have fun with our friends. We enjoyed a snack of honey sandwiches to conclude B's curiosity about bees.
14.1.2022
🍃🍂It was so lovely to be back in the sunny☀️woods this afternoon-it was just what we all needed after a busy week. Today the children enjoyed bug hunting, tree climbing, digging, cooking in the mud kitchen and swinging in the hammock. They also had the opportunity to explore some musical instruments and create their own jingle sticks using wire, beads and jingly bells. We finished our session with a snack in the base camp den built by some of the children.
7.1.2022
This week we talked about all the changes we might see in the woods now that it is Winter. We thought about how Winter is a difficult time for the wild animals and birds in our wood and what we could do to help them. We then spent the first part of the afternoon making bird feeders using lard, seeds, raisins, apples and coconut shells. We spent the second part of the afternoon hanging the bird feeders in the woods and playing owl eyes. 🦉
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Autumn Term 2021
26.11.2021
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY BEAR! Today we were excited to celebrate Ruby Bear's 6th birthday in the woods. We enjoyed creating birthday crowns using the beautiful autumn leaves and other natural treasures, swinging with Ruby Bear (and Mrs Jackson!) in the hammock, building Ruby Bear a birthday camp, climbing the tree and helping Mrs Rouse the Robin to plant some bulbs and clear the leaves from the path. We finished our session by singing 'happy birthday', eating the cupcakes we made yesterday, drinking delicious hot chocolate and dancing in the hail stones! What a super afternoon! This will be our last session in the woods until next year!
19.11.2021
Today we were all very excited to discover 2 hammocks waiting for us in the Wild Woods. We listened carefully to the safety talk and made some agreements together to ensure we all understand how to stay safe when playing in them. Then it was time for some swinging fun! There was lots of giggling and some great teamwork.
We also continued to explore our creativity with the wool by wrapping sticks, making 'God's eye' poppies, creating pompoms and 'spiders' to hang in the tree and even making some beautiful hair bows. We found some ladybird friends too!
12.11.2021
As we walked down to base camp, we admired the beautiful yellow and brown carpet that has been laid! In opening circle we talked about how the woods is changing and what we 'notice' the most-the beautiful colours, the falling leaves and the lovely smell were mentioned the most. We took a moment to remember the soldiers and animals that died in the wars and then spent the afternoon weaving red and purple poppies to hang in the remembering tree. There was plenty of time for den building, worm hunting, climbing and cooking in the mud kitchen too.
5.11.2021
We have been watching the leaves fall from the trees over the last couple of weeks so today we enjoyed collecting them up to create a 'bonfire'. We loved filling up the wheelbarrow! When our leaf pile was big enough we placed our 'Guy' on top and sang some songs.
1.10.2021
What another super afternoon we have had in the Wild Woods. Just what we all needed after a busy week. Today we have enjoyed bug hunting, whittling sticks, going on a dinosaur hunt, baking in the mud kitchen, swinging and climbing in the trees and playing a fun game of 'Owl Eyes'...the children were all great at hiding!
17.9.2021
What a lovely sunny afternoon we spent in the Wild Woods today. In order to enter the woods the children had to find something exactly the same colour as their entry ticket. Super colour matching everyone and some great discussions about shades. During opening circle the EYFS children chose their Wild Wood name and action and some of the Year 1 children changed theirs. We spent the rest of the afternoon creating mud faces, den building, bug hunting, cooking stew in the mud kitchen, tree climbing and swinging on the branches.
10.9.2021
Today the EYFS and Year 1 children spent the session exploring the woods, reminding each other about the boundaries and talking about how to stay safe.
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Summer Term 2021
19.7.2021
Finally Diamond Class (Year 5 and 6) joined Mrs Leaf and Ms Jary in the Wild Woods. They began their session by creating themselves out of clay and natural materials and attaching them to our big oak tree to show they belong. They then enjoyed tree climbing, den building, bug hunting, digging, whittling and creating some Hapa Zome artwork. We finished our session with an ice lolly back at base camp where we reflected on how learning in the Wild Woods made us feel and Year 5 made plans of what they would like to do in our sessions in the future.
PHOTOS COMING SOON!
16.7.2021
To celebrate a wonderful year in the Wild Woods Ruby Class enjoyed a water battle this week. Mrs Leaf put on her war paint but was completely and utterly defeated by the children who absolutely soaked her! Great fun was had by all.
9.7.2021
Today Miss Heyburn showed us how to safely use a bow saw. We really enjoyed sawing the log to make 'woodies' to play with in the Wild Woods.
We also spent our time building dens, looking for bugs and creating a pterodactyl using natural materials.
We learned how to play an animal identification game before we left the woods.
7.7.2021
Today Sapphire Class (Year 3&4) and Mr Cricket (Mr Kricka) spent the afternoon in the Wild Woods. After establishing our Wild Woods agreements and completing a safety walk, the children had a great time exploring and playing outside, climbing the tree, building dens and learning how to use hammers and mallets to create some Hapa Zone artwork.
PHOTOS COMING SOON!
2.7.2021
Today in the Wild Woods we learned about the layers of the woodland with Miss Spider (Miss Self). We found out there is a ground layer, a field layer, a shrub layer, an understorey and a canopy. We used the things we found in each layer to create a picture of our woods.
We also enjoyed den building with the new tarps and pegs.
30.6.2021
It was fantastic to spend an afternoon in the Wild Woods with Emerald Class (Year 1 and 2) this week. After establishing our Wild Woods agreements and completing a safety walk, the children had a great time exploring and playing outside and learning how to use hammers and mallets to create some Hapa Zone artwork.
