Brentwood Preparatory School Magazine

Brentwood School Preparatory 38 Forest School Forest School continued in 2016-17, with both Reception and Year 1 visiting the school’s Bayman Woods every week. We continued with our discovery of our local wildlife – one of the groundsmen gave us a muntjac skull. Did you know we have muntjac (they are small deer) living in the woods? We also have badgers, and we often saw signs that they had been digging for worms overnight. We have our own badgers: Flower and Betsy, both often get very muddy. The favourite of all the children is getting muddy – playing in the mud and with our mud kitchen, creating many delicious dinners and drinks. Some children have also discovered a tree that they can climb. Many children in Reception overcame their initial worries and managed to climb into the tree without help – the smiles as they achieved this are lovely to see. The children have played on rope walks, zip wires (even making their own), crossed the “river” on bridges – often helping their friends. There have been a few lost wellies and gloves: pity the adults who go and retrieve them. Most of the children, when asked, state that their favourite thing about forest school is the marshmallows – we have no idea why? But instead of us lighting the fires all the time, we sometimes let them have a go. It is a tricky thing to do, but some are now able to use flint and steel to create the sparks you need to light a fire. We have some budding future Bear Grylls in the making. The confidence of the children in the woods is a delight. They are all so happy to be there, and to take charge of what they do, and we know that they are taking this attitude into their wider environments and the classroom. Mrs South