My Blog

Childhood is filled with natural wonder and curiosity. The learning environment must inspire a sense of wanting to investigate, to find out and to explore – Kathy Walker

Have you ever looked at how you can support your child’s development through their toys? Most shop bought ‘scenes’ are quite often bright coloured plastic which has limited play opportunities. Let’s take a look at these two play set ups.

One is shop bought and the other is made up of natural objects anyone can find outside. They both have rocks and leaves but the language content we can expose our children to are so much more limited with the shop bought set up.

For example, words for a rock in the shop bought set could be; small, smooth and grey. Compared to the real rock which could be; cold, hard, rough, heavy, dusty and so much more!

Forest Friends Woodland Playgroup offers a range of ‘real’ experiences for young children; using mud to make mud pies; rocks, sand and gravel with the trucks; or using real leaves with scissors to develop those fine motor skills. Providing plenty of opportunities for your child to develop a multitude of skills ready for school.

When using objects from the natural world, children can express themselves freely and unlike an indoor playgroup, there aren’t any space constraints meaning children can jump, shout and explore to their hearts content.

It’s important to allow young babies and toddlers to access the outdoors from a young age so they can develop their love for nature and the environment. It is through these early experiences that young children make key connections in their brain and learn to make a sense of the world; something that cannot be achieved by indoor play alone with those bright coloured plastic toys.

Nowadays there’s appears to be an increase of young children experiencing development delays. This could possibly be linked to the ‘indoor’ generation, where children have a lack of opportunity to move, crawl, jump, climb; and to explore the natural world. It could also be linked to the ‘technology’ generation, where children are given an ipad to watch their favourite programmes for hours on end.

When children play outside, they learn about the environment and experience all weathers and seasons; no iPad can replicate that. Regular outdoor play supports children to develop their self-initiated play by using natural resources to build dens or make that fairy home. Exploration allows for them to develop their curiosity, creativity, confidence, social skills, and communication, empathy, and risk-taking abilities.

With new babies comes new excitement for parents to join playgroups and sensory classes; and while these classes can be highly engaging and stimulating for young children, let’s not forget about the richness of ‘just being outside’. Within the natural world, comes an abundance of learning opportunities especially with our seasonal changes. So why not come along to Forest Friends Woodland Playgroup and see how your child can develop using natural resources and fun outdoor activities!

To view the latest timetable www.forest-friends.co.uk

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The best classroom and richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky – Margaret McMillan

Who enjoys nature? I certainly do. I love nothing more than to go for a long walk in a beautiful woodland setting along with my dog Tex. But who really enjoys nature? I mean taking the time to stop and admire that mushroom on the woodland floor, listen to that Robin singing in the tree, or smell that fresh crisp natural air on a winters morning?

When you’re out and about, are you too busy scrolling on your phone to notice what nature has to offer? Or are you busy thinking about what to make for dinner that evening or tomorrow’s meeting at work? Next time you’re out for a walk, take the time to put your phone away, clear your mind, take a deep breath and admire what nature has to offer.

The outside world has so many benefits, be it for our physical or mental health but it can also be a great teaching tool for our young children too. Take the time to teach your children to love the natural world; go on a bug hunt, count the different birds you can spot, or go on a scavenger hunt collecting sticks, pebbles, conkers or leaves.

You could use your collected items to sort by size, weight or colour. Look at the different textures each item has and talk about where they came from; the different trees and seeds such as acorns, pinecones and conkers are all ways in which trees reproduce.

Take a small tub and spoon out to collect bugs; taking a close look at them to identify them, count how many legs they have, and talk about what they might eat.

Nature can really be the best teacher and even more it’s all free and sitting on your doorstep; so venture out, put your phone away, take a deep breath and enjoy all of natures treasures!

Forest Friends offers lots of outdoor experiences all within a natural woodland environment; to view the latest timetable http://3.249.87.145

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Children still need a childhood with dirt, mud, puddles, trees, sticks and tadpoles – Brooke Hampton

Looking back at your own childhood, what were your favourite memories? I bet it wasn’t that amazing television programme or that super expensive high-tech toy with buttons! I know my best memories were all outside; collecting bugs, making mud pies, swimming in streams, building dens and climbing trees. How about you?

I’ve always loved being outdoors and within nature; playing hide and seek in the woods, building nests for birds and creating shoe box homes for all of the mini-beasts. Although, as a child I never really knew why any birds didn’t like my ground nests and why the bugs never survived in my shoe boxes; I fed them leaves after all!

Nowadays, it’s all about iPads, iPhones and all singing, all dancing technology toys. The problem with those types of toys though is that they only pacify children and most only have one outcome. Press the buttons, they make a sound, or you complete a game; children then become quickly bored and are looking for the next ‘toy’.

Let us recreate our childhood adventures we had, for our children. Take away the technology and come and play outside. Children become more confident, creative, and greater problem-solvers when accessing the natural world. When children play outside, they learn about the environment and experience all weathers and seasons; no iPad can replicate that. Regular outdoor play supports children to develop their self-initiated play by using natural resources to build dens or make that fairy home. Exploration allows for them to develop their curiosity, creativity, confidence, social skills, and communication, empathy, and risk-taking abilities.

Since 2015, Forest Friends has provided fun woodland adventures, forest school and story trails for families with children under 11 years old. Children can go on a bug hunt, swing in the hammock, play in the mud kitchen, build dens, and participate in natural crafts such as blackberry painting, clay, or making instruments with natural materials. I also provide themed sessions linking them to well-known stories such as ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ or ‘The Gruffalo’.

In a world that is full of technology, I believe it is important for families to go back to basics, explore nature and our environment. I am a big believer in ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing’. So…. come on! Wrap up and get your kids back to nature!

To view the latest timetable http://3.249.87.145

Follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/forestfriendswoodlandplaygroup

Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/forestfriendswoodlandplaygroup/