The weather looked like it might be against us but, luckily, the gales and heavy rain subsided especially for our trip to Alice Holt Forest.  Equipped with Wellington boots and waterproofs, our intrepid Year 4 ventured into the unknown, to learn about the wonderful world of nature.

The children became nature detectives whilst observing a terrific array of evidence from animal bones to antlers… from snake skin to feathers… and much more.  They explored the habitats of a range of woodland creatures, role-playing each animal’s behaviour in the wild and deepening their understanding of competition and survival within the natural world. Whilst blind-folded, they had to find their way in the mole game – it did include a lot of disorientation and hilarity we might add! In addition, the pupils had to search for woolly worms whilst pretending to be birds.  The bright ‘worms’ they found with no trouble; it was the camouflaged ones that caused the problem.  Thus they learned about camouflage as an important survival adaptation.

The second part of the day involved venturing deeper into the woods and showing appreciation for all things natural.  We used our senses to appreciate the natural ‘sound symphony’ of the forest whilst marvelling at the gigantic trees dancing in the wind.  The pupils shared their feelings and ideas – discussing the importance of finding peace and calm in a busy, fast-paced world.  Links were made to our learning in our ‘Heartsmart’ scheme and it was lovely to see the wonder and awe it inspired. Next came the creation of some truly magical woodland sculptures; the children used natural materials to make a marvellous range of art.  We enjoyed a gallery where small groups had to describe their work, enticing others to enjoy it from different views and perspectives. Please look in our photos gallery so you can enjoy them too.

As a final thank-you to Alice Holt, we could not leave without some obligatory tree-hugging… This delighted the children and the trees!  Overall, it was a fantastic day and much fun was had by all. Thank you to all the parents that supported us and participated in a bit of tree hugging themselves.