We came together around an Australian picnic to share stories from my recent trip to Australia and to sample some Aussie fare and learn about Australian animals. The class had some insightful observations about the Australian food, trying Vegemite on sourdough bread, macadamia nuts and Granny Smith apples.
My good friend Hush the possum (puppet) visited and shared the story Possum Magic which is a national favourite of Australian children. His visit led to some rich discussions of Australian animals and showed the great interest in the class on this topic. Hush became a playmate for the whole class, sparking imaginative play.
I shared a couple of videos I took of a kangaroo mama and her joey that I encountered on a morning hike in Australia. There were many requests to see more of Australia so I have compiled an album so you can explore at your leisure. (I've included a few videos of kangaroos, koalas, lizards and lorikeets from my longer visit last year) ...
The wet weather brought a forest school favourite; mud! Some used mud to make mud noodles through the hand-operated meat-mincer, or "poison" for their games. We even made a few mud faces on the trees.
The love of working with clay that was observed in this class last week continued this week with more clay moulding and shaping happening as children told each other stories in the tree fort. It was a magical space and a lovely thing to witness... seeing humans doing what they do best; gathering, embracing each other's company, listening to stories, enjoying being in nature, protected by the trees, soothed by the sensation of working with ones' hands mindlessly.
Our class had that lovely flow that we look for in forest school when teacher-led and student-led activities find the perfect balance and children move freely according to their inspiration. In addition to the above activities.... Emmy setup a rope swing, gleefully singing songs that she composed about her cat as she swung. Irvine industriously repaired a ladder, after seeing a need when Del fell from it.
It was a glorious return to forest school for me after a couple weeks in Adelaide and a great pleasure to be back with all my forest school friends again. Thank you to Colleen and Rikia for tending to our little tribe in my absence.
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