Both of these classes are having such a different experience at Forest School, now that the plants are thriving and growing! The children love the idea of being able to eat from the 'grocery store' of the forest; ask them what plants are safe to eat! The morning class made Dandelion fritters - you'll find the recipe below. Have a try at home! Just search 'how to eat dandelions' and you'll find so many delicious recipes! The afternoon class loved exploring the new growing things in their kitchen; they kept discovering new things to put in (berries! seeds! closed dandelions!). See below for some great, at home activities.
The premise of the afternoon class was the ant home; we made a life-sized version of a home, using tarps and ropes to set up different rooms (Queen's room, worker ant room, kitchen...). You could do this at home on a small scale, using a cardboard box, or on a larger scale, hanging up sheets and tarps!
Dandelion Fritters:
Collect the dandelion heads and clean them with water. Dip them in the tempura batter and fry (we used coconut oil). Best to eat warm!
Batter:
Mix these all together:
3⁄4 cup cornstarch
1⁄4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon pepper (I didn't use)
Add the next two, and stir!
Ants on the Move
Ants have pretty bad sight and rely on other senses. Try exploring your ant fort (or any area of your house) blind folded. What kind of things helped you navigate around ?
Edibles and loose parts
Bring some baskets to a park and find new leaves, seeds and berries to use in your mud kitchen at home. The children love the water that gets added to the mix, as well as any dried rice, spices, tea or other bits you can spare! On your walk, take along a field guide to find out what is edible! I suggest cleaning in water first, depending on where you find them!