We have had our first frosts this week and the temperature has dropped significantly. The colder weather is hammering home for our students the need to come dressed appropriately. We are not quite there with the footwear yet but we are having to lend out less outdoor clothing each session and it’s great to see students planning ahead for the weather and taking this responsibility.
We have had several new students join our sessions this week so wide games and scavenger hunts have been useful activities to encourage exploring the whole of the woodland site. It’s been great to watch students confidence, both in woodland environment and with each other, grow this term as they have attended more sessions. For some students just being in the woodland was initially outside of their comfort zone. The same students are now comfortable independently exploring the woodland.
Some of our students are very introverted and prefer to spend time alone. Joining groups, often with others they are not familiar with, has been a big challenge for them and it’s been really pleasing to watch their interactions develop and their confidence grow in new social situations. Now that we are all getting familiar with the site and with each other we are starting to plan ways to introduce the use of tools and fire to our sessions next term and are all very much looking forward to the challenge and opportunities that this will bring.