Pupils from the ‘Wellies and Woodlands’ club have been enjoying exploring the wonderful natural woodlands within the grounds of the school by taking ‘Walkabouts’ to look for their favourite trees and discovering how different the trees are in Winter. The children also learnt that the leaves have fallen off the deciduous trees and that their once hidden faces are now easier to spot. They walked around the woodlands looking for faces in the trees. They were looking to catch a ‘glimpse of a winking eye’, ‘a mischievious grin’ or the ‘nose and mouth of a snoozing tree.
Rajan in Year 1 actually found his own ‘Tree-mendous Tree Face’ while walking about in Epping Forest and took a fabulous photo to bring in to show his teachers – well done Rajan!
Later in the term, the children talked about why animals hibernate in Winter and went looking for woodland invertebrates sheltering and hiding amongst the leaves, logs and bark. They were lucky to find tiny spiders, slugs and woodlice. To care for the birds in our woodlands, the children made their own bird feeders using oranges and birdseed to provide food for the birds during a season when it is difficult for them to find food. They were excited to be able to take them home and hang them in their gardens to enjoy and capture birds in their own natural environments during the half term holiday!