LIME
Lime sorted themselves into their jumper colours on the way into the forest, which they really enjoyed! They sat on the stumps and we recorded the bird sounds in the forest using a special (and free) app called ‘Merlin’. They tried to stay as quiet as possible and discovered a few birds! After they’d got busy, a huge, tiny discovery was made. The smallest mouse in the world! They named him Ratatouille Jr Jr and were transfixed as he scurried around. Then there were 2! (Buddy) They were all so excited and were sad to leave the forest!
EYFS
The news of the 2 mice had spread around the school and Ash and Saplings were very excited to see if they were still scurrying around the forest. They waited patiently by the little hole in the ground, bringing various offerings to see if that would help them appear but there was no such luck. They also listened for the bird sounds and found a Blackbird, Rook and Skylark. There were also a few shops selling goodies and a den was being built but construction stopped after the builders couldn’t decide if it should have 1 or 2 doors…
BEECH
Beech were very excited about the bird detector app. As it was being explained, a blue tit was flying in and out of the bird house which was very entertaining. They decided it wanted to hear the different bird sounds too! They heard the same birds as EYFS but also added a Chaffinch. A huge game of eagle eye started with just 1 person playing but by the end of the session there were 16 eagle eye hiders all around the forest. The big swing in the middle of forest was also reconstructed and was being widely enjoyed.
MAPLE
Maple were interested in mice and bird sounds and before they went into the forest they heard 4 different bird calls. They then had to figure out which sound went with which bird. A few set up camp next to the mouse hole for a while, but it wasn’t long before there was; a huge Eagle Eye game, people up trees and a bird sculpture being made. Elsewhere, there were a lot of trip wires and security protecting a ‘very rare creature’ (classmate) which they’d put in a cage and occasionally take out for walks on a rope lead!