Exploring the change in seasons……

The children all love to be a part of Forest School, as a group we went exploring in the woods in search of animals and insects. 
 
They all enjoyed laying back, watching the clouds go by and using their imagination to discover shapes, objects and patterns.
 
They examined the change in seasons, with the different colours of leaves, conkers and acorns.  They have also been looking at the trees and measuring them; then having collected lots of natural items they compared sizes back inside. The girls and boys enjoyed looking for hedgehogs whilst they were outside and have made their own from clay.

Our younger Nursery 1 children have continued their theme of “Colours” by exploring the woods, taking some bark rubbings and making Autumn pictures. They even made the most of the windy weather by taking streamers out into the playground to explore!
 
We also went down to the river to spot dragonflies and other insects and observed how fast the river was flowing.
 
The girls and boys have been talking about different emotions and decided to make pizza faces, all of which where extremely happy ones!
 
In the sports hall the children learned about group games and activities such as tennis and football.
 
Their first dancing lesson this term with Mrs Chamberlain went very well and everyone had a fantastic time!

Taverham Hall School – Independent Schools Norfolk

The Signs of Autumn

Our Year 1 children have taken the opportunity to explore the wonderful grounds of our school in the unusual warm weather.  Forest School sessions have been taking place this term, encouraging the children to observe the signs of autumn,  create colourful collages and study the array of minibeasts in our woods.  The photographs below are an indication of the enjoyment our children experience in their investigative lessons – shortly they will begin clearing the vegetable beds in the Pre-Prep playground area, ready to begin planting winter vegetables:

Taverham Hall School – Independent Schools Norfolk

Tree Propagation

This autumn in Forest School we are developing an idea which we first trialled last winter; that is to plant seeds from various species of trees in our grounds. We hope eventually to produce seedlings, and then later saplings; both for sale to those connected with the school and also it is a lovely idea that they could be given to our leaving pupils as a lasting reminder of their time here at Taverham Hall.

In the photos below you can see Year 8 pupils preparing seed beds and planting acorns, horse chestnuts, beech nuts and cedar of Lebanon seeds. We shall observe how the various species perform in our beds, both in terms of producing healthy seedlings and also the proportions of seedlings to seeds planted.

Taverham Hall School – Independent Schools Norfolk

Summer Forest School Club Days

This summer saw a variety of children from our Nursery, Pre-Prep Department and Prep School involved in a range of activities in the school’s wonderful woodland.  We were also lucky enough to experience some of the best weather of the summer on our Forest School days!

The boys and girls love the opportunity to experience life outdoors as it enables them to use their own ideas and creativity within the safe boundaries set by our Forest School staff and generally have a wonderful relaxing time. 

Whilst some pupils love to build dens, others are minibeasts enthusiasts and some enjoy simply sitting with clay or undertaking whittling activities – our Forest School Holiday Clubs attempts to cater for all.  

Learning Outside the Classroom – Forest School

Taverham Hall School is committed to Learning Outside the Classroom.  In addition to educational trips and visits, pupils are given the opportunity to reap the rewards of the school’s timetabled Forest School programme which takes place within our extensive grounds and conservation woodlands.

Forest School activities are linked to all areas of the EYFS whilst National Curriculum subjects are reinforced and supported by practical, hands-on learning. Read the rest of this entry »

Easter Forest School Club

Easter Forest School could hardly have had more pleasant weather in the first half of April. On all three days we had a range of pupils of differing ages who enjoyed working together in the outdoors.
 
Their day in Forest School varied from starting with a challenge to produce a seat capable of bearing their own weight to creating a pictorial representation of an ‘alien’ life form using available natural materials. As you can see from the photos below, not only did the children produce some wonderful results they clearly enjoyed using their imagination and creativity whilst learning a variety of skills such as new knot-tying & design skills, negotiation and working as part of a team.

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Prep School Forest School

Our Year 8 pupils have resumed work on their outside seating units in the grounds now that the bitter chill of winter is behind us. We hope to have these finished in time for them to be well used in the (hopefully!) warm and sunny months to come.
 
 Taverham Hall School Spring Forest School 7 Taverham Hall School Spring Forest School 6 Taverham Hall School Spring Forest School 8
 
Year 5 have been planting willow witheys beside the river Wensum in order to enhance our supply of weaving materials for the younger classes in particular. Read the rest of this entry »

Forest School – Spring Explorations

Our Nursery children love their Forest School sessions as it provides them with an opportunity to use all their senses whilst being out in the fresh air busy discovering and exploring their environment. It also helps them understand how to work together in a team and you can see their self-confidence grow each session.

This week our girls and boys have been taking advantage of the change in weather to see how signs of life are showing in our school woodland and have been enjoying a variety of activities in the sunshine: Read the rest of this entry »

Discovering Sounds, Bugs and learning about the Army

The nursery children love being outside and enjoying their time in the sunshine.

Our Nursery 1 children  created large ear headbands, which we used to help us listen out for different noises when exploring the school grounds.   We listened hard and discovered lots of birds with their different calls, from the crows, chickens, sparrows and woodpeckers.  We also listened to the different sounds we made when walking around the grounds, the noise we make when walking through mud, dry leaves and when climbing on the fallen trees. 

Taverham Hall School Nursery Department activities

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Exploring the parachute

The photos below show some of the fun activities which have been taking place this term in our Nursery Department:
 
exploring the parachute Read the rest of this entry »