Our Forest School inspired 'Garden Make Over' at our Botley Setting

Dawn White, our fantastic Forest School & Outdoor Development Lead, has been working with our Botley setting to implement forest school-inspired activities for the children to enhance the outdoor garden area.

Our Botley setting garden now includes:
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  • Nature 'Grab bags,' which include tools and resources for bird watching, bug hunting, windy days, and den building! The bird-watching and bug-hunting books include resources such as ID books, spotter sheets, a relevant storybook, magnifying glasses, and tools to make binoculars.
  • A 'Mark making' trolley which enables the children to help themselves to sticks and leaves to create artwork from natural resources.
  • An outside reading area has been set up with an outdoor rug and cushions, with a selection of books – perfect for a sunny day!
  • We have our very own firepit area that can be used on dry days. In preparation, we have been practicing fire safety rules with the children. Risk management is an important developmental milestone for toddlers and pre-schoolers, so allowing them supervised access to fire pits enables them to understand risk and how to manage it. 
  • We also have a 'Mud Kitchen' for making mud pies and other muddy delights!
Dawn comments: "We've just received our order for more waterproofs which will allow us to improve access to the garden area throughout the year, as it can get very muddy! We wanted the children to be able to get outside with appropriate wet and cold weather gear to explore nature in all seasons. Next on our to-do list is an allotment area for growing fruit and veg and a sensory garden!"