Although we’ve lived in Somerset for almost 6 years, I often forget how close we are to the sea! Early last month, when we had a (small) glimpse of sunshine before the storms, I took the girls on a little day trip to Burnham-on-sea/Highbridge, to visit Apex Park. The weather may have taken a chilly turn and the Not So Tiny One may have been in a teething grump but the park was so great that we refused to let our enthusiasm wane and pushed on through (for a long as we could, anyway). I’m so glad we did as there is so much to explore there. We’ll certainly return on a sunnier day when all of our party is in more favourable spirits!
So, what’s there? Free parking for starters, right on site. There are also toilet facilities and a small kiosk serving snacks that’s open in high season (the kiosk wasn’t open on this occasion but the toilets, thankfully, were). Adjacent to the car park is a beautiful large lake with lots of ducks and swans (and, I hear, plenty of other wildfowl in warmer weather). There’s a tarmacked path that runs round the whole diameter of the lake – it’s accessible for prams and, although it says “no cycling,” we took the Little Big One’s balance bike and she scooted alongside us and had a great time. I’ve mentioned before that I’m always on the lookout for great places to take the bike and this was ideal.
The play park is fantastic. There’s an enclosed area for pre-schoolers which kept my girls entertained and there’s a larger park aimed at slightly older children complete with scramble nets, climbing frames and a slide that’s big enough for 2 or 3 kids to go down at the same time (or 2 kids and a mummy!!) There’s also a skate park, so something for all ages.
The best bit about this park is the variety. We took the lakeside circular walk which takes in the lake, the ducks and the play park. There’s also a woodland trail, a wildflower area and the piece de resistance – a waterside walk (again accessible for prams and bikes) that leads along the river Brue to the southern end of Burnham sea front (by the sailing club). That’s right, you can see the sea! For us, who had basically been in hibernation since early December and were feeling starved of fresh air, this was a real coop. I can only imagine that a trip in the spring/summer would be delightful!
This excursion was part of a wider research project to find the best parks around Somerset/Wiltshire so keep your eyes peeled for another park-based blog post coming soon.
Ok, so it’s yet another rainy weekend. You’ve used up all of your rainy day play ideas and can’t face spending another hour at soft play or the faff of a swim. The weather’s far too ghastly to even entertain going outside. And you’ve watched Frozen so many times recently that your kids are now calling themselves Elsa and Anna. What can you do?
This was our predicament at the weekend. We were running low on ideas until we started an internet search and came across Better Extreme, a trampoline park in Bath. *There are others around, which I’ll link to at the end of the post, but we didn’t fancy venturing too far with Storm Dennis on the rampage.
The smile says it all – the trampoline park was a winner!
Both our girls are heavily into jumping right now so a trampoline park sounded right up their street. Plus, every weekend Better Extreme hosts a “Family Bounce” session that’s suitable for anyone under the age of 12 (and parents/carers, of course). Ideal. If you fancy trying it out mid-week instead, they actually do a “Toddler Bounce” session on a Thursday morning, which would probably be even better if you’re like us and have very little ones (it’s only for under 5’s).
For smaller children, Better Extreme is fantastic. It’s housed in a big open and light space with a variety of different areas. You’ve got your standard trampolines – the main area is split into lots of individual trampettes so that people can jump at their own speed… AND there are trampolines on the walls too so if you feel like it you can really go big.
Then there are the games areas – there’s a basketball dunk court and a dodgeball court, which, when you’re not competitively playing the game (which we obviously weren’t) is just a great space for running around, climbing, sliding and throwing balls around.
There’s even a nice enclosed area for under 8’s that has smaller trampettes and a little foam pit that’s great for jumping into or just rolling around in!
Even though there were a few older kids there, I never felt concerned about ours getting knocked around; the girls were just delighted to have free reign to explore! Amazingly, despite it being the first weekend of half term, and a ghastly day, it was pretty quiet, which meant it was actually a really relaxed experience.
Big kids (or fun-loving adults) can go large and jump into a giant foam pit. Me and the hubby had a go (I did a very sensible pencil jump, his dismount was more daring), but we were instantly shown up by two girls who both did front flips into the foam.
If you’re up for extending the day, there’s also a soft play area and cafe on site (access will cost you extra). Bath Sports and Leisure Centre also has a great swimming pool that we’ll be checking out another time.
The small print…
Prices: The sessions aren’t cheap. A family bounce session ticket costs £15 (1 under 5 and 1 adult) so we booked two of those. Otherwise adult tickets are £11 and junior tickets are £8.50. You can’t go in without their branded grippy socks so that’ll cost you an extra £2 per person on top of the ticket price. The good thing is that you get to keep the socks so subsequent visits will be cheaper.
Timings: Family bounce sessions are 10-11am on Saturdays and Sundays. Toddler bounce sessions are 10-12pm on Thursdays. A full programme can be found here. On the website it says arrive 30 minutes before your booked session. This isn’t necessary – we arrived bang on time at 10am (you try getting there 30 mins early, on a Saturday, with two under 4’s and a 45 minute car journey!) and had no issues (though we had booked in advance online). Once you’ve got your socks, you just need to watch a 2 minute briefing video (health and safety and all that) and then you’re free to bounce.
Parking: The only reason I’d suggest allowing extra time before your session starts is the parking. Extreme Bath is linked with the Bath Sports and Leisure centre and parking is limited. You can park for 3 hours for £3.60 but if you show your ticket at the desk when you sign in, you can claim a refund of £1.10.
Location: Bath Sports and Leisure Centre, North Parade Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 4ET.
As I mentioned before, there are alternative trampoline parks in Bristol. Here are the links:
Now, for no particular reason other than a friend suggesting we try out a local class with them, my girls are “ballet girls.” I use the term in the most literal sense – they do ballet. Neither one is destined for great things at the Royal School of Ballet; oh no, just like their mother, they haven’t been blessed with grace or light feet. However, they get a lot of enjoyment out of it (their beaming smiles say it all), I think it’s super cute, and it keeps them active, so it’s all good.
Recently though, I’ve wondered about gymnastics. The Little Big One is massively into jumping – on a trampoline, on the sofa, down the stairs (God help me); anywhere, really. She makes a beeline for the balance beams and stepping stones in the park too and I’m starting to think, maybe, that gymnastics might be more up her street. Same with the The Not So Tiny One, who has always been a bit of a daredevil and will climb just about anything given half a chance.
As we’re already doing a regular ballet class, I looked into drop-in gymnastics and found a class for pre-schoolers over in Frome at a place called Liberty Gymnastics Club. As well as doing pre-booked classes for a variety of ages (see link for more info) they run a pre-school drop-in session every Monday and Friday from 10-12pm that is all about free play. The fact that the session isn’t structured means that it worked really well for my two girls, who are nearly 2 and 4, and have different interests and ability levels.
The space is perfectly set up for pre-schoolers of all ages, from babies who have a host of mats, toys, walkers and sit-on toys to amuse them, to toddlers – there are swings, tunnels and trampettes and trampolines a-plenty – and those at the older end of the scale who can try their hand at balance beams, tight-rope walking, rope swinging, and even a mini assault course. Obviously the Not So Tiny One had a go on everything too, but the great thing about the space is that it has that amazing sprung floor everywhere (not just fun to walk on but nice and soft too) with crash mats located near anything where a fall might be possible.
One of the things that provided a great deal of entertainment was the foam landing pit, around which they’d placed crash mats that the children could slide off into the pit. A different take on the ball pit – but possibly even more fun!
It was really lovely to see the girls trying out new things and getting out of their comfort zones a little bit – and amazing for them to have the opportunity to try out some real gym equipment. The Little Big One got a great feeling of pride when she mastered the tight-rope. She didn’t brave the hanging rope on this occasion, but we’ll work on that next time!
The pre-school drop in session costs £4 per child but discounts are available for siblings (it cost us around £6.50 for both girls). I had Monday morning brain when we went and forgot to take cash with me but they do take card payments over £10 so I just pre-paid for another session and can use my credit any time (good to know if, like me, you don’t always carry cash!)
We’ll definitely be returning to the drop-in session, and who knows, maybe we’ll try out a proper class one day.
Ah family walks. Don’t you just love ’em? As much as I do love them, the girls have both hit a tricky age for walks. The Not So Tiny One LOVES walking so getting her in a carrier is always a bit of a battle… but she doesn’t last long. The Little Big One on the other hand is a little more reluctant and tires quickly, unless there’s something on the route that holds her attention, but she’ll almost always need carrying eventually. This means that the walks we love the best – sweeping walks in the hills – tend to begin and end with the following scenario: 10 minutes and approximately 30 steps in, enthusiasm wanes, protests start and no amount of cajoling will help them appreciate the wonderful views or the grazing sheep so you pause for an energising snack and hope that it’ll buy you another 10 minutes (it doesn’t always work).
It’s a different story with a pram though. Ah yes, the pram enables us to go the distance. And there are some lovely, accessible walks around. Ham Wall and the Avalon Marshes are a prime example.
We’ve been to Ham Wall a few times. It’s an RSPB site and is home to a wetland teeming with wildlife – from water voles and otters to herons and kingfishers. It offers stunning views across the marshes to Glastonbury Tor and is wonderfully tranquil.
The view to the Tor
You can opt to stick to the main path which runs through the heart of the reserve, called the Ham Wall loop, which is wide and flat and just under 3km long. This footpath is part of an old railway track that links to Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve, which is across the road from Ham Wall, and Glastonbury (so you could, in theory, go all the way from Ham Wall to Glastonbury – around 4 miles in total). As well as the main path, there are a couple of short pram and wheelchair accessible boardwalks (the one we walked was 200m) that take you a little further into the marshes and give you a better glimpse of the wildlife without venturing too far. The Little Big One was very excited to spot a heron.
On the boardwalk…Twitchers-in-training
If you’re not reliant on a pram, there are also two grassy trails that take you through the marshes. These are both between 1-2km long and, I imagine, can get pretty wet and boggy so only attempt with good footwear!
Off road options are available
As well as being pram friendly, Ham Wall is great for bikes too (it’s actually a cycle route). We’ve found that the Little Big One can go so much further on her bike, meaning we get to stride out a bit too! She loved having the freedom to go off ahead of us (it’s a straight path so you can see for miles) and she enjoyed bumping along the boardwalk too.
Freewheeling!
There’s a nice little picnic spot adjacent to the car park and the Visitor Welcome building (there are toilets too, always handy) but if you prefer to walk first and lunch along the way there are a couple of semi-covered viewing platforms and bird hides dotted around that offer a bit of shelter from the chill or the rain. Just remember to be respectful of the resident twitchers who may not take kindly to loud chatter that might spook the birds.
A perfect hideout for lunch
Also near the Visitor Welcome building there are a number of wooden carved sculptures for children to find and a willow eel tunnel to play in.
Exploring the eel trail
This time of year is a great time to visit Ham Wall as it’s prime starling murmuration season, where hundreds of thousands of starlings congregate and roost in the reed beds overnight. Starling murmurations are one of nature’s wonders and the Avalon Marshes are one of the best places in the UK to witness the spectacle. It’s an incredible sight and well worth making the trip for. Dusk is the best time to visit if you’re looking to catch the murmurations at their best (head there for 3:30/4pm), although it gets very busy throughout December and January so expect crowds!
The starling murmurations are a must-see
As well as offering great family walks and bike rides, the team at Ham Wall run a variety of events throughout the year during school holidays. Check their website for details.
If you’re looking for a family friendly walk in the Bath area, then I have just the thing for you – the Bath Skyline. Now, you may well balk when I tell you that the Skyline is a six mile walk that takes up to four hours (I’m with you – there’s no way I’d consider attempting that with two young whippersnappers in tow). However, the walk can be broken up into shorter sections, meaning that the whole family can enjoy it, even if those little legs aren’t willing to wander far.
The section of the Skyline that I’d recommend for families with young children is the area around Claverton Down. This is where we found ourselves last week. The Skyline is managed by the National Trust and, during school holidays (February to October), those lovely National Trust folk put on a little thing called Wild Wednesdays – a group that runs from 10:30-12:30pm providing nature themed activities for children (at a charge of £2 per child). What’s even better is that Wild Wednesdays takes place in a gorgeous area of woodland that has been transformed into an incredible woodland play area. So not only can you partake in such activities as potato printing, crown making and leaf collaging, you can also enjoy a scavenger hunt AND go crazy on an abundance of natural wooden play structures that are scattered amongst the trees in what was once a working quarry.
Just some of the activities on offer at Wild WednesdaysIn the midst of autumn crown making
We’re talking a course of not just stepping stones, but stepping logs too, wobble beams, traverse ropes, a walk on see-saw, wooden hop-skotch, a winding woodland walk, a den building area, and an amazing rope swing! The Little Big One was in her element.
Traversing the stepping logsDen building fun
As well as being home to an incredible adventure playground, this section of the Bath Skyline is also home to the Long Wood Elf and Fairy Foray. On the short amble through the woods to the play area (about 400m), there are 15 elf and fairy doors to be found. A great incentive to encourage little ones to stay on the ground (and off your shoulders!)
Don’t miss the elf and fairy trail!
One thing to mention about the Bath Skyline is that there are no parking facilities. However, in the school holidays when Wild Wednesdays is running, the National Trust put on event parking at Ralph Allen School (the entrance to the Skyline walk from here is across the road, through a field, into the woods and around a 400m walk, which is where the elf and fairy trail comes in mighty handy). If you’re visiting outside of school holidays or at the weekend, you can park in the city centre and catch a bus to your desired starting point. This handy little guide has all the details you need.
For more information on family friendly activities being run by the National Trust on the Bath Skyline, check out their Facebook page.
Way back in March (yes, I’ve been meaning to write this one up for a while now!), the Little Big One and the Not So Tiny One had their first taste of the theatre. This wasn’t any old theatre, this was Dragonbird Theatre; a hugely interactive, highly engaging and genuinely really funny performance all rolled into a neat 12 minutes (the perfect length for holding little ones’ attention). Dragonbird was set up by two former drama teachers and performers – Tilly Langdon and Lotte Norgaard – who do everything from creating great props and writing scripts to embodying some brilliant characters that perfectly capture children’s imagination.
Chef Gherkin and Princess Pompusknickers
We booked tickets for Chef Gherkin and his Magic Mixing Machine, which was a fabulous story about a French chef and his magic mixing machine… and a royally fussy eater called Princess Pompusknickers! As mentioned above, the performance was relatively short, but was engaging throughout. Audience participation was actively encouraged with the children helping Chef Gherkin and Princess Pompusknickers make the worlds biggest pizza, balance cheese, stir tomato sauce and wrestle spaghetti!
Said spaghetti wrestling
After the show, we were all invited to step into the story and help create some of our own magic. Before helping Chef Gherkin create his culinary masterpiece, we joined in with a song about washing our hands (a good lesson in food hygiene) and our armpits (because, well why not?) Then we made our own stick-on pizzas with velcro toppings and took them up to the front so that Chef Gherkin could put them in his oven. Finally we all sat around a big “table” together and made a giant plate of spaghetti (made of ribbons) and tomato sauce (containing cloth tomatoes and beanbag cheese). And in true Chef Gherkin style, and much to everyone’s delight, we finished the morning with spaghetti confetti, throwing our ribbon spaghetti up in the air to make a delightful mess (which, you’ll be pleased to know, was tidied up afterwards with a very impressive team effort).
On the menu today: Velcro pizzaAll hands on deck for spaghetti mixing!
Designed for children from birth up to 5 years, this is a great activity to encourage imagination and creative play. Tilly and Lotte make the experience completely immersive so even if your child is a little on the shy side, everyone feels involved – but can join in as much, or as little, as they like. My two are not backwards in coming forwards (they’re possibly two future thespians in the making) so for them, this was a great morning out. I’m planning to buy tickets for another show very soon.
Spaghetti Confetti!
Based in Bristol, the Dragonbird Theatre do performances all over Bristol and Bath as well as using venues in Chew Magna (this is where we saw them), Clevedon and Radstock. Upcoming dates can be found here.
Tickets cost £4.50 and everyone over 4 months needs a ticket.
This week we’re returning to our musical theme and reviewing a lovely little class run by a lady called Sarah Priddice called Boogie Woogies. Held in Compton Dundon village hall (just outside Street), the group is energetic, fun and loud – designed to get little ones up on their feet and moving about. It’s clear that this group has a really strong local following and the children were already happily running circles around the room when we arrived; an activity that the Not So Little One wasted no time in joining in with! From that point on, the fun never stopped.
Unlike Rock the Tots (which I reviewed earlier this month) this group is wholeheartedly geared towards the children so, while we didn’t have the standard nursery rhymes, we had some very popular alternatives – Ridin on a Donkey was a memorable one – all of which encouraged the children to move in different ways and dance along with the music.
There were props a-plenty – at the beginning of the class Sarah pulled out a huge bag filled with teddies and we all had to make lots of noise to wake them up, before each choosing one to join us for the rest of the session. A few songs were designed to get us moving with our teddies – lots of head patting and waving – and the rest were about getting us as active as possible. This was where the hall really came into its own – lots of space for us to go marching or twirling around the room or to make a large circle in the middle and dance together as a group.
At the end, the pace slowed and we said goodnight to our teddies… I think the Not So Tiny One was ready for a nap herself!
It’s not all running about though. After about 45 minutes of movement, it’s time for refreshments! This is where the grown-ups get a bit of a rest and the chance to sit and have a natter and a cup of tea while the little ones can either join them or continue burning off steam, with a variety of toys to entertain them.
The group is term time only and runs from 10-11:30am. The first session is a free trial and then its £5 per week thereafter. There’s also a group in Edington if you’re Bridgwater way. You can find out more here.
The Little Big One and I enjoyed a thoroughly literary day on Sunday as we headed to the brilliant Bath children’s literature festival. It’s no secret that both of my daughters are mega bookworms (I was as a child too). But I enjoy reading books with them as much as they enjoy being read to. I’m no stranger to literary festivals, having worked in publishing in my previous life, but introducing the Little Big One to the people behind the pages of her favourite books was great fun – for both of us!
With a ten day long programme of events on offer, and a line-up that includes renowned authors such as Julia Donaldson and Michael Rosen, and familiar characters like Hugless Douglas and Elmer, the Bath children’s literature festival is a fantastic event. Talks are categorised by age and although the Little Big One is 3, we snuck into a talk for age 4+ by children’s picture book writer Jarvis, of Alan’s Big Scary Teeth fame.
Jarvis’s talk was hosted in the beautiful Holburne Museum (worth a visit at any time as they often have child-friendly exhibitions and events on). It was entitled Drawing Fun with Jarvis and it was an entertaining mix of storytelling, drawing tutorials and contests. Being the author of the books, Jarvis told the tales in a hugely captivating way and did a great job of getting the kids to interact and listen by testing his audience with questions based on the stories that, if correctly answered, resulted in prizes! And the drawing element was brilliant. By the end of the show every single child in the room had learnt to draw a worm… and an alligator (with varying degrees of likeness!)
Afterwards Jarvis was kind enough to sign the Little Big One’s own version of an alligator and draw his version alongside – something to treasure for years to come.
That afternoon we made a trip to Mr B’s Emporium – the most magical bookshop I’ve visited. We bought a copy of Jarvis’s book (the Little Big One didn’t win a book at the talk so we obviously had to remedy that) and the girls got lost in a heap of other stories for a good while. We were all in our element… even the hubby found a book and got lost for a moment. If you have bookworms in your family, I’d highly recommend a visit when you’re next in Bath.
At Mr B’s we picked up a special Bath children’s literature festival treasure trail sheet – there are 7 favourite children’s book characters hidden in locations across Bath for book fans to find; a great activity to complement the main festival events.
If you have a bit of time over the next week, do check the festival out (it’s on until Sunday 6th October). There are plenty of events still to come, just visit the website for more details.
This week I attended that rare form of toddler group: one where I’m pretty sure I was as, if not more, entertained than the children! At times I was enjoying myself so much that I almost forgot the kids were there. But then I zoned back in and caught sight of the Little Big One running towards me wearing an unfeasible amount of head gear including a sparkler headband and some star framed glasses and I remembered that I wasn’t, in fact, at a real gig. I was instead at a toddler group, surrounded by small children and bundles of fancy dress and shaky instruments. But I was listening to a great cover of ACDC’s Back in Black. Yup, this was not your standard toddler group play list… Humpty Dumpty and Incy Wincy didn’t even get a mention!
Rock the Tots is one of two music-based groups that I’ve attended in the last couple of months (the other one is Music for Miniatures – more on this later) that bring “real” music to children; inspiring a passion for music that parents and their little ones can share together. Here’s more about them.
The more contemporary of the two, Rock the Tots, is run by a lovely musical couple called Stephanie and Craig. Craig plays guitar and sings (in a number of different styles) and Stephanie sings and works her magic with puppets and props. They pair songs with fun on-screen visuals that capture the children’s attention and they have a great range of dress-up props and shaky instruments that the kids can work their way through during the session; as I mentioned above, the Little Big One took full advantage of this, at one point wearing five different pieces of head wear, shaking a sparkly pom pom and singing into a microphone simultaneously. She’s a rock star in the making.
Every month the music has a different theme. September’s theme was colours so we were treated to renditions of Purple Rain, Fields of Gold, TheYellow Submarine… you get the picture! Despite this being a preschool group (it’s for under 5s), its very much choreographed with grown-ups in mind (which I loved). Not only have nursery rhymes been completely vetoed (as well as the examples above, we heard covers from the likes of Coldplay, KT Tunstall, Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell) but Craig’s impersonations of the artists are spot on (I particularly enjoyed his Eiffel 65 – yep, you remember that classic 90’s song Blue… da ba dee da ba daa). At a couple of points he threw in the odd anecdote about a song or band too; anecdotes that went way over the kid’s heads but gave us grown-ups a bit of a laugh or a flutter of nostalgia.
Now it’s not always easy for parents to loosen up and relax at these events so to break the ice, there was a game of say what you see that saw the original lyrics of “Whoa, Black Betty, bam-a-lam,” replaced with things like “bramble jam” and “panda lamp” which was a great way to get the parents engaged and was very funny too.
The event ended with a colour themed story – bringing it back to the kids. Wow, Said the Owl is one of our family favourites so it was the perfect finale to a great morning. October’s theme is Spooky fun but I’m told there won’t be anything too terrifying! Dates tend to appear on their website the month before, so you’ll find October dates here.
Prices: £4 per head but if you are bringing a second sibling they offer a small discount – a siblings ticket will cost you £7. We got ourselves a loyalty card too – get 5 stamps and your 6th gig is free!
Venues: Gigs take place in Bath, Bristol and many places in between, including Corsham and Bradford on Avon. Check the website for a full list of locations.
After embracing our inner rock stars at Rock the Tots, we took the pace down a level at Music for Miniatures and indulged in a bit of classical music. Now, if I’m honest, we don’t really listen to a lot of classical music in our house (apart from the occasional nod to it with the Ballet for Kids playlist on Spotify). We’re plebs, I know. Having said that though, our house is always filled with noise and the girls seem to love music of any kind so I figured Music for Miniatures would broaden their musical horizons a little bit.
Music for Miniatures is all about introducing live classical music to babies and young children. It was started by musician and mum, Julie, who is joined by a host of other musicians to bring high quality live music to families, without the stress of trying to keep little ones quiet and still. Classical music has been proven to be calming for children of all ages (and grown-ups too!) but at these concerts, it doesn’t matter if babies cry and toddlers babble and totter around because they are encouraged to explore, dance, pick up a shaker or scarf and get right up close to the performers. There’s something really special about seeing different instruments up close too – my two were fascinated by the oboe and the Little Big One couldn’t wait to have a tinkle on the piano at the end (her daddy plays it and she loves joining in).
Each concert has a different focus – at one event you might be watching a jazz quartet and one week it might be all about percussion or horns. The concert we attended was called A Musical Zoo and all of the songs were animal themed, which was a great introduction to classical music for my two. There were the obvious animal themed tunes like Swan Lake (which was a big hit with our ballet loving Little Big One) and Flight of the Bumblebee. And there were some more subtle links to animals where we were encouraged to listen to the sounds within the music and pretend to be whichever animal it made us think of; for example, the bouncy tones in Benjamin Britten’s Bacchus saw us become jumping kangaroos. The girls loved getting involved and we all enjoyed the beautiful music.
Prices: £8 per adult/child pair, £4 per extra adult, £3 per extra child.
Venues: Concerts take place in Bath, Frome, Street and a few places in between (we went to one in Midsomer Norton).
The Not So Tiny One is nearing 18 months old. She’s out in the garden at any given opportunity; she’s constantly seeking out opportunities to smother herself in mud; and she has a penchant for waving hello to passing ants (which is super cute by the way). But whilst looking into available groups to take her along to, I would never have considered Forest School. Only because I thought it was for older children (how many other toddler groups involve campfires, after all?) The Little Big One has been doing her nursery’s equivalent – “Welly Wednesdays” – for a few months now and loves it, but I thought she was at the perfect age to really embrace it (she’s 3). Apparently though, Forest School is something that can be started at a very young age (basically, from walking), because it’s all about encouraging children to follow their own interests outdoors. It’s a simple philosophy that reaps all kinds of benefits – I’m sure we’ve all heard them: the Forest School environment is proven to help build confidence and self-esteem, promote curiosity and sensitivity and teach children how to assess risks and make choices. I guess it’s never too early to start fostering these values.
I was delighted then to see that Earthwise (an outdoor learning centre that works across the South West) was launching a Forest School for toddlers at Wells Cathedral School, in partnership with the school and Little Wellies nursery, and led by Forest School leader Claire Rosling. The Not So Tiny One and I gave it a try this week and we both had a great time. Here’s what we got up to.
Foraging for elderberries
A big part of Forest School is to encourage children to explore freely and independently (which is hard when your child is just 18 months old) but the activities were designed to give children as much freedom as possible. The main activity of the session was making, and painting with, natural dye. We went foraging around the garden for elderberries and mulberries, picking them and popping them in a bucket before mashing them up into a paste using sticks we’d also found in the garden. The individual berry crops were put into a big pot, mixed with water and cooked on the campfire before the toddlers were given brushes and pieces of fabric and let loose with the dye, creating their own masterpieces. While foraging for berries and other garden produce is a fantastic activity for feeding curious minds, Claire was quick to teach us one of her class rhymes: “No pick, no lick, be careful with that stick,” which teaches children not to pick anything living, not to put anything in their mouths and to always be careful and safe. While Forest School encourages curiosity, it also provides boundaries that allow children to explore independently, but also safely, and this rhyme is a fun way to help them remember this!
Next step: mashing! And… paint!
The Not So Tiny One was then keen to do a spot of bug hunting, where we met a very speedy centipede, some woodlice and plenty of her little ant buddies. She loved tipping over logs and digging around in the mud and was fascinated when we looked at the centipede’s legs under a magnifying glass.
That’s a lot of legs…
We then had fun exploring some of the apparatus that was dotted around the garden – a swing, a rope ladder and a hammock, in which she was thoroughly entertained as she discovered she could swing herself from side to side. There was also an opportunity for tree climbing, which under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have considered. She has oodles of confidence but like all children her age, she also has zero understanding of consequence so I sometimes feel like my protective nature can hold her back. Within the Forest School environment, I felt more comfortable allowing her to explore independently and was super proud (as was she) when she climbed into the nook of the tree and smiled back at me.
Wheeeeeee!
The final part of the session was based around the campfire. We all sat on tree stumps and sang some nature songs I hadn’t heard before but will be adding to our repertoire (if I can remember them)! Tea, coffee and mini hot chocolates were provided and we were encouraged to bring snacks along that could be shared with the group. All in all, it was a fantastic group and we plan to sign up for the half term block. It’s £8 a session, so £48 for the 6 weeks. After attending just one session I can see how over a period of time Forest School can have real benefits for children. But, for now, I’m just going to enjoy spending time together outdoors and seeing the Not So Tiny One’s curiosity and adventurous spirit grow and grow!
Songs around the campfire.
You can find out more about Earthwise and the toddler group here.
Here are a couple of other Forest School groups in the area that cater for pre-school children (I haven’t attended either group but they come recommended!):
The Parent Play List 