The autumn equinox took place on Tuesday 22nd September; an equinox occurs twice a year, once in spring and then again in autumn, when the sun is positioned exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length. Everyone felt the change in the seasons last week with the arrival of autumn.
Back to the woods this week and continuing the theme of apples, the children were told the story of Johnny Appleseed. Johnny Appleseed, an American folklore hero, was said to be a barefooted wanderer, who walked ‘west’ planting apple trees from seed across America.
The groups discussed planting apple seeds and the growth process the plant goes through to be an apple tree. Nursery and Kindy enjoyed pretending to be the tiny seeds, growing slowly then bursting into apple blossom in spring.
When Johnny heard that children at Barrow Hills were learning his story, he sent a golden apple all the way from America. This was hidden in the woods for the children to find. They had great fun hunting high and low for Johnny’s golden apple and were incredibly excited when it was found!
Mrs Wilson then adapted a very old game called ‘Fruit Salad’. The children were each given a fruit and when their fruit was called, they had to run clockwise around the fire circle. When ‘fruit salad’ is shouted, they all have to run around the fire circle. It’s a very energetic game and lots of fun!
Reception’s second lesson of the week was inspired by the Dr Seuss book ‘Ten Apples Up On Top’. As Mrs Wilson read the story, members from the class tried to balance 10 beanbags on top of their heads.
Every Forest School session finishes with some free time to explore and discover. This week, Year 2 chose to climb trees around the perimeter and cheer on the passing cross country runners.
