Forest school club 7th and 8th June

The latest sessions offered the opportunity to create a woodland Boggit (stick person with a clay/mud head) and the children responded by being really creative and using leaves, flowers and other items to create facial features, hair and clothes. Some children then made a Boggit house and constructed furniture. The older children have been improving their den building skills, and are now interested in building a child-sized house in the village area, at the top of the woodland site. We will be looking at how buildings have been constructed in the past to help us to decide how we might do this. Plans for the Kids’ Kingdom are also coming along, and the children have been asked to produce some drawings, to help us to understand their design ideas.

Wings (a local charity that gives youths who are not currently in employment, education or training the opportunity to learn a new skill and gain self-esteem) has kindly offered the services of their woodworking team, to build us some sturdy work-benches for our forest woodworking area. Our groups can then use this open-air workspace to create their own bird boxes and insect homes for the site.

We will also be sharing some basic leatherworking skills with the children, so please don’t throw away any old leather jackets or leather furniture covers – we can make useful collecting pouches and tool bags from these!

Things we need for the forest (please).

Scrap leather

We also still need unwanted rope, cord, string, wool etc. (for den building, knot tying practice and crafts).

If you have any queries or would like to:

• enrol your child in a session

• help to build new resources

• donate materials

• share a traditional skill or craft with the group

please call Jayne on 07984655688 Or email jaynewheatley2001@hotmail.com

Tag rugby, forces, drumming and much. much more, so please read on to find out…

Forest school club 24th 25th May

For the last week before the half-term break the children have been cooking. Some decided to make mini pizzas and others wrapped bread dough around a willow stick and cooked it on the open fire. They were shown how to make props from forked sticks, to support their bread dough sticks at the right height over the fire

Now that the days are warm we will not be lighting a fire every session. This will save the firewood for the cooler months, when a fire will be much appreciated. It is important that we think about how to use the site’s limited woodland resources sustainably. However, the last session for each group at the end of each half term will always be a cooking day, so the children will still be able to enjoy fireside activities in the summer.

The first saw horse has been constructed for us. Thank you to all the parents who help with the making, mending, planting and tidying. The Wednesday group watched a demonstration of how to use the saw and sawhorse correctly (sawing is an activity that is always carried out with supervision) and in the next half of this term both groups will have the opportunity to learn how to safely cut firewood and saw branches to length for crafts and den building.

Some Wednesday group members found a large number of wood lice in a rotten log, and a very large stag beetle. Their finds were shown to the group, and then the insects were returned to where they were found.

On Thursday we were given some bean plants that had been grown from seed in a class activity. We also had some more seed potatoes donated. We are looking forward, later in the year, to cooking our potato crop in the hot embers of the fire.

Things we need for the forest (please): Any unwanted rope, cord, string, wool etc. (for den building, knot tying practice and crafts).

If you have any queries or would like to:
• enrol your child in a session
• help to build new resources
• share a traditional skill or craft with the group

please call Jayne on 07984655688 Or email jaynewheatley2001@hotmail.com

Please read on to find out about lots of local events and activities over half term and beyond, not least the Appledore Village Green Fete on Saturday 3rd June…

It’s started – work on our art studio.

To update you, we are creating a permanent art studio at Appledore School and there is a team, made up of pupils, parents, staff and local artists and trades, that is making this happen. They have been very busy so far and the children in Year 6 have been busy writing letters (click here to see one) requesting materials.

If you know of an organsiation that could donate any of the following, please do contact Kate Harvey on kharvey@appledore-primary.devon.sch.uk:

• Wood panels (eg plywood) for storage cupboards
• Flooring and adhesive
• varnish
• Tiles
• Double sink and plumbing fittings
• trestles
• Aprons
• Hinges
• Coat hooks
• Picture frames (various sizes)
• Canvas and calico
• Paper
• paints
• Inks
• T-shirts -m plain white child sizes

Forest school club 17th 18th May

In these session the groups have been talking about what should be added, improved or changed in the ‘jungle’, including turning the bottom right-hand area (currently just a pile of earth and branches) it into a ‘kids’ kingdom’ by making the most of the slopes and different heights there, to create a mud slide and some scrambling areas, and also planting some willow to create places to hide. As forest school is very much about problem solving and taking responsibility, the children will be hands-on in designing the space, solving any safety or building issues, presenting the design to the headmaster and, if it is approved, helping to build it.

Some of the children have made willow stars this week. Other activities have included planting the remaining flower bed and containers, decorating the story chair with paint/clay handprints and making leaf butterflies and stick people. The children have also been painting and writing in their forest books and making improvements to dens.

With the generous help of some parents, we soon hope to be extending the jungle shed, by connecting a roofed, open-sided area to it. This will provide a space for a wider range of outdoor crafts, no matter what the British weather throws at us. A parent has also kindly offered to build us some child and adult height saw horses, which will hold wood securely, and at the correct height, when using saws. These will be ideal for the tool use area.

We are going to start contacting local businesses for donations of building materials, den thatching materials, ceramic tiles, plants etc. If you know of any business owners or managers who might look kindly upon our request, please do let us know.

Things we need for the forest (please).

Tomato plants

Pea or bean plants (any type).

If you have any queries or would like to:

* enrol your child in a session

* help to build new resources

* share a traditional skill or craft with the group

please call Jayne on 07984655688 Or email jaynewheatley2001@hotmail.com

It’s been a very, very bust and exciting week, including new arrivals, our twelve values, rugby and football success, a visiting traveller and much more. Please read on to find out more…

Forest school club 10th & 11th May

This week we were doing lots of interesting things with earth and clay. We have moved soil to our new raised beds, ready to plant more herbs, vegetables and flowers. Some of the children have also planted pumpkin seeds, to care for at home. While we were moving earth, we thought about how to use spades safely and care for tools. We were excited to see that some leaves are now emerging from the recently planted potatoes (kindly donated by the headmaster).  

Thank you to John for the work he is doing on laying a path to the pond. We hope to be pond-dipping very soon!

Things we need for the forest  – could anyone spare a few veg plants?

If you have any queries or would like to:

• enrol your child in a session
• help to build new resources
• share a traditional skill or craft with the group

please call Jayne on 07984655688 Or email jaynewheatley2001@hotmail.com

Please read on to find out more about our activities this week…

Please read on to find out about our art studio, local events and what has been happening in and around the classes…

Please be aware that we are experiencing problems with emails due to us migrating to a new provider. As a result, all  emails sent to us after 1pm Wednesday 10th May have not yet reached us.Until further notice, please call the school on 01237 474 365 if you need to contact us.

…with our plans to have an art studio at Appledore School for the children?

If you think you might like be involved in making this happen, please try and come to our meeting at 5.45pm on Friday 19th May here at school.  Anybody and verybody is welcome, and if you have any particular skills (artistic, trade or professional) please do try and attend. Out first step is to get the studio created and for that to happen we need tradesmen, fundraisers and people who can support us.

If you are unable to attend, but would like to be involved, please email headteacher@appledore-primary.devon.sch.uk   

Carnival Queen disco will be starting from 19:00 on Friday 19th of May at Appledore Social Club during which the judges need to select the Carnival Queen, her attendants, two fairy Queens and a young pirate. The Carnival is Saturday 13th August. Please read on to find out more…

Please read on to find out about the Westward Ho! Seaside Fesitval, tennis, art, vandalism (sadly) and what has been happeming in the classes…

A bust week involving Circus Day, tournament successes, House photos and much, much more so please read on…