In Forest School we will be introducing some knot work as part of our focus on construction. Last term the children learned about pivot points, how to create rotation points and in class investigated triangulation used in bridge building. We will now extend this topic so the children can build a variety of structures, encouraging estimation, prediction and reflection, developing an understanding of creating secure fastenings and experimenting with weight bearing.
The first stage, creating spooky broomsticks for Halloween. A great problem solving exercise and fantastic fun. By the end of the session we had wizards and witches flying about the field in the Autumn sunshine. This helped the children to experiment with basic lashings and see the importance of working together to improve the strength of the knots.
Meanwhile another group were taught how to make a timber hitch, traditionally used for moving large logs. They were then tasked with moving our climbing logs to a new position behind the log cabin. Some of these logs are extremely heavy, so clear communication as well as knot skills were essential to complete this task successfully and to keep all team members safe.
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- Helping friends to master the technique.
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- a great example of a timber hitch.
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- Very impressive team work.
