Year 6 showed off their rope work skills this week. After being taught a timber hitch for anchoring, the children then translated that knowledge into the trees, creating their own rope lines. Securing with simple half hitches to give tension they had to work together to ensure tight and safe lines. They came up with lots of different ideas for using lines like this and one group got started on planning a swing.
Learning a variety of knots/lashings with their applications and therefore being able to successfully tie one thing to another is a fantastic life skill to have. It opens up new challenges and ideas allowing the children independence to shape their own environment. From a simple timber hitch to the more complex bowline – the process of learning any knot will vary from one person to another. Sharing skills help the children learn as a collective, then of course practice makes perfect.
Principle 4: Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
Article 6 – We all have the right to be alive and to develop in the best possible way.
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- Attempting timber hitches in pairs makes the process easier.
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- Once a good hitch is created it is easy to tighten it around the log.
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- Adding a competitive element can increase the desire to achieve.
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- Translating the skills onto a fixed vertical.
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- Starting to work together to create a tight line.
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- Maintaing tension is very tricky.
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- The children quickly worked out that they must work together if they want to succeed.
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- A successful swing, it needs a bit of refinement to ensure safe use for all, but a fantastic proto-type.
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- These 3 children worked hard together and created a tight line secured but half hitches.
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- Testing out their work.
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- The line was safe and secure and was left for other children to enjoy.
