Year 4’s boat building reaches its final stages, these sessions have run alongside the children’s PSE lessons which have focused on managing frustration, self worth, persistence and resilience. The children have certainly faced some difficult challenges that demand a really positive attitude, knot work requires a huge amount of patience and practice and they would not have succeeded without understanding how to manage their feelings and work co-operatively. It is evident the children’s faces their sense of achievement.
In terms of the build itself the boat required a method of propulsion (sail) and to be robust enough to support the weight of an egg. There needed to be evidence of secure knot work and an understanding of how to increase buoyancy.
Back in class the children created mind maps in their PSE books to show what they had learned about managing their feelings throughout these sessions. Giving them many practical skills that they can apply to other situations.
Principle 3: Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.
Article 17 – We all have the right to be given safe and honest information that we can understand.
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- Redoing square lashings that had worked lose.
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- First test run as a raft which proved to be stable and buoyant.
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- Fine knot work is difficult and in these early stages, not always pretty.
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- A different approach to lashing, this one is sitting a little low in the water.
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- Where to place lashings and cross beams is important to increase the stability of the raft.
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- Adding sails,
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- Debate and sharing ideas is constant throughout.
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- A sail has been added and a basket to hold the egg.
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- Focus and a tight grip.
