Cup nests are perhaps the most recognisable types of birds nests and Year 1 created some beautiful ones this afternoon in their Forest School session. They tried to really focus in on the weaving aspect of their builds, taking care to wind and loop each blade of grass, each stick. They wound around and around, pushing thumbs into the centre as they rotated their nest. They had the luxury of being able to collect large amounts of grass using their amazing opposable thumbs. The poor birds can only collect a few strands at at time so no wonder it takes them a lot of time and energy to create a safe space for their young. For those children that wanted a challenge they moved on to one handed nest building to see if they could replicate at least some of a birds struggles. Certainly the nests became looser and it was much harder to hold the structure together.
The children are still so engaged with these bird related activities so this topic will continue, enabling the children amass some fantastic skills they can use when they play independently.
The Long-Term Principle: Forest School is a long-term process of frequent and regular sessions in a woodland or natural environment, rather than a one-off visit. Planning, adaptation, observations and reviewing are integral elements of Forest School.
Article 28: We all have the right to a good standard of living.
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- Keeping your nest away from predators is very important.
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- Paying real attention to the weaving in.
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- Adding feathers to create a soft centre.
