The development included a wooden bridge with steering wheels and a tunnel, ramps, a sensory mirror tunnel with a climbing wall, an open ended natural construction area, Tepee, hammock, water butts for access to water, wooden planters, activity boards, a camouflage tunnel made from wood and tyres, a mini beach made with real sand inside and an outdoor classroom and a fenced baby garden.
The back garden has become our on site forest school, we have two staff that are level 3 forest school practitioners. The area has been developed with a fire circle, a digging area, willow den, Tepee and deadwood that the children really enjoy using the tools to whittle sticks, making hot chocolate with Kelly Kettles and making fairy dens with the natural resources available.
There are bug catchers, magnifying glasses, picnic blankets, writing materials, paper, aprons and small world toys; there is also a shed with pictorial labelled equipment on shelves that can be accessed by the children. In the outdoor classroom there is an easel, water tray and sand tray that have a variety of uses. Jugs, bottles, spray bottles and watering cans are kept by the water butts at all times – additional equipment can be added such as sponges, rags and towels to extend the activity to washing cars etc.
The children have exciting new experiences everyday and love taking their shoes and socks off getting in the sand pit and feeling it between their toes, lying in the hammock, washing the cars, painting the floor, catching bugs and driving the ship!
Footsteps staff, children and parents are very proud of this new area. The children and staff really enjoy using Forest School. It also encourages practitioners to further their professional development by learning new skills. There is free flow and new experiences everyday at the setting the children where asked what they would like to have in the garden from day one of the development and where shown the process throughout the development making it very exciting for them to see and use the finished creation.