Every Thursday morning, come rain or shine, we head down to our woodland site in the corner of Acklings Playing Field in Long Wittenham. This is the most popular part of the week for many of the children and we often find that the quieter children find their confidence down in the woodland session.
Since starting the session in 2010, we have spent lots of time developing our site into a fun and safe environment for the children to play in as well as creating a small nature area for the whole community to enjoy.
The children have the opportunity to get involved in all sorts of outside activities such as tree climbing, planting trees and flowers, digging, den building, hunting for mini beasts, making mud pies and mud sculptures, using tools, craft activities and playing in our willow structures. They also spend time with Dorothy our resident dragon; telling her stories, sharing feelings, giving her a haircut and riding on her back. The children come back tired and dirty but happy with stories of their adventures and pockets full of the treasure they have found!
Some time ago, Dorothy the Dragon flew into the woods and settled herself in.
Her main duties are:
- To keep a watchful eye on the woodland area when we are not on site.
- Tell stories about her adventures.
- To give rides on her back
- Listen to what the children have to tell her
Feel free to take a walk down and have a look at the new site, or better still sign up on the parent helper list and come down for a woodland adventure session, Dorothy would love to meet you.