The children chatted happily on the minibus about what they were going to do at forest school for the day. "I want to see a deer", "I want to go on the swing" and "I want to find the orange river" were the plans of the day. As we entered the forest, we looked at the different types of trees and plants which surrounded us. We were able to recognise the oak and silver birch as well as brambles and nettles. We discussed the dangers of being in the woodland. The children were able to point out that we should leave the berries on the trees for the birds as they were not safe for humans.
We followed the path which took us deeper into the woods. We met a kind lady who told us she had spotted a deer further up the path. We tiptoed quietly along the path searching for the deer. As we walked along, we spotted some of the old industrial buildings and structures which had been covered with ivy and bushes. Joseph pointed out that the structures were from a very long time ago when they moved coal around in the area. Unfortunately, we did not spot any deer on our way but we did find a meadow to have our lunch in which was filled with rabbits.
After lunch we descended the hillside until we came to the infamous orange river, "That's my favourite colour" pointed out Auryn. Joshua climbed inside to splash whilst the other children threw sticks and watched them float away. We headed up the hill where we sat perched on some logs watching quietly and listening to the sounds of the forest.
We followed the orange river down, across the bridge and down to a small flat section of land. Joshua was convinced he could cross the river, it was very slippy but he was determined. As he crossed, he realised the rocks were very wet and he slipped down into the water. This led Joshua to decide that next week we would have to build a bridge to cross as he didn't want to get wet again. The others agreed and a plan was made for the most spectacular bridge we could make. What tools and materials would we need? Some discussions were needed to build this magnificent bridge.