Muddy Mountains Forest School

Muddy Mountains Forest School

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Edinburgh Forest School for children. Based on Blackford Hill & Hermitage of Braid. Learning in natu

Operating as usual

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 06/02/2025

Tree Crafty Elves πŸŒ³πŸ–οΈπŸ§
Session 5, Term 3 - 06/02/25

Last week, whilst we were making the fairy village, some children built a pond and made some small boats. So this session was all about boats.

We went for a wee walk to collect some resources for them like long pieces of dry plants, bark and branches of hazel. We had an early lunch and then it was time to make our boats.

We offered the children different options from a basic one making a hole in the middle of the bark and putting a stick with a piece of calico as a sail to another two kinds much more complex like a raft and a reed boat which required many more steps.

At the end of the session, we had so much fun playing with them at the river checking which ones floated, which ones sank and which ones were the fastest!
πŸͺ΅πŸͺšπŸš€β›΅πŸ›ΆπŸ›₯οΈπŸ’¦πŸŒŠπŸžοΈ

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 05/02/2025

Woodland Explorers πŸŒ³πŸ„πŸ”Ž
Session 5, Term 3 - 05/02/25

We brought back to our site the bird box that we made last week to decorate it and hang it up in a tree.
But before that, we learnt how to make the 'square lash knot' in order to use it later to make the ladder.

Each child listened very carefully to the steps needed to make the knot and after that they all practiced it using a piece of cord and two sticks making a cross.

After lunch, some children decorated the bird box adding some mud and paint made out of clay and even some pieces of bark. At the same time, some others made the ladder cutting some pieces of wood (steps) and attaching them to two poles using nails and cord (square lash knot).

Before going home, two brave children put two hooks in a tree, climbed the ladder and hung up the bird box. We really hope that it is used by some birdies as their new home! πŸ¦πŸ›–πŸͺœπŸͺ΅πŸͺšπŸŽ¨πŸ–ŒοΈ

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 05/02/2025

Tree Titans 🌳🌲πŸ’ͺ

Session 4, Term 3 - 31/01/25

We brought to our site a pair of old Christmas trees and we asked the group what we could do with them. The answers were very original and funny but as we expected nobody guessed what we were going to do with them.

The main idea was to use some of their branches to make water wheels.
For that, we cut the trunk of the tree getting like a big start with small branches which we peeled. Then we made some paddles splitting some pieces of wood which we attached to the branches. Finally, we made a hole in the middle to put a stick through.

We did have just a bit of time to test them down in the river but they didn't work properly. Next week, with more time, we will make it work! πŸͺ΅πŸͺ“πŸŒ²πŸ›žπŸ’¦πŸžοΈ

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 04/02/2025

Red Eyed Crickets πŸ”΄πŸ‘οΈπŸ¦—
Session 4, Term 3 - 31/01/25

What can you make out of an orange?

Last Friday we proposed the Red-Eyed Crickets to bake a cake inside an orange. Yummy and fun wild cooking session that involved several procedures and learning opportunities: measuring and mixing the cake ingredients, using different kitchen untensils (and excellent motor skills) to cut, empty and fill the oranges, chopping wood into the right size, building a criss-cross fire and ensuring the bed of coals would be enough to cook the cakes or discussing about the benefits of wild cooking.

The result was incredibly satisfying and the process really enjoyable. Nothing tastes better that something prepared and cooked on a campfire!

The children used their plenty free play time to make swings with the new ropes and carabiners or fixing/extending the debris shelter they had built the previous week, which is looking bigger and better every day!

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 30/01/2025

Tree Crafty Elves πŸŒ³πŸ–οΈπŸ§
Session 4, Term 3 - 30/01/25

We took advantage of the good weather to go for a long walk to the very top of Blackford Hill and enjoy the sunshine there (we did a short stop to do some rock climbing first). To get down from the top we used the funniest way: sliding down!

Before coming back to our site, we collected some willow branches to use in the afternoon making a fairy village. The children worked in small groups making some tiny houses, trees, gardens and even a pond! πŸͺšπŸŒ³πŸ πŸ§šπŸ§šβ€β™€οΈπŸ§šβ€β™‚️

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 29/01/2025

Woodland Explorers πŸŒ³πŸ„πŸ”Ž
Session 4, Term 3 - 29/01/25

After seeing the interest in birds that the children had last week whilst doing the birdwatching and the nests, in this session we decided to make something else for the birds. This time we made a bird box!

For that, children split the tasks: some of them were in charge of looking at the plans, measuring and marking the different parts of the box. Other children cut those parts using a pull saw and a saw horse.

Once all the parts were cut, the other group assembled them using some nails and a hammer.
To finish it, we made a hole in the front part using a big drill and we put a hinge on the roof for being able to have a look in the future.

Next week we will decorate it and hang it but for that we will need to make a ladder! πŸͺœπŸ¦πŸ£πŸͺΊπŸͺšπŸ”¨

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 23/01/2025

Tree Crafty Elves πŸŒ³πŸ–οΈπŸ§
Session 3, Term 3 - 23/01/25

We had a very good day in which we learnt the rules for taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatching this weekend coming up.
We went to the climbing rock spot where we stayed for almost an hour just observing birds. We were lucky to see some great t**s, robins, coal t**s and wood pigeons.

In the afternoon, after talking about the different techniques and resources that birds use to make their nests, we challenged the group to make a giant nest where we could all fit inside.

The group showed a great team work and firstly putting some big sticks in a circle shape and then smaller sticks and branches, we finished an amazing giant nest (where we all sat inside to so roses and thorns at the end of the session). 🐦πŸͺΆπŸ¦β€β¬›πŸͺΉπŸͺΊπŸ₯š

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 22/01/2025

Woodland Explorers πŸŒ³πŸ„πŸ”Ž
Session 3, Term 3 - 22/01/25

Since next weekend is the Big Garden Birdwatching, we dedicated this session to the birds.
In the morning, we went for a walk past the meadows looking for some of these small animals. We saw some blue t**s, great t**s, robins, magpies and blackbirds amongst others.

During lunch and after listening to the story called 'the magpie and the nests', each child shared some information about the trees that they chose last week. They were all very interesting and some of them we didn't even know! It was so good to see the children talking in front of their peers with plenty of confidence.

In the afternoon, we encouraged the children to make a bird nest using the natural resources that we collected in the morning such as dry grass, sticks, feathers and moss. They looked so nice and similar to the birds'ones. πŸͺΊπŸͺΉπŸ₯šπŸ¦‰πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸͺΆπŸ¦

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 22/01/2025

Red Eyed Crickets πŸ”΄πŸ‘οΈπŸ¦—
Session 2, Term 3 - 17/01/25

Since last week the whole group was very engaged with the dens, in this session we encouraged them to make some but small ones.
For that, we collected some willow branches and ivy. Some children worked on their own and some preferred to do it in pairs or small groups.
They started to put them all around a bigger one and they were all saying what theirs was: a Tesco, a gym, a library...
In the end, we built a whole town even with walls and a big bridge.

Some other children worked very hard building one of the dens from last week. The result was fantastic! πŸŒ‡πŸ˜οΈπŸšοΈπŸ‘πŸ›–πŸŒ‰πŸ‘

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 21/01/2025

Tree Titans 🌳πŸ’ͺ

Session 2, Term 3 - 17/01/25

Following the tripod den idea from the previous week, last Friday we continued exploring other den building possibilities.

We proposed the Tree Titans to take part in the same challenge the Red-Eyed crickets had participated last week - building a debris shelter without any ropes or tools -.

It was very interesting to accompany the different groups during this process, making basic decisions (where to build the den or what type), solving logistic problems or choosing and sharing the available resources.

As usual, the morning walk brought us a few exciting surprises, like the lots of bark from some recently cut trees, which had such a lovely fresh scent!

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 16/01/2025

Tree Crafty Elves πŸŒ³πŸ–οΈπŸ§
Session 2, Term 3 - 16/01/25

Last week, at the end of the session, when we were sharing our roses, thorns and wishes, one of the children said that their wish was to make a wooden pig. The other children laughed and then they all said the same wish.
Since wishes sometimes come true, in this session we challenged the group to make wooden pigs!
It was a very good opportunity to see them using their imagination and using different resources (wood, nails, clay), each single one made their own pig. One of them even made a sty for all of them! πŸͺ΅πŸ–πŸ·πŸ½

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 15/01/2025

Woodland Explorers πŸŒ³πŸ„πŸ”Ž
Session 2, Term 3 - 15/01/24

What a busy session we had today!

We dedicated the session to learn about trees:
Firstly we did a draw in which each child took one card with one tree on (next week they will bring some information about it to share with the group). Then we went for a walk looking at the trees and trying to identify and recognise them just by observing their buds.
Finally, each child made their own tree spirit on a tree using some clay and some other natural resources.

We also managed to finish the ivy soap that we made last week adding to it some very nice scents like lavender, orange and peppermint. 🌲🌳🌴🧼🫧🍊πŸͺ»

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 14/01/2025

Red-Eyed Crickets πŸ”΄πŸ‘πŸ¦—

Session 1, Term 3 - 10/01/25

Very icy cold first session of the year for the Red-Eyed Crickets too, but nothing that a very excited and resilient group of children couldn't handle.

The key to have a positive experience in such a cold day was to be active during the whole session and have an ongoing fire for the second part of the day. The fire was a common space where they children gathered when they needed to warm up, chatting, having a laugh and becoming more confident around it.

We spent the morning hiking around Blackford Hill and sliding down a very icy and slippery grass slope, one of the kids' favourite spots. Sliding down and climbing up to do it again was incredibly fun, and we all ended up sweating after so much exercise.

After lunch, we proposed a challenge to the group: imagine a survival situation where they would have to build a debris shelter to stay overnight using only materials found in the forest (no ropes or tools). The children decided to work in small groups or individually and designed their own den models. Very interesting to witness the group solving problems, making decisions, splitting tasks and cooperating to finally make such a brilliant range of dens.

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 14/01/2025

Tree Titans 🌳πŸ’ͺ

Session 1, Term 3 - 10/01/25

In this first session of the year, we had a very cold day but using all our techniques, we all managed very well.

We talked about shelters and I challenged the children to make their own one using the "tripod knot".

After going for a long walk to collect sticks and a wee demonstration of how to make the knot, the children split themselves into groups of 3 and they made their own shelter.

It was so nice to see them all working as a team, talking to each other and splitting the tasks.

All the groups were able to make the know and have their tripods up but they were not able to finish the shelter.

Next week, they will have plenty of time to finish them.β›ΊπŸͺ’βž°πŸ›–

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 10/01/2025

Tree Crafty Elves πŸŒ³πŸ–οΈπŸ§
Session 1, Term 3 - 09/01/25

In this first session of the year for this group of children, we witnessed the amazing resilience that they all have been building in the last couple of years as we had such a cold day but none of them mentioned it during the whole day.

One of the main reasons, probably was because we all were super busy the whole session building an "A-Frame Debris Shelter". After collecting lots of sticks, we tied a long one between two trees and then we piled the rest on both sides. We covered the gaps with smaller sticks and branches and finally lots of leaves.

It was a good opportunity to learn some survival skills as we imagined that we needed to spend the night in the forest and we needed to make our own shelter to protect ourselves from the cold.

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 09/01/2025

Woodland Explorers πŸŒ³πŸ„πŸ”Ž
Session 1, Term 3 - 08/01/25

First session of the year for this group and what a nice session we had!
Since the temperatures were not going to be higher than 1Β°, we knew that we needed to use all our techniques to be warm: we played some running games, we set up a couple of tents, we went for a walk to the meadows looking for the sun, we had lunch around the fire and we also had some hot chocolate.

During the walk, we collected some ivy leaves (150 to be precise) to make our own ivy soap. We cut them into smaller pieces and put them into a pot with 3 litres of water. We left the pot on the fire and timed it for 20 minutes when it started boiling.

Next week we will bring it and add some nice scent to take it home and try it.

Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 20/12/2024

πŸŽ„πŸŽXmas Fair 2024 πŸŽπŸŽ„

What an amazing day we had today at our Xmas Fair.

Thank you very much to everyone who came along to buy some of the lovely crafts that our children had made for today. We also had lots of cookies, brownies, cakes, hot drinks and even marshmallows.

It was a very good turnout and it was very busy from the beginning until the very end when we did the raffle. Congratulations to all the winners!

We raised an unbelievable Β£603 for the charity FACE (Fighting Against Cancer Edinburgh).

The Muddy Mountains team wish you all a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year. β›„β„οΈπŸŽ…πŸŽ„πŸŽ


Photos from Muddy Mountains Forest School's post 19/12/2024

Tree Crafty Elves πŸŒ³πŸ–οΈπŸ§
Session 9, Term 2 - 19/12/24

To celebrate the last session of the year, we had a very busy day. We went to the massive fallen oak tree to use our climbing skills and move around all its branches.

After lunch as a reward for the hard work during this last term, the children had a couple of marshmallows roasted in the fire.

Finally, whilst some children helped to finish some stuff for the Xmas fair, some others played at the play park that we made for these last sessions. πŸŒ³πŸ§—β€β™‚οΈπŸ”₯β—»οΈπŸŽ’πŸ›πŸŽ‘

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