Goudhurst & Kilndown Church of England Primary School

Friday 5 June 2026 Meadow Browns & Speckled Woods - Finally! It's been a long old wait for these little butterflies but finally they had Forest School again! I heard all about their creativity and independence and I can't wait to be back with them next week.

Friday 8 May 2026 Dyeing Delights Today at Forest School, the children explored the wonderful world of natural dyeing as an optional creative activity. Using avocado stones and skins, onion skins, and madder root, they discovered how colours from nature can transform plain cotton bags into unique handmade creations. The children enjoyed watching the different shades develop — from soft pinks and warm yellows to earthy reds — while learning about traditional dyeing methods, their historical connection with the area and the importance of using natural materials. Each bag turned out beautifully different, reflecting both the process and the creativity of its maker. Alongside the dyeing activity, the children continued to enjoy brilliant den building, nordic braiding, and exploring the woodland signs of spring.

Friday 24 April 2026 Dogwood & Whitebeam - A Backdrop of Bluebells Year 6 had a fantastic first week back in the woods, making the most of the beautiful carpet of bluebells surrounding our Forest School site. The children worked together to prepare for the 'Kelly Kettle Challenge' next week by collecting kindling: dead & dry, rulers not reindeers and short and snappy. Yaffle had felled two silver birch and so there was tool skills safely while log splitting. Creativity was everywhere as a big group designed and built their own “tiny town” using natural materials, complete with pathways, shelters, sculptures and imaginative details. Others enjoyed learning Nordic braiding techniques, showing great patience and perseverance as they created colourful woven cords. It was a wonderful start to the term, full of teamwork, creativity, and woodland exploration.

Friday 3 April 2026 A Nettle Feast Courage was the order of the day as the children set out to forage for nettles. Having discussed the wonders of the 'Mighty Nettle' and how to be safe and responsible forager, we set off! The children had the choice as to whether or not to forage with or without gloves and whilst there were several stings EVERYBODY was incredibly brave and decided that the sting was actually quite a nice zingy sensation if you 'chose to look at it that way'

Friday 27 March 2026 Exquisite Eggs Our eggs are finished and they look STUNNING!

Friday 20 March 2026 Eggs & Bones This week we decorated our eggs using wax relief inspired by the beautiful Ukrainian Pysansky Easter eggs and submerged them into our chosen colour red (madder root) or blue (red cabbage). In addition, we learnt a little more about our resident barn owls and learnt about owl pellets. Some of the children decided that they were going to become owl scientists and dissect the pellets to discover what the owls had been eating. This resulted in some huge 'ooooos' and 'aaaaaahs' and a full reconstruction of a vole skeleton. Curiousity and commitment in abundance!

Friday 6 March 2026 Charcoal, Fairy Fires & Fun This week we used the technique of pyrolysis to create our very own charcoal from willow harvested from the school's willow den in the playground! Then there was plenty of time to draw using our freshly created charcoal sticks. There was also a chance to make some fairy fires so that we could practise our fire-striking skills.

Friday 6 March 2026 Caterpillar Game & an Eggciting Project The birds are busy at the moment. Have you seen them carrying building materials in their beaks? Yesterday, I saw the sweetest long-tailed-tit in my garden with a frothy white feather in her mouth. We discussed how great tit females chose their partners based on how bright yellow his chest is. Did you know that a great tit's yellow plummage is strengthened in colour based on how many greeen caterpillar it eats. The more caterpillars the brighter its chest!! We started our session with a game. The children got into groups and chose the name of a woodland bird for their group: we had cuckoos, robins, long-tits and wrens amongst others. Each group were given a special colour set of caterpillars that they had to find in the woods and off they went!!! We then introduced the group to the traditional art of egg-blowing - this will be step 1 in a special project to create a special Easter keepsake if they wish. It took commitment and courage not to give up.

Friday 27 February 2026 Brimstones & Orange Tips - Back & Loving the Mud Watch this week's videos to see what a WONDERFUL first week we had.

Friday 16 January 2026 Holly & Chestnut - Getting into the swing of things Wednesday brought bright, blue skies quickly burning off a milky mist and frosty breath billowing like dragon's breath out of our warm mouths. In contrast, Thursday's grey gloom was harmonised by a melody of raindrops on different woodland instruments.

Friday 5 December 2025 Sparkling Shells & Rainy Days Birch Group were blessed with crisp blue skies to explore pewter casting, using natural shells pressed into clay to create detailed moulds. With care and curiosity, they watched the molten pewter flow into the casts, revealing beautiful shell impressions once cooled. A calm, focused session that blended nature, craftsmanship, and wonder.

Friday 7 November 2025 Birch & Elder - Autumn Awe What a joy it was to step back into the woods with Year 5 this week. Autumn has arrived in full colour, and the forest floor greeted us with a soft carpet of leaves.

Friday 3 October 2025 Butterfly Bakers I am always determined to show the children that, whilst marshmallows might be nice, there are a whole host of exciting and scrumptious treats to cook over a campfire and what better pace to start than — baking bread on a stick!

Friday 26 September 2025 The Forest Jam This week at Forest School, we celebrated the changing season with one of our favorite autumn activities: making blackberry jam over the campfire!

Friday 19 September 2025 Woodchip & Woolly Acorns This week Year One group had a busy and brilliant time in the woods! With autumn in full swing, we spent the morning helping to get the forest floor ready for winter. The children worked incredibly hard spreading woodchip around the paths—perfect for keeping things safe and less muddy as the weather turns colder. They were intrigued by how warm the woodchip pile was under the surface and it prompted lots of theories!! They also enjoyed pulling each other back to the woodchip pile in the trailer. There were lots of exclamations of "It's hard work but really fun hard work" - you heard it here first parents!!

Thursday 17 July 2025 Year 2 S'more Challenge The children have shown a real interest in fire striking this term and so it seemed fitting to set the optional 'Kudu Super S'more Challenge'.

Thursday 17 July 2025 Buddy Day 2025 Broad oak Wood bustled with laughter & sticky fingers, and a little bit of bear magic as our Lions teamed up with Hippos for a very special Teddy Bears' Picnic in the woods.

Sunday 1 June 2025 A Whole Day in the Woods for Our Little Butterflies Ruscksacks on backs, Peacocks and Red Admirals set off through the wildflower meadow towards the Wonderful Woods. They saw butterflies, damselflies, dragonflies and swallows. They heard lots of birds including a noisy pheasant and a persistant chiff-chaff. They knew the way; they knew what to do - the adults were pretty much out of a job!!!

Friday 23 May 2025 Lions' Last Session A forecasted storm might have stopped us going to the woods on Wednesday but it did not stop Beech group from having a whale of a time and proclaiming that 'Forest School fun can be had wherever your outside in nature' - perfectly put! The whole Group had been hard work collecting kindling so Rosehip collected it from the wood and we were able to do Kelly Kettles at school - Yummy!

Friday 16 May 2025 Peacocks & Red Admirals First Forest School

Friday 9 May 2025 Fashion Forward Forest School!! This week at Forest School, we got creative with colour and made our own tie-dye t-shirts using natural dyes! Forget synthetic chemicals — we turned to nature's palette, experimenting with onion skins, avocado stones, and madder root.

Thursday 1 May 2025 Goodbye April - Hello May - Toolwork & Nordic Braiding The sun shone and the children enjoyed the dappled shade of the woodland whilstmaking up their own games including a game of mud cricket! SOme of them also enjoyed experiencing the art of nordic braiding and others set themselves some whittling projects they wanted to complete including a very cool die with the dots lightly drilled into each face.

Wednesday 23 April 2025 Beech & Oak Not in Knots We looked at the knots needed to tie a ridge line

Thursday 27 March 2025 Making Memories: Sunset & Supper The excitement was fever pitch as the two minibuses left school at 3:30. The children bounded down to the woods armed with their packed suppers, cosy layers, torchs and a sense of adventure!As the golden hour approached, the woods came alive with the chatter of excited children eager to make the most of their evening in nature.

Friday 14 March 2025 Very Hungry Caterpillars Holly and Sweet Chestnut had a wonderful time in the woods this week. We were treated to some glorious sunshine and impressive hail showers too, four seasons in one day! Holly were personally greeted into Broad Oak Wood by a vivid green Common Frog who was waiting for them at the hazel doorway ! We are all very excited to collect some frogspawn next week to observe the lifecycle of a frog.

Friday 7 March 2025 Colourful Caterpillars and Blazing Birch Bark At Forest School, Holly & Chestnut were welcomed to the woods by the sunshine and the sound of birdsong. The morning began with a game to help them to think like a bird and to find colourful caterpillars hidden around the woods. The children eagerly searched high and low, discovering their unique colourful caterpillars and returning them to their nests in Stump Central. We thought about why some colours were harder to find than others - we decided the light blue ones were the hardest because they were tricky to see against the beautiful blue sky.

Friday 28 February 2025 Making Maps & Mudslide Monsters!! At Forest School, every day is an adventure, full of learning and fun! This week, Holly & Chestnut Groups got to make our own interactive map, turning our outdoor space into a land of discovery. The kids were excited to explore,and set off to find the specially created place names for the key landmarks, like the climbing tree, the lookout, and the hazel doorway. The children then plotted the points on our bespoke Forest School map. It was a wonderful mix of creativity and problem-solving as we charted out our forest world. The map is going to be addded to week on week and become truly personalised to the children's experience. This beautiful resource has been made for us by our talented artist, friend and ex-parent of the school - 'Bramble' Days like this remind us how important it is for kids to connect with nature, explore, and, of course, have fun. Forest School is the best place to do just that!

Forest School News