Book of the week
It Was a Cold, Dark Night by Tim Hopgood.
Synopsis
Ned the hedgehog is looking for a home in the cold, dark forest. He needs somewhere warm and cosy to sleep, but all he keeps finding are other creatures' homes: rabbits', foxes', owls', bats'. Will he ever find a snug safe bed of his own?
Weekly Activities
Before reading our story of the week, ‘It Was a Cold Dark Night’, we facilitated a conversation about hedgehogs, showed a photo of one and asked the children to try and describe them e.g. small, brown, spiky etc. We talked about what hedgehogs like to eat (beetles, worms, caterpillars, frogs/toads, birds’ eggs) and how they are nocturnal animals. We asked if anyone knew what nocturnal means and could they think of any other animals that are awake at night? E.g. owls, foxes, badgers, bats. We discussed how hedgehogs are endangered (and explained that means there would be no more hedgehogs - which would be very sad indeed) and how we can look after them by picking up litter and letting some areas of forest school grow wild so the hedgehogs have shelter, food and protection. We went onto explain that this week we will start making a home for the hedgehogs and talked about why they might need a home/safe place to live or to look after their hoglets (baby hedgehogs).
To start making the hedgehog home we used a metal ruler and a marker pen to mark out the dimensions on some large wooden boards. We used a handsaw to cut the boards into the correct size pieces and then used sandpaper to make the edges smooth. We then painted each piece with either varnish or external wood paint to protect it against the elements and to help stop it rotting.
Part 2 to follow in the coming weeks...
Aims and Objectives
Understand the need to respect and care for the natural environment and all living things
Develop manipulation and control
Develop hand-eye co-ordination
Develop confidence in using tools
Listen and follow instructions (when using tools and playing games)
Explore natural materials
Home Activity
Why not try your hand making some scrumptious hedgehog rolls with your child to introduce them to the art of bread making. Click the link to follow the recipe from the BBC Good Food guide: