Forest Schools - Our First Fire

We had a very exciting morning today, lots of us have been talking about the bonfires we went to at the weekend so we decided to have our own. Mrs Lee's is Forest School trained so she was the one who made the fire but there was lots we could do to help. First we talked about how to be safe around a fire and the grown ups put up a cordon to make sure we stayed a safe distance away. We then had to find sticks to make the fire with. We had to make sure they were dry by checking if they snapped and also not too big so we used our arms to measure them. When we had enough sticks Mrs Lees used them to make a fire along with some cotton wool and silver birch. She used a fire lighter to make a spark and then Miss Reynolds and Miss Pell brought these round the group so we could see the sparks being made. We learned that first we have to put things like cotton wool and small sticks on the fire as these burn quickly to start it, then bigger sticks can be added. Mrs Lees had to use a special fire glove to add the sticks to the fire. We also learned that a fire needs oxygen to stay lit. We all know that only the grown ups can light a fire and we must never try to do it ourselves. While the fire was lit we learned the song Campfire's Burning and sang it together. When the fire was finished Mrs Lees showed us that is was important that lots of water is put on it to make sure it is fully out. We really enjoyed our little bonfire and Mrs Lees said that the next time she makes one we can cook on it!