Forest School Update and the Art of Hapa Zome!

The children have been very busy over the last few weeks at Forest School learning new skills and how to use different tools within our woodland.  They are now very good at using a firesteel to light the fire (very important for their hot chocolate at the end of the session) and choosing the right tool to cut the piece of wood they need.  They have climbed trees, found minibeasts, built a pirate ship and repelled boarders.  The children also made a cooking stick, which they used to melt a marshmallow over the fire to make a s’more.

This week they tried Hapa Zome.  It is a Japanese word meaning 'leaf dye' and is given to the process of transferring the natural pigments from leaves and flowers onto fabric or paper to create a botanical image.

Material was placed over the flowers and leaves and a mallet used to transfer the dye onto the cloth.  They look great!