Year 3 – Fire Making – Forest School

In glorious winter sunshine, pupils in Year 3 began their fire making session by reflecting on last week’s. We discussed successes and how they came about and the challenges we’d faced and how we had tried to overcome them. We then vowed to take this learning into today’s session. Once again, pupils were able to roast and eat marshmallows if they could work as a team to build and light a fire. Carefully, pupils built fire lays with all the features required to start a good fire – cotton wool in the centre, gaps to let air circulate and thin, brittle sticks above the cotton wool to catch on fire. Once complete, children then used flint and steel safely to set their fire lays alight. Teams also had to communicate effectively to ensure they grew their fire and prevent it going out in the early stages by quickly assessing what the fire’s needs were and giving it to them – either more heat, oxygen or fuel. Children had to react quickly and problem solve instantly, thinking of solutions on their feet and implementing strategies to manage their fire. If successful, they safely roasted marshmallows over the fire before eating them and reflecting on what had worked well for them in the session.