Fallen Tree Hideout
Directions: To discover the Hideout, venture down the first road on the right that runs adjacent to Blue Metal Road when you’re coming from Mackenzie Gate. Walking 300m you will reach a corner where a track cuts through from the road from the north-east. On this corner, through the trees, you will find a large, fallen down tree. Upon visiting this tree, you will understand its allure and fascination… The tree has been covered in large branches, creating a fort that encourages play, imagination and exploration.
Exploration Possibilities:
Imagine, Imagine …!
Question: Who could you be in this space?
See how the canvas of the natural world inspires many imaginative stories, creations and games. There is no need for any props or instructions, children will create their own fun, when they are granted time and space to imagine and explore.
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The cool winter air does not deter Ironbark students from relishing the outdoors and exploring the natural world around them. As our Research Journey winds and bends, students are transferring their curiosity to the outdoors. Dramatic and imaginative play has transformed with natural materials. Is it a stick? Is it a telescope? Is it a bow and arrow? The possibilities are endless when nature knows no bounds.
Teams are collaboratively designing and constructing a small world filled with dams, mud walls and swamps, exploring the possibilities of storytelling outdoors. Nature offers the ultimate play experience and enables children to naturally connect with what they see, feel, hear and smell all around them.
Ironbark re-imagined the trees on the mountain as evil story characters and revealed their hidden identities. What once was a fallen tree, a fallen branch and another common tree now became transformed into evil characters ready to take over the story world. Our imagination led the way as we spied new interpretations!
To Build and Create
Question: What materials can you find and what can you build with them?
The Fallen Tree Hideout has taken many forms. Many groups and individuals have added or taken away from the structures. How can you be part of shaping this community cubby? What does the cubby become for your family?
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As we come back into a regular weekly rhythm in Scribbly Bark, sessions on the mountain have never been more important for our class community.
Mountain sessions provide us with a connection to nature and the broader community. Time on the mountain both complements and adds to our work at school. On the mountain we have access to an endless supply of natural materials and we are exposed to many different learning opportunities that would otherwise be unthinkable or unavailable in our regular classroom and school context.
...a sun baking lizard .... a school of tadpoles.... a fallen down tree.... a kangaroo carcass.
All leave us scratching our heads, asking questions, contemplating theories and hungry to find out more information.
However, time on the mountain does not just benefit us intellectually, it also helps us socially. Removed from the classroom and the playground, the mountain provides a safe place where new friendships can form and conflicts can be worked through in the interests of working together to achieve common goals.
... can you help me lift this?
... how did you climb up there?
... let's explore together!
... shhh! Can you see that lizard?
... let's build a fort!”
As we walked to the mountain, we spoke excitedly about the Fallen Tree Hideout. Some of us had visited it the previous week for the first time; others had still been engaging with school at home and were interested to see it.
As we reached the fallen tree we spread out to different areas in the space, exploring the different environments on offer. A possum game started; a fort began to take shape; an epic stick battle sprung into life; and one student began setting up mugs of hot chocolate outside his cafe (stick tepee).
What are you doing?
Making hot chocolate.
How much is it?
One rock.
Oh ok, here you go (hands over rock). Mmmmm, delicious. I am going to tell some other people. HOT CHOCOLATE! ONE ROCK
Before long the cafe had numerous staff members: a boss, employees, chefs, delivery drivers, customers and a robot assistant! Everyone wanted to enjoy the delicious hot chocolate. But did they have anything else for sale? The shop was closed and a staff meeting was called. A few minutes of silence followed, then...
HOT CHOCOLATE - TWO ROCKS! CROISSANTS - THREE STICKS!!
A line formed.
Don't forget spaces! (Draws crosses on the ground).
I would like four hot chocolates please.
Oh ok, that's four plus four... eight rocks please.
Can I have two croissants and two hot chocolates please?
Croissants are six sticks; and two and two rocks for the hot chocolates... four rocks.
A huge pile of rocks and sticks began to accumulate. Business was booming, until...
a rival café opened selling milkshakes and salad!
This game engaged all of the students from Scribbly Bark. They built props, solved problems as they arose, negotiated the story and existed in the same imagined world. Students who had not been in the same space for weeks rekindled their friendships and some even branched out, exploring new friendships as they suggested other ideas for the game.
The game also had students using their mathematical knowledge to add and multiply groups of rocks and sticks, as they sold hot chocolates and croissants. This provided a real-world example of how strategies learnt in Maths Explorations and Workshops are applied meaningfully to buy, sell and work out the total profit.
