Lauren originally started the Go Wild and Play sessions in August 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic having prevented children from socialising with each other at a developmentally critical point in their lives and recognising the knock-on effect this was having on their social interaction skills. With the prospect of their children starting school but having ‘lost’ six months of social interaction with children of the same age, parents had expressed concern about the increased levels of anxiety for both the children and themselves. They were worried their children wouldn’t be ready to start school.
Go Wild and Play at Knettishall Heath
Go Wild and Play at Knettishall Heath - Lauren Mack
Lauren Mack, our Wild Learning Officer at Knettishall Heath, was visited by a group of children due to start school in September, for a morning of wild play in the woods on International Play Day.
Whilst initially, the sessions were quite structured and social distancing was still part of everyday life, now in its third year, these sessions have blossomed and continue to give children the opportunity to meet each other before the school term starts, and allow them to play freely through a variety of nature-based guided and child-led activities.
To enjoy Knettishall Heath with your family, why not join us for the Summer on the Heath the BIG Wildlife Challenge:
Feedback from parents has been incredibly positive:
Thank you for organising this – we had such a good time and it was great to put names to faces.
We really appreciate you running these sessions; it was reassuring to chat to other Mums and realise we all felt slightly overwhelmed!
Thank you for arranging the session. We are new to the area and I was worried my child would feel left out if all the other children had met each other before and they didn’t know anyone. It has been good for me too, as we have made a WhatsApp group to organise more days out together before September.
