Outdoor Chronicles 7th May 2021

Kitchen Garden…

Drop irrigation has gone in to the poly tunnels and will be ready to use just in time for the summer. The children were fascinate by this but will understand it better as it really takes action. This is a real relief for all of us, as not only does it mean we don’t need to worry about the really hot days but it will mean better and stronger crops due to consistent watering schedules. Scientific stuff. Our sweet corn has germinated and will be ready to put outside on a week or two. Some of the children’s sunflowers are getting big! No flowers yet but we will post a picture when they show their faces – the anticipation!

Beach School…

After a lovely long weekend the Hedgehogs were ready for a glorious sunny morning at the beach. They got themselves ready and walked down the hill with impressive speed and great care for each other. They remembered the rules of good walking and took care of their partners. Fabulous work. At the seafront, the team gathered with Leonora to discuss the session ahead. The tide was high but would soon retreat leaving the team with more beach to play on. Then, after some lovely meditative breaths, breathing in the sun, sea and air, the children were ready for the beach. They showed wonderful listening skills and worked together at sharing batteries for each other’s listening ears. It wasn’t too long before the children were throwing stones into the water, remembering their own rhyme from the week before, ‘1,2,3, into the sea!’ They focussed on powering up their stones and concentrated all their efforts into the throw. This meant checking their surroundings and understanding their own strengths and abilities. Some of the group chose to build a boat down at the beach as this was something they had been doing at nursery. For this activity, the children worked as a team to choose exactly what type of rocks to collect and where to place them. They carefully placed each rock side by side to create the outline of the boat. And of course, they got to sit in it and sail away afterwards. The storms had delivered some interesting finds on the beach and some of the group became treasure hunters. They found crab shells and legs & mermaids purses. One mermaid purse was still full. This allowed for an interesting discussion on what should be done with it. After releasing it to the sea, some children discovered charcoal. It was a lovely opportunity to explore the ‘Ch’ sound and if any names or words that the children knew began with the same sound.  And, as if by natural progression, the charcoal did not stay in one piece for long. The children were very keen to hammer all the charcoal they could find on the pieces. They used the smaller pieces to draw on rocks too. Luckily Leonora had packed the saw too because when the children find driftwood, they want to get creative with it. It is so great to see the children make their own decisions about how to use the tools and think ahead about what to do with the materials they create. Time went quickly but the children did not want to leave the beach. They created some Sea glass Stories – gathering and taking turns to choose a picture. They listened carefully to one another to the story link and make sense.  The Hedgehogs said goodbye to the sea and breathed in the sun, sea, and air once again to take back to nursery. Well done everyone.