In primary 3 this term we welcomed a parent visitor into our classroom who kindly came to help us make a wonderful Christmas class calendar. We loved getting creative with all of the amazing fabrics and now have our very own calendar to use each year as we go through school – we learnt all about sustainability and enjoyed exploring all of the sparkly fabrics as well as using the sewing machines.
P1 have, as always, had a very busy term. Below are some photographs to show some of the activities happening in class. The children are having lots of fun and are learning and embedding skills along the way.
Showing our creativity when Measuring and counting
decorating Christmas cards. making reindeer food.
Learning to form our Learning to use our sounds
letters correctly. to spell.
Ordering numbers from
largest to smallest.
We have been looking at Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) over the past year. Lockdown impacted our plans to share our journey with parents. Please watch our video which summarises our journey between August 2019 and May 2020.
In Primary 5 we looked at different ways of creating art using nature. We looked at photographs of examples of how you could use things like leaves and sticks to create fantastic artwork and thought we could try to make some of our own. We went into the playground and looked for things we could use in our pictures then we created them using glue to stick the pieces in place and minimal pen marks to add detail.
P3 seem much further down the outdoor learning journey. Having worked outdoors last session we immediately organise a time in the week where we can do this again, we will be outside for almost 1.5 hours, giving us more time to practise and develop our skills. This year I am linking each piece or block of learning to a book or books.
We started with the story ‘Tidy’ by Emily Gravett. This allowed us to have a discussion about the importance of being tidy while also discussing the importance of various seasonal happenings e.g leaf litter and falling seeds.
We mapped out garden area and Primary 3 came up with a list of ideas of things they would like to do and be able to play while outside. We began to action our plans and decided we needed some signs. Bringing in sandpaper and pieces of wood was the first venture into ‘risky’ activities and the children rose to the challenge. A risk assessment was completed, complete with additions due to COVID-19, goggles and gardening gloves were donned and the children rubbed down pieces of an old fence to use as panels for garden signs. The signs have since been designed and painted using Posca Pens. Primary 3 this term have created some great woven shapes and have begun planting up the tyres. We have plans to lay down membrane over our garden area, spread our stones and create an outdoor kitchen and shop where the children can engage in role play.
Returning to Woodlands after lockdown I am not surprised to see our somewhat overgrown garden area.
Outdoor learning is about to begin in P1, P2 and P3 in August. Due to Covid restrictions we cannot have parent helpers which is a huge loss as it is beneficial in many ways but that is a story for another post. It is difficult to socially distance from young children who are excited about their learning and wish to share their progress. Government guidance tells us the risk of catching COVID is reduced when outside, therefore being outdoors is a great place to work with the children.
P1 and P2 children will start where P2 were back in January, learning the rules and boundaries of where we can go and what we can do within our area. They will explore nature, learn to work together, share and use natural resources safely, respect the environment and work responsibly. We have approx 45 minutes outside so will begin our lessons with whole class activities.
P3 seem much further down the learning journey. Having worked outdoors last session we immediately organise a time in the week where we can do this again, we will be outside for almost 1.5 hours, giving us more time to practise and develop our skills. This year I am linking each piece or block of learning to a book or books.
Primary 1 – Looking at colours and shapes in the natural world, we developed our fine motor skills, we learned how to work together and understand that if someone finds a leaf that we really like, there might be another, similar one nearby. We discovered that a walk in the rain can be fun and discovered that we can manipulate shapes to become something else, we used our imagination lots and learned that you can find every colour of the rainbow in nature when you look really closely.
Primary 2 – Looking at sticks. It was very important that the children understood safety in this topic. It is so easy to hurt someone accidentally with a stick.
We started with a story about Stanley’s Stick and used our imaginations every week within this topic. The children were learning to keep themselves and others safe when using sticks, to behave responsibly and follow the rules and to respect the environment and put any items they used away at the end of the session. We finished the topic with the story of Stick Man and the children were able to make their very own Stick Man which they then took home. I was delighted when the children took their Stick friend on an adventure around our garden, sometimes tucking him into bed, having him climb a tree, make a friend, their ideas were endless.
Lots of small people, ready to learn and excited about going outdoors. How would this work?
I took a walk around our school grounds and decided our garden area would be a great space to use and develop for outdoor learning. We already had lots of logs arranged in a circle which the children call the ‘fairy circle’ or the toadstools. We have bug hotels, huge tyres we used to plant veg in, flower beds, willow tunnels apple trees, grass and lots of weeds.
Start small, create a plan, what do you want the children to learn?
Our school rules are Respect, Responsible and Safe. This seemed to be ideal skills for us to practise outside while learning about nature and our outdoor space. I wanted to split the children into 3 groups and we could then work on rotation, spending around 20 minutes on each activity. I put out feelers to the parents and was delighted when 2 parents agreed to give up their time weekly to support our learning.
Our first sessions were all about using the space, becoming confident with the rules and setting and sticking to the boundaries. Each week we walk to our outdoor area quietly, in pairs, once we are within the gate we can run ahead to our circle of logs, renamed the ‘story circle’.
The photos below show some of our outdoor activities, however I also find it beneficial to have an indoor ‘just in case’ plan.
As the first signs of spring start appearing, the children are beginning to suggest activities, sharing that we need to sweep up the leaves, tidy the garden and do some planting. They take the camera and take photos of signs of Spring and their hard work at filling a bulk bag with garden refuse. Unfortunately at the end of March we went into lockdown and the development of our space is put on hold.
It all started with a course.
We were looking at STEM as part our school improvement plan. I was very interested in how this could be embedded outdoors and attended a course ‘STEM by Nature’. This was very informative and took me on a journey of looking at the UN Sustainable Development Goals with children and encouraging positive action. My head was buzzing with ideas and plans but where should I start?
Climate Change
My starting point was to take Primary 2 for weekly Outdoor Learning sessions.
