On Friday we had an exciting day in nursery.  We had a campfire in the orchard and had sausages and marshmallows for snack which we cooked on the fire.  As we have been discussing fire safety for the past two weeks, we made very strict rules about how close we could go to the fire and marked out the boundaries so everyone knew how close they could go.  We also made big long sticks with forks on the end so we could cook our food safely without getting burned.   We enjoyed the colours of the fire and the warmth and smell of it.  We could see how the wood burned and turned black and how the fire heated up our sausages – often turning them black too!  Experiencing a real fire is definitely the best way to teach children about the benefits and dangers of fire.  It is a real sensory experience and makes the learning real in a way that no amount of fire safety videos ever could.

It  was nice to get out into the orchard to play and it was interesting watching what the children chose to do.  Lots went exploring – it’s a lovely big area with lots of new places to look at.  Others enjoyed climbing on the piece of tree beside the picnic benches.  Another wee group went running – round and round and round the football pitch perimeter.  The Daily Mile would be no problem to this group!

We tried this again in the afternoon, but a deluge of rain diluted our ketchup and made the sausages soggy!  We had to give in and go inside again!  The joys of the unpredictable Scottish weather!