Rain and wind stopped Nature Noodles today as most couldn’t make the session and so we decided to call it off. Being caught out in the rain and feeling decidedly chilly I have decided to cancel the last Friday session tomorrow- apologies for any inconvenience.
The new 2018 session dates will be posted in the New Year. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎄🎄🎄
A lovely home education meet up with some symmetrical and fraction possibilities plus tree climbing, rope swings and making bread in a pan.
We have spent a lot of time over this block planting trees from our Woodland Trust pack. This week marks Tree Dresding Week which is an event created by Common Ground and the Woodland Trust.
Our chilly session today began with a traffic light leaf game exploring around us until everyone arrived to find green, amber and red leaves – red posed a problem but everyone had a good look and explore.
We did some running around and some more tree planting and materials were put out to create some decorations for the trees – using pipe cleaners and Cheerios and a selection of natural materials.
It was really cold and everyone did well trying to keep warm – leaving early if necessary. Winter is truly upon us!
Thursday and Friday this week I provided some tracking possibilities.
Thursday was quite an adult led session with some auditory exploration starting off with log dogs to make tracks in the Willow leaves and then a go at deer ears (not hugely successful!) and a quick game of being deer sitting quietly for predators to come along and sniff out. The group had previously sat still in a bird hide the week before and done really well. It’s not easy being still ….
We had magnifying glasses and tracker sheets to look for signs of animals. Focusing on the area around the badger sets we looked for tracks and then walked all the way through the site looking for animal habitats and poo.
After a short Hansel and Gretal story mud, sand and dinosaurs were provided to make tracks and just have fun whilst the fire was prepared for pancakes.
Friday’s group began with some more tree planting before looking for tracks in the sand left out. We found tracks but these were most likely a dog. We went through the site and played with hammocks and the slack lines before coming together for baked apples and pancakes.
Tomorrow’s session will have numbers, shape and sorting possibilities alongside the usual Nature Noodles fun!
The session will run for slightly longer 10-1pm so please bring whatever drinks and snacks your child may require and dress appropriately. Pancakes will be cooked over the fire (with eggs) for snack and the session will cost £4.50 as it is longer.
Please message me with any points or queries.
The sun shone for our Friday session today – lots of fun using the hammocks and rope swings. More trees were planted and we played hide and seek. Paper, water and mud were left out to create our own tracks.
At the end of the session there is a chance to talk about what we have been doing and to see if they have a happy or sad face. The parents/ carers and children can all make suggestions as to what I should bring to the next session.
Perhaps because I had felt poorly the sessions the previous week hadn’t felt as they normally do so plans were made for more active sessions this week, though it does depend a lot on the groups dynamics and how everyone is feeling but by observing and talking at the end of the session the group dictates which resources I bring to provide possibilities.
This week each group had the opportunity to plant trees within the session. The Thursday group enjoyed making a basic bird hide and some food for the birds, slack lines were put up and tools were popular – using a bill hook and nails, hammers and loom bands.
Fridays children spent time looking at a dead mole. Looking at his feet and nose. We dug a hole for our mole and then planted trees talking about old life and new life. Mud and water provided mud cake possibilities with lots of role play with a shop selling the hot chocolate and then Hansel & Gretal with some lovely tracking opportunities (and a spot of gobbling up children!).
Each session provided ideas for the next … hopefully also this time having a chance to make some pancakes on the fire …
The MET office predicted gusts of 30mph+ around the time of our session today. That combined with a windy Wednesday made it a wise choice not to run the session this morning. As it happens the gusts came later in the day but it was still enough to bring down a branch from a Scott’s Pine. Always better to be safe than sorry.
Sharing a photo of our curious Robin who came to investigate the pear and seed feeder. The children had sat so still whilst we used a Song Thrush call to see which birds responded. A very tall order to ask young children to sit and be still but they all did amazing!
Luckily my cold has passed … the tree packs have arrived! Tree planting will run alongside the normal session. Come along if you fancy planting a tree!
NATURE NOODLES 