Now that the weather has finally decided to warm up a bit, you might want to get your children to partake in a little bit of Seed Bombing. Seed Bombing originally started out as a way of bringing a bit of 'nature' and 'colour' to disused and derelict pieces of land in towns and cities, but now you can buy ready made seed bombs to scatter in your own garden or outdoor area. But, why buy when you can make your own? (I was ably assisted by my youngest son, Geordie and my niece, Mabel). The concept of a Seed Bomb is a ball of seeds wrapped in compost and red clay. The clay gradually disintegrates when it is left … Read More
BOYS! – A Precious Childhood Blog Swap
As I press the 'publish' button on my blog, somewhere in Australia Niki Buchan is pressing the same button on hers. I have had lots of guest bloggers in the past but today I am trying something new – a simultaneous blog. Niki is originally from South Africa and ran her own family daycare centre from home and a number of creches, nurseries and pre-schools there until her family relocated to Scotland In Scotland Niki was the Head of an independent school nursery, Morrisons Academy Nursery, until she was approached by Claire Warden to become the Educational Development Manager and In-service trainer for Mindstretchers. Niki became Head of these outdoor Kindergartens which are now internationally recognised as Centres of Excellence. … Read More
Outdoor Play Inspiration
A little while ago I was doing some work with a cluster of schools in the North East of England when I came accross the most amazing climbing frame made from naturally sourced real wood. It turns out that it was made by a North East based company called 'Infinite Edge'. I did a brief post about them at the time. I got a lot of interests and email enquiries following that post so I have asked Infinite Edge if they would do me a guest post and here it is… Infinite Edge Playgrounds is a company built on the premise of infinite play and its wide reaching impact on learning. We are a local company tracing our roots as … Read More
Outdoor Makeover – on a budget!
I have spent a great deal of time over this last week outside for one reason or another. On the domestic front our tortoise Ned has gone AWOL from his enclosure. Tortoises are the masters of escapology and he has done this a couple of times before but we have always found him. This time there is no sign! I have searched in bushes, under stones been prickled, nettled and rained on but the elusive Ned is still eluding… When not hunting for tortoises I have been working with a settings planning their outdoor area and got invited to the opening of another that was part of a cluster of schools who were granted some funding to improve their outdoor … Read More