The Great Outdoors

 Last Wednesday, when Mrs Lewis and I were attending our 'teacher meeting' in Bielefeld Mrs Nulty was left with the enjoyable task of taking all of the Otters and Foxes on a Spring walk around camp. We knew Mrs Nulty had a far greater knowledge of flower names and bird song and were proven right when we were bombarded with facts about catkins and different petal shapes as soon as we came back to school.

Listening for sounds of Spring.

The children were left prepared for the next day's Walk in the Woods to launch our Summer term whole school topic. They were armed with ipads and cameras ready to capture any interesting signs of Spring....or anything else that sparked their fascination. It was a misty start to the morning which gave an eerie quality to the light. This was remarked upon by Reese who told me that the trees looked "spooky"..."just like Scooby Doo." said Mateo.

A fallen tree certainly sparked some fascinating discussion with Cameron making links to our dinosaur adventures. This of course was another clue that dinosaurs do indeed still roam the Herford woods, "they aren't extinct here!" A brilliantly meteorological conversation about storms and lightning was heard at the back of our line and we all shared our stories of having garden toys and furniture strewn across our gardens during the recent storms.

Mrs Scarisbrick led us all on a minibeast hunt. We found many wood lice and tiny spiders.

This sign had us all looking skywards...

On Friday afternoon in Forest schools Mr Gill took the children outside to see the Willow tree on the football field. He told the children that they would be making their very own dream catchers from the pliable willow branches. As the children sat on their 'magic carpets' they carefully used their funky fingers skills to cut the branches and tie the string. 

Collecting just the right branch for their very own dream catchers.

Racing back to the outdoor classroom.

Alternative uses...

And finally...

Two heart shaped Tulips to sum up the enthusiasm and engagement seen during this very 'outdoorsy' week. What a start to our whole school topic...'The Great Outdoors'.