Summer is firmly here and
this week the real heat has kicked in, which means for me that VERY early
starts and then days in the shade are best for making things. I’ve been exploring woodland and hedgerows
really early to research and gather ideas for projects; and with groups I’ve
been trying to find some shade as we celebrate the summer by creating things
with natural materials…
An incredibly early start this
morning found me up at one of my favourite spots in Derbyshire, where a thick
mist covered almost everything: you could feel the hint of the hot sun waiting
to appear later – it was really atmospheric.
Birds were calling loudly, a raven flew by “cronking” and there seemed
to be jays foraging for food almost everywhere I looked…
The wildflowers in the
woods, meadows and hedgerows are looking stunning here at the moment and I so
love their names (foxglove, bladder campion, corncockle, monk’s-hood, selfheal,
herb-robert, fox-and-cubs… I could go on and on…) there’s a gorgeous mixture of
colours and textures and especially so when the sunlight is filtered in the
early morning or evening.
With children we’ve been
really exploring the properties of different plants – in terms of their
colours, textures, their smells and tastes (where applicable!) and the habitat
they provide. The children I work with
have been fascinated by the tiny creatures found amongst the plants –
cuckoo-spit, leaf galls, spiders, damsel-flies, caterpillars and other grubs
are all holding a deep fascination for them.
I’m glad to have a constant supply of ID charts and books nearby because
the children can then immediately look things up and it generates some
wonderful questions.
At Dunkirk we’ve been
creating pictures by the wonderful technique of transferring leaf and petal
pigments onto cloth with a mallet! We
deliberately allow lots of things to grow so that there is plenty to pick and
make things with, as well as plenty for small creatures to use. We also ensure there are certain areas of
plants clearly demarked so that the children know not to pick from those.
The grass is really long now
and I adore the textures and shades in it.
It’s a wonderful setting for photographing the grass itself but also
other things placed within the grass…
there’s something really special about being able to lie back in the
grass and contemplate the clouds, the birds and the sounds all around you…
I love watching the creative
discoveries the children make outside when they use things like grass,
plantain, clover and daisies to make things.
I’ve seen all sorts of winding, weaving, plaiting, binding and twisting
going on to make things.
In my own wildlife-friendly
garden I’m really fascinated by my pond at the moment, there are several adult
frogs present, loads of beetles and other water bugs, damsel-flies, hoverflies,
water-snails galore… and the tadpoles have almost all grown their legs and
emerged as froglets…
In the Discovery Garden at
Dunkirk our pond is also thriving with so many insects, I adore sitting by the
water with the children watching for things, contemplating, describing and
exploring the habitat offered by having a pond.
One of the other plus sides
there at the moment is the abundance of fruit that is ripening – strawberries,
raspberries, blackcurrants and more are now all becoming ready daily, so when
working outside with the children there are always a few to be picked and eaten
as a snack there and then.
An abundance of clover –
smells wonderful, is rich in bees and also I’ve found it naturally generates a
host of songs being created amongst children as they observe bees busily
collecting…
Water on hand is crucial on
hot days – to drink but also to cool your feet in…
And water mixed with other
things generates all sorts of discoveries… last week a couple of boys showed me
exactly how much dry and sand and water were needed to mix together to create a
perfectly round sand ball… They had
spent ages getting their mixtures exactly right…
When there is plenty of
flowers and grass it means you can pick a few select items to make things… we’ve been creating potions, dens,
garlands, adornments, bunting and adding grass etc onto double sided tape to make
a selection of striped images and descriptions… I also like the addition of sand onto some of these…
I love to use clay
throughout the year and at the moment there are so many wonderful natural
objects to add to it in creating figures, creatures and mystical beings…
Because the grass is long
and insects thrive it means there are endless opportunities for
discoveries. One of the boys in the
reception class at Abbey Campus (Dunkirk has two buildings now) found this
beetle last week. The beetle was
already dead when discovered – which prompted all sorts of questions about how
he had died but it also meant there was a perfect opportunity to study the
beetle closely and really get a great look at the exquisite detail in the
beetle’s body.
Taking objects you’ve made
outside to place amongst the foliage brings a whole other dimension to them…
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