Last month, Nature Wise (a nature based well-being service) challenged me to write a six sentence story. I can never resist a writing challenge. The story had to be related to nature in some way but other than that I had free reign. With a cup of Dream Catcher tea in …
Today I whittled another knife. I fear it is becoming an addiction! Following a few recent conversations and observations, I feel I would like to say this: Girls, it is completely and utterly ok to have pink nails but to also enjoy whittling sticks. It is also ok to be …
So what do you do with a redundant phone box in your village? Turn it into a book swap of course! After an investigation worthy of Sherlock Holmes himself, to find out who on earth owned it, I set to work rallying my troops to convert our phone box …
Children love the idea of other worlds being out there; imaginary lands that they might one day discover. Some of the most famous children’s books, Alice in Wonderland, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Faraway Tree, to name a few of my old favourites, tap into …
The summer holidays are a perfect time for daydreaming. When children tell us that they’re bored, it is our natural instinct to want to solve the problem, but I am convinced that some of the best imaginative and creative ideas stem from boredom. In term time, school, clubs, electronic devices and …
The Wild Network
The Wild Network are on a mission to re-wild childhood! They asked me to write a blog aimed at parents, addressing the way in which giving children the opportunity to have a wilder childhood, might improve their literacy skills.
Follow the link below to read.
http://www.thewildnetwork.com/language_amongst_the_leaves
In Key Stage 2 children start to think in more depth about how writers use figurative language to create effect in their writing. Personification has the potential to be such an obscure concept for children with, “personi-whatsit,” being something I overheard recently. Teaching this outside allows for far greater understanding, …
What better location for an outdoor literacy lesson than Elvaston Castle Country Park. What a place it is for sparking imagination and encouraging narrative. It has everything from woodland walks and rambling streams, to hidden caves and grassy nooks. Adventure beckons and collecting bags are a must! It is without …
Children have always found pinecones fascinating; from their shape and tactile nature, to the way they close up in the rain to protect their seeds. My own children never fail to come away from any visit to the woods with their pockets bursting with them. For teaching purposes, I find …
The day the dragons came! On Friday morning I was lucky enough to be working with a fantastic group of Y3 children in Parkhead Woods. When I told them that dragons had been sighted in the woods, it resulted in a flurry of excitement and much discussion about where the dragons had come …
