Must a triangle always have straight sides?
Last summer I was visiting Saughton Park and Gardens in Edinburgh. It is a very welcoming garden. Within formal garden area, there is this bedding display. I was fascinated by the layout and shapes of the beds. It was clearly not the level of formality of...Introducing Sammy the 1-metre Rope Snake
This past year I have had my passion for ropes revived. It all began quite innocently during as I was co-presenting a Forest Kindergarten course with Marian Cairns. She was talking about Sammy the Snake – a piece of thin rope she used with children to help them...Wet Weather Nature Symmetry Circles
Today has been a wet, rainy day. It was perfect for creating nature circles – or mandalas – depending upon how you choose to introduce and contextualise the activity. For me, I am interested in the mathematical element of this work. I’ve blogged...Multiplication Pebbles
Multiplication pebbles are a very simple resource. I have put 10 pebbles in one bag to represent the 3 times table. As illustrated above, each pebbles has the number 3 painted on it with acrylic deco pens. Each pebble is a different colour. For some children, learning...Embedding Money Outdoors
One of my favourite fairy tales as a child was Dick Whittington. I was always fascinated by the idea of streets being paved with gold. Whilst in Adelaide, I discovered a similar concept. On the ground outside a cafe on Rundle Street, lots of coins had been embedded...White Line Pebble Maths
It’s hard not to be inspired by pebbles. You pick them up, you look at them and they speak silently to you in ways that words can’t describe. They are inexplicably powerful. Sometimes you pick one up, hold it and carry it with you for a while on your walk....A Number Pebble Game
Recently I was browsing Childhood 101’s blog and stumbled across this post about using Uno to play an attribute game. It reminded me of several summers of serious card playing where my sisters and I played a lot of “Black Jack” which is similar to...Kaleidoscope Images and Symmetry
The kaleidoscope feature of Photo Booth on an iPad remains one of the funkiest ways of looking through the lens I know. It is a useful addition to any light and colour project because what one sees can be photographed. It can capture images for later use. Ordinary...Celebrating 100 Days at School
How many days has it been since your class returned to school last August or September? You may need to do some counting on a calendar. For schools in Aberdeen City this is Friday 7th February. Naturally this is a lovely opportunity to celebrate all things 100 and of...Nature Mastermind
Back in the Seventies, one of the most popular games which took the UK by storm was Mastermind. It was aimed at 8yrs olds and upwards. It’s a form of code cracking where you have to work out the hidden line of coloured pegs. It was developed from a traditional...Daisy Footprints
We are all encouraged to work out our environmental footprint, but have you ever considered your impact on daisies? Luckily they are tough little flowers that seem to withstand people treading on them. A nice maths activity is to find out how many daisies you can...Plant ID in a Parallel Universe
Plant identification is a quirky matter. As a child, I was not especially interested in wildflowers, trees or other plants. Family walks were decidedly boring if there was too much plant talk and not enough running, climbing and swinging thrown into the mix. So when...Investigating Symmetry Outdoors Using Photo Booth
I always feel it is good to follow up open-ended introductions to challenges and activities which allow children to further develop core skills in different curriculum areas. I have previously blogged about reflections and beginning symmetry outside. I enjoy the...Make a Kite by Re-using Plastic Bags
Recently on the Creative STAR Facebook Page I showed this wonderful photo of a wind tunnel created by a space blanket. Sadly, it ripped almost immediately after the photo was taken. I really didn’t want to chuck it out as I felt that was a waste. So instead I...A Maths Stick Picture Game
In my last post, 10 Little Stick Activities, I mentioned the game of Pick Up Sticks. This is fun, good for all ages and a nice way to introduce sticks to a class. Here’s another useful little idea that one course participant showed me when training in Perth last...Rainy day rubbings – exploring pattern outside
Some days are extremely wet. Thankfully we have waterproof skin that means we can cope with being outside on rainy days. One day I was working with a group of children who have additional support needs and so out we went to make the most of the rain. When...Stick Logic
One ongoing challenge for teachers is ensuring that children who finish earlier than others have something meaningful to move onto. There’s lots of possibilities outside and this stick activity is one such example. It can be completed in pairs or by children...Algebraic Equations
The idea of objects representing numbers is not new and works well for reinforcing basic numeracy skills. In this activity children gather some natural objects from whatever is to hand and then create sums. Here’s what a Y5 (Primary 6) class devised when working...Outdoor Maths: Angles and Numerals
This is a very simple investigation using sticks lying around. It works particularly well with twigs or sticks which can be easily broken or snapped to size. The challenge is to create the numerals from 1-9 with sticks. Now that is a nice challenge in the early years...
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Story Stones and Thinking SkillsA little stone can give a lot of empowerment in a funny sort of way.
Outdoor Toilets and ChildrenWhen children need to go they need to go!
Hand hygiene outdoorsRemoving one of the barriers to working outside with groups.
12 reasons to have stumps in your outdoor spaceStumped for ideas? Check out this blog post about why every school needs a stump or several!
Dunblane Nature Kindergarten – A transformation from traditional to nature-based practiceFantastic example of positive impact of nature-based practice.
Legacy and LossWhat’s your professional and personal impact?
Education Scotland Outdoor Learning Webinars FREE to viewLots of free outdoor learning webinars all in one place from Education Scotland
Out to Play 12: Caring for Our Outdoor SpacesJust published. Time-saving links and a download.
Compass Points – Outdoor Suggestions15+ ways to learn about compass directions – all in a download.
7 Conker Games and AdviceEvery school needs a conker tree
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