This term I have been asked to undertake literacy activities with one class. This has provided an ideal opportunity to work on lots of ways of doing this outside. I’ve blogged about creating letters from natural materials previously. However, we’re going back a couple of steps before getting to this stage.

Last term we spent the sessions acclimatising to being outside. Fred the Ted helped us all enormously and now we have a routine that’s based around moving from place to place in the school grounds and undertaking short, sweet activities including songs or games at the different stopping points. This remains organic in that the stopping places can vary. It’s the journey and the joy of discovery that counts. Usually we end up at the wildlife garden which is a popular spot with all the children.

So a couple of weeks ago, I decided that sticky letters would be a start. This involves cutting up a few pieces of cardboard and sticking double sided sticky tape onto them. We used the initial letter of each child’s name.

I was a little worried in that when the yellow paper is removed, the children would not be able to see the outline of their letter. This did not seem to be a problem. It was a dry day so the material stuck to the cardboard quite nicely.

My other concern was whether the children would recognise a rough-and-ready letter rather than a beautifully drawn example. When I handed these out, it was a relief to see that most of the children did indeed recognise their letter.

When the children are playing in the wildlife garden, I’m interested that the books and clipboards remain an attraction. I think it provides a focus for a little quiet reflection and contemplation. But I’m not sure. Often a couple of boys will walk around the garden making notes and looking important.

For me, I’m just pleased that the children are enjoying and responding to literacy outdoors. I can’t think of a more natural approach…

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