art | Creative STAR Learning | I'm a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!

Exploding Leaves

Oct 25, 2022 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning

Some children find explosions a source of fascination or interest. Not least, the story of Guy Fawkes always held appeal for me. The whole idea of attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament I found thought-provoking as a child. Many anarchists argue that he was...

10 Ideas for Exploring Clouds

Aug 7, 2016 | Science Outdoors, Technologies

“A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed. It feels an impulsion. This is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see...

The Sand Dog Sculpture – No Fakes and Lots of Learning and Play

Feb 26, 2016 | Art & Music Outdoors, Community Involvement, Nature Play & Learning

Back in 2102 I blogged about the sand dog sculpture below. I was genuinely delighted at the ingenuity of the person who was creating a dog from a small bag of sand. In the years that followed I’ve received numerous enquiries from people about whether these dogs...

Beautiful Miniature Worlds

Aug 16, 2013 | Art & Music Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors, Social Subjects Outdoors

At the Turriff Show, one of my favourite competition’s were the children’s miniature worlds. They are beautiful and a good example of how encouraging children to put thought into the design and time into creating the displays pays off. The outdoor...

A Maths Stick Picture Game

Apr 30, 2013 | Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors

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...