Jul 21, 2012 | Art & Music Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors
Last week my son and I went to visit Hull. This is not a regular destination on most tourists’ “to do” list when exploring England, but it has many hidden surprises including the Fish Trail, which is one of the most inspired and quirky public works...
May 2, 2012 | Art & Music Outdoors
One of my favourite training courses to run was Expressive Arts Outside. Once I arrived at a lovely school with a garden area. Very sadly the fence around this area had been vandalised quite significantly at the weekend and was in a sorry state. We did not have time...
Apr 4, 2012 | Art & Music Outdoors, Community Involvement
This is one of those rare indoor posts. A couple of months ago I was visiting Inverallochy School and found that the hive of activity has continued inside as well as out. One of their projects has been the dining room and it has to be one of the most beautiful...
Sep 23, 2011 | Art & Music Outdoors
Many years ago, my mum off-loaded all her unwanted fleeces onto me. I spent many happy hours experimenting and having fun exploring their potential for learning and play. She introduced me to peg looms which have “kid-friendly-must-do” written all over...
Sep 10, 2011 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors
Felting stones is a simple activity to do outside. It requires very little wool. Thus it’s very economical if you have to buy it -and gets quick results. It’s a messy outdoor activity as children need to walk about as they felt the wool and this sheds...
Aug 24, 2011 | Art & Music Outdoors
Previously, I’ve blogged about making felt seats from merino wool. Although this project works a treat and seats lasted many years, I really wanted to do the whole thing from scratch with the wool gathering malarky and all that entailed. Many children rarely get...
Jul 31, 2011 | Art & Music Outdoors
All over Scotland there are hideous fences that mark our boundaries and purport to keep our children safe. They are ugly. This post is a collection of ideas from a range of schools and ELC settings who have undertaken art projects to brighten up their fences. ...
Apr 17, 2011 | Art & Music Outdoors, RME Outdoors
For many years, my step-grandmother, and then my step-father, would always give myself and my sisters a pace egg as part of an Easter gift. These are dyed eggs which are a local tradition in different parts of NW England that traditionally uses a Celandine flowers...
Dec 2, 2010 | Art & Music Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Play Resources
Ever since childhood I have been an occasional collector of sea glass when going for beach walks. Some beaches are better than others. I rarely find a piece on the NE coast of Scotland. But further north, along the Moray Coast and on the south-west coast I have more...
Aug 12, 2010 | Art & Music Outdoors, Community Involvement, Personal & Holidays, Social Subjects Outdoors
Many years ago I taught in a tiny school which had just 9 pupils. One of the challenges of working in a small school is that standard ideas and activities nearly always require adapting. For example, when we did a pantomime, I had to write one called “Snow White...
Jun 11, 2010 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors, Maths Outdoors
When I deliver courses and workshops, one set of resources particularly liked by participants are my painted stones: Using stones to demonstrate the value of natural materials in learning and play When I work in schools, they seem to be just as popular: This was a...
Mar 11, 2010 | Art & Music Outdoors, Community Involvement, Whole School
In 2008 I had the privilege of undertaking a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship. This enabled me to spend six weeks in North America, Sweden and the Czech Republic. It was a once-in-a-life time opportunity. An old university friend who lives in Seattle advised me...
