Jul 21, 2024 | Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
‘In any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it.” Simon Nicholson In 1971, Simon Nicholson wrote an article in a Landscape Architecture journal...
Jul 3, 2024 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors, Personal & Holidays, Whole School
Yesterday was a special day. I was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctorate of Education, Honoris Causa, from Queen Margaret University (QMU). This was an unexpected delight – to the point where I fell off the swing I was sitting on in a park when the original...
Jul 1, 2024 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
I receive a lot of queries about outdoor nurseries, out-of-school clubs, forest kindergartens and nature kindergartens in Scotland. This post lists the ones I am aware of, but please, if you know of others, then please do get in touch and tell me more. One...
Mar 28, 2024 | Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
I first blogged about this matter in March 2009 and then again in 2014. This is now the fifth update as Public Health Scotland have updated their guidance in March 2024. It is now called Health Protection in Children and Young People Settings, including Education....
Mar 22, 2024 | Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
Important note: The aim of this post is to clarify some of the terms used and to help practitioners create their own routines and procedures. However, always seek guidance from your regulatory bodies, local authority and environmental health officer in the first...
Mar 9, 2024 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
Many years ago, I was visiting Meethill School in Peterhead to do some twilight training. One of my favourite features were the stumps in the photo below. This blog post provides some thinking about why stumps are such valuable play resources. 1. A miniature fantasy...
Mar 1, 2024 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Whole School
Several years ago, I spent a day at Dunblane Nature Kindergarten. It was an opportunity to share thinking and enjoy celebrating the journey of this childcare setting that values nature pedagogy and all that this encompasses. This blog post captures a process of change...
Jan 7, 2024 | Early Years Outdoors, Personal & Holidays
On 1st January 2024 an amazing person died. Diane Kashin was an early childhood educator who reached out to others worldwide to make the future for all children more hopeful and positive. She wrote a blog with post after post of supportive and reflective thoughts for...
Oct 3, 2023 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Whole School
Today, the Early Learning and Childcare Directorate published Caring for Our Outdoor Spaces as part of their Out to Play series. This is a hefty document that is not designed to be read from cover-to-cover but to dip into as needed. In order to save practitioners...
Aug 21, 2023 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors, Technologies
In 2001, on a Comenius outdoor learning course in Sweden, I had the opportunity to try felting. It was a disaster. I managed to dye my wool using fresh young birch leaves and carded it reasonably well. But the felting process was my failing. I returned home, my...
Apr 15, 2023 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
At this time of year, wildflowers are beginning to bloom, one of the best of which has to be the dandelion. It is a sure sign that the soil is warming up and spring has arrived. So enjoy some playful explorations for all ages. 1. Enabling children to pick dandelions...
Mar 30, 2023 | Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
At the International Skogsmulle Symposium in Japan there was an afternoon of playing games and undertaking practical activities such as making things with bamboo. This very simple memory game was featured and this is how it is played… Firstly you prepare your...
Mar 29, 2023 | Early Years Outdoors, Gardening, Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play & Learning, Technologies
The one activity my son remembers from his nursery days was making nettle soup. He recalls the excitement of wearing tough gloves and not believing he wouldn’t be stung in the mouth when he ate the soup. Spring is the time of year for making nettle soup. Young...
Mar 22, 2023 | Early Years Outdoors, Play Resources, Technologies
Most schools are feeling the pinch in terms of having money to spend on resources and equipment. Thankfully, working outside does not have to rely on expensive kits. Here’s a selection you can make from cardboard, paper and other easily available materials. Your...
Mar 20, 2023 | Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors
Ten frames have has a surge in popularity in recent years as greater awareness grows about the need for children to have time exploring maths concepts using concrete materials. Thinking, reasoning and realising the patterns that objects make which can be linked to our...
Mar 18, 2023 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
Many years ago, I had the privilege of participating in the London Open for Play event thanks to Tim Gill. The first place we visited was the Kate Greenaway Nursery. Of all the outdoor spaces I have visited, this one remains memorable owing to the thought and effort...
Mar 17, 2023 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
Whilst there is a trend towards naturalising outdoor spaces, as a general rule, there are less good examples around that have been developed for babies. This post is about an area specifically designed for children under the age of 2. Ideally, outdoor play spaces...
Mar 10, 2023 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
I love being able to visit to Highway Farm Little Explorers Outdoor Nursery. Each time I have been, the place continues to involve in creative ways which are well worth sharing. The placement and quantities of mirrors around the site really caught my attention one...
Mar 9, 2023 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
Slides really mattered to me as a child. When I visited a playground, testing out the slide was always par for the course. A good slide was sublime. A poor slide affected my perception of the whole play park. Factors which affected my judgement included: Length of the...
Mar 6, 2023 | Early Years Outdoors, Play Resources
Nets are a forgotten resource that have tremendous value in education and play settings. Here’s a few examples to show you why Firstly, remember the fun to be had, clambering under a cargo net as part of home-made assault courses? Simply pegging a net to the...
