Aug 9, 2013 | Health & Wellbeing, Literacy Outdoors
Going back to school after the holidays is always exciting. If you are getting a new class, then often the first few days are spent on introductory activities which help everyone get to know a bit more about each other. One activity I often used to do, was a...
Dec 6, 2012 | Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors
Last Easter I was fortunate enough to spend a day at the Secret Garden Outdoor Nursery in Fife. It was one of those magical days which remain etched in my memory for many reasons. I was particularly bowled over by the numerous examples of literacy happening...
Oct 17, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors
It has been a literacy-loaded term and so I thought it would be good to share with your some of the ideas from one primary writing course and news about a relevant book that’s just been published. Working in groups, the participants were asked to look at ways of...
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...
Jun 23, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors
Trails are interesting things. Children like them and they are often associated with taking learning outdoors. Many teachers experience them the hard way. We set up a trail that takes a couple of hours to put together the night before and half an hour to set up in the...
Jun 20, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors
At the weekend I was facilitating my final workshop of the school year at the Aberdeen Early Years Conference. The theme was Going Out to Play with Fred the Ted – Creating On-going Dialogue with Children. It was a fitting end to a busy year, in that it was an...
Apr 8, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors, RME Outdoors
I have decided to recognise Earth Day on 22nd April with a book and relevant activity. For practitioners who struggle for ideas and inspiration for outdoor play activities I often suggest choosing a favourite book, reading it with children and brainstorming ideas with...
Mar 28, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors
Last week whilst I was walking from the car park at the back of a hotel round to the reception at the front, I couldn’t help but notice all the signs within the 100m stretch. On the one hand the sheer number of warning signs was amusing. Yet at the same time, it...
Mar 3, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors
Thursday 1st March was World Book Day. It is always a great opportunity to celebrate the joys of reading and what better way than to take reading outdoors. We began by browsing a few books inside and listening to a story. Then Fred the Ted told the class that he...
Feb 18, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors
Generally speaking, I’m not one for commercially bought alphabet resources. When I first decided to get into learning and play outside, I bought a set of alphabet tiles which I’ve rarely used. I’ve other bits and pieces too which tend to remain...
Jan 28, 2012 | Literacy Outdoors
When I was 11 years old I remember struggling to understand the concept of a metaphor. There is a wonderful poem, The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes which opens with three super metaphorical descriptions to set the scene… The wind was a torrent of darkness among the...
Nov 19, 2011 | Literacy Outdoors
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...
Nov 6, 2011 | Literacy Outdoors
Doing literacy activities outside is no joke… or may be it should be! This weekend I was able to visit the recently-opened Comedy Carpet in Blackpool. It’s a tribute to British comedians who have performed in Blackpool, the traditional entertainment...
Oct 11, 2011 | Literacy Outdoors
Many educators who work with children with additional support needs have a very real and genuine fear of children running off when undertaking outdoor activities. From the outset, I decided this was not going to deter me from letting children explore the grounds. I...
Aug 30, 2011 | Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors
When young children are learning to write, schools normally follow a synthetic phonics approach. Before this happens and as an approach to supporting children with an interest in letters, there are many multi-sensory activities which can help children recognise the...
May 13, 2011 | Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors
Last month I blogged about Circle Poems and mentioned that I thought they would work particularly well in nursery. Well, I got an impromptu chance to find out recently. At a nursery I was visiting, the tyres were out and about with the children very engrossed in...
Apr 27, 2011 | Literacy Outdoors
This week the debate will run higher than ever about the Royal Family. Kate and William are getting married and in honour of this special occasion, schools, even in Scotland, have been granted a holiday. My grandparents, either on, or shortly after, their wedding...
Apr 20, 2011 | Literacy Outdoors
These are the ideas and suggestions covered in the Outdoor Literacy workshop at the LTS “Orientate Yourself to Outdoor Learning” event at Glenmore Lodge on 25th March 2011. The theme of the workshop was circles which links nicely to work on cycles in...
Mar 23, 2011 | Literacy Outdoors
OK. Imagine the scenario. You arrive at a class to support an outdoor learning session and it’s not happening. Do you: a) Nip off to the staffroom for a quick cuppa?b) Join in the planned (indoor) activity?c) Set up an impromptu Harry Potter hunt? Generally...
Feb 11, 2011 | Literacy Outdoors
A couple of weeks ago I was given an interesting challenge. A teacher who has a class of P7 (Grade 6) children with additional support needs asked me to demonstrate the teaching of full stops outdoors. Firstly we began indoors, sharing our ideas about full stops and...
