Jul 5, 2013 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
“In every curving beach, in every grain of sand, there is the story of the Earth.” Rachel Carson With the summer holidays either approaching or begun, then there is nothing better than a visit to the seaside. Living in the north of Scotland, I am spoilt...
May 31, 2013 | Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors, Technologies
Many years ago I had a wonderful few days holiday over on the West Coast of Scotland. My family and I stayed at the Pier House Hotel in Port Appin which wins lots of awards for being friendly, welcoming and having an amazing seafood restaurant. On the last night, to...
Apr 26, 2013 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
The Stick Box Sticks are possibly the most versatile play resource that nature ever invented. These ideas do not even begin to cover the possibilities… Wishing Sticks Find a small forked twig that is just the right size for you and a friend to grasp with your pinkies...
Apr 16, 2013 | Community Involvement, Nature Play & Learning
You know you are going somewhere good when all you can hear is children laughing and other happy sounds coming out of a woodland. This was my introduction to Broxburn Family Centre’s Out of School Care. For more than a week of the Easter holidays, they have...
Mar 26, 2013 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
Everyone needs a rock. Enjoy endless hours of play in the forest, in your back garden, at park, on the beach. Here’s some suggestions… Pebble Toss Create a hole. Each player needs 5 stones. Take it in turns to toss a pebble into the hole. The person with the...
Mar 9, 2013 | Gardening, Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
One of the beautiful aspects of undertaking learning activities outside, is that interdisciplinary learning becomes the norm rather than the exception. It’s hard not to acquire more information and understanding about nature or our local environment when we...
Feb 9, 2013 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
This is a guest post by Anita Egle, a Swede who resides in Germany and has run Skogsmulle sessions in Bavaria since 1989. It is a written summary and photos about Forest Kindergartens in Germany. So in her words… Many thanks Anita for the informative text,...
Jan 29, 2013 | Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
One of the best things about winter are the bright, cold, cloudless days. They are perfect for investigating shadows as the low sun provides long shadows. Also most of the activities involve moving around so keeping warm is less of an issue. The suggestions in this...
Jan 16, 2013 | Nature Play & Learning, Play Resources, Social Subjects Outdoors, Technologies
There is nothing quite like seeing a native plant growing in its rightful place. Over in Japan, bamboo is a weed that can be found growing as ground cover in woodlands like this: And yet it is cultivated in gardens to grow to a glorious size – a proper bamboo...
Oct 26, 2012 | Art & Music Outdoors, Community Involvement, Nature Play & Learning
Twenty-five years ago this month, storms ripped through the south of England causing massive disruption, damage and the deaths of a number of people. The town of Sevenoaks was left with one oak still standing. The BBC weather service was heavily criticised for not...
Oct 23, 2012 | Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play & Learning, Social Subjects Outdoors, Technologies
The first frost of the autumn arrived last week. The rose-hips (Rosa canina) have turned red and so the combination of the two means that it’s time to get out and get picking. They can be found on bushes all over the UK and beyond. Historically, they are a wild...
Aug 25, 2012 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Last year, after attending the Skogsmulle International Training Course in Sweden, I thought it would be prudent to organise some sessions to help me learn more about the approach. Very kindly a P1 class were up for the experiment so we went out for six sessions, just...
Aug 18, 2012 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Last August I was privileged to attend the first International Skogsmulle Training Course in Sweden. As part of the training we visited Mulleborg I Ur och Skur Nursery and participated in the “Mulle Walk” into the forest. This was my second visit having...
Mar 10, 2012 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Nature Play & Learning
One of many advantages of repeated visits to a place is the development of an affinity or connection with it. Familiarity provides security amidst change and chaos. Since October, two of my classes have been visiting a unique and remarkable place. It’s in the...
Feb 25, 2012 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been involved in a Forest Kindergarten Pilot training course during the past week. This involved a visit to St Paul’s Nursery in South Lanarkshire to see a Forest Kindergarten session in action. It was quite a...
Feb 22, 2012 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
These past three days I’ve had the privilege of working with Karen Boyd, Central Scotland Education Adviser for Forestry Commission Scotland. We’ve been running a course for Early Years practitioners about developing regular visits to woodland and other...
Feb 1, 2012 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Nature Play & Learning
This is a long overdue guest post. Last September, Malin Blomster, who lives and works in the Stockholm area, in a suburb just south of the actual city, sent these photos and text. She was keen for the blogging world to see a typical early years establishment in...
Nov 22, 2011 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Toulcuv Dvur is best described as an urban environmental education centre. It is situated in a built up suburb of Prague. The nursery is in the far left cornerThe founder, Emilka Strejikova, was an early years teacher who strongly believed in nature “imprinting” and...
Nov 5, 2011 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
With such a focus on playing outside, it is interesting to see what the indoor space can look like. For me, all the outdoor pre-schools and schools I visited had the feel of a field study centre or adventure activity centre. Firstly the cloakroom areas are always well...
Oct 5, 2011 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Three years ago, I visited a rural nursery class which was part of a small school, in Lovčice village. I was able to view the outdoor spaces and see how natural features and materials were integrated into the design the outdoor area and impacted on play. Here’s...
