Nov 1, 2015 | Early Years Outdoors, Science Outdoors
Today’s post is written by Andrea Stevenson – a Canadian teacher who is living in Aberdeen and makes a point of getting out and about with her children. After reading her private family blog, I felt I needed to make use of her skills… 🙂 but please do...
Jan 18, 2015 | Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors, Science Outdoors
Today I was walking in a local woodland when I came across a magnificent Douglas Fir tree. These trees are not native to the UK but the West Coast of North America, where they have been known to grow to over 85 metres high. The Douglas Fir, as it is commonly...
Aug 31, 2014 | Art & Music Outdoors, Science Outdoors, Social Subjects Outdoors, Technologies
Most weather vanes are basic affairs. They are an arrow which points in the direction of the wind and with the compass directions at the bottom. The designs are usually fairly traditional stuff. All-in-all, my excitement levels about weather vanes has never been...
May 21, 2014 | Early Years Outdoors, Gardening, Science Outdoors
In recent years the old-fashioned log pile has been superceded by the hip and trendy mini beast hotels in school grounds. Whilst these are a lovely form of recycling and repurposing of various materials this post is a plea to all schools to provide create lots of log...
Apr 16, 2014 | Art & Music Outdoors, Science Outdoors, Technologies
Have you ever got that feeling that you aren’t making the most of a resource? Ever since I bought my mini iPad I knew I hadn’t done enough experimenting with Photo Booth. I had given classes opportunity to freely play with Photo Booth and its effects. The...
Oct 12, 2013 | Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
Autumn is really here. The conkers have been gathered. The leaves made into art work. The rosehips turned into syrup. And now the berries have been threaded onto wire. This was all a bit of an investigation which was prompted by an activity I ran in one of the Wee...
Sep 15, 2013 | Science Outdoors, Social Subjects Outdoors
2023 update: Be aware At present the UK is being hard hit by Bird Flu (avian influenza). Follow local guidance where it exists and keep an eye on national updates at NatureScot and other UK Government Agencies. Do not touch any dead bird. In...
Aug 3, 2013 | Science Outdoors, Technologies
Many traditional toys provide the ideal introduction to the principles of physics. Concepts that are hard to explain can be illustrated through experimentation. This blog post considers the benefits of playing with a variety of flying disks. Playing with frisbees is a...
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...
May 18, 2013 | Gardening, Maths Outdoors, Science Outdoors
Plant identification is a quirky matter. As a child, I was not especially interested in wildflowers, trees or other plants. Family walks were decidedly boring if there was too much plant talk and not enough running, climbing and swinging thrown into the mix. So when...
May 4, 2013 | Maths Outdoors, Science Outdoors, Technologies
Recently on the Creative STAR Facebook Page I showed this wonderful photo of a wind tunnel created by a space blanket. Sadly, it ripped almost immediately after the photo was taken. I really didn’t want to chuck it out as I felt that was a waste. So instead I...
Apr 23, 2013 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors, Science Outdoors
Some days are extremely wet. Thankfully we have waterproof skin that means we can cope with being outside on rainy days. One day I was working with a group of children who have additional support needs and so out we went to make the most of the rain. When...
Apr 13, 2013 | Early Years Outdoors, Gardening, Science Outdoors, Technologies
In March I was facilitating a twilight workshop about gardening in the Early Years. Here in Aberdeen City, many practitioners work in settings where vandalism happens if anything is left outside, including children’s gardening efforts. So one of the things we do...
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...
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...
Jul 23, 2011 | Gardening, Science Outdoors, Technologies
NOTE: This shows an example of a tyre pond. All ELC settings need to consider location, access and the need for a cover. This pond was in my back garden. Many years ago, I made a pond from an old tyre that had been sitting in my garden for more than a year. I happened...
Apr 30, 2011 | Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
This blog post is entirely inspired by Judy Duncan, a Primary 7 teacher at Kingswells Primary School in Aberdeen. All credit goes to her for the photos and the text below: “I’m trying to encourage everyone to use our outdoor areas more. I take a P5 class...
Jan 23, 2011 | Science Outdoors, Social Subjects Outdoors
Change is happening all around us. Natural processes are constantly at work, shaping our landscape and some times playing havoc with our lives. Winter is a wonderful time for work on weathering and erosion, not least because it happens that little bit quicker....
Oct 2, 2010 | Early Years Outdoors, Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors, Whole School
The wet and windy weather we’ve been having in NE Scotland does have its advantages at this time of year. Suddenly fungi can be found everywhere! Our local woodlands are full of mushrooms and toadstools that add to the seasonal beauty and wonder of a visit. If...
