At the start of July, our longer term school groups were culminating their year so we were pulling out the stops to ensure that their final sessions were particularly memorable experiences. Den building and pancakes were the order of the day for wild beach and forest school respectively. Pancake Day as it displayed perfectly the benefits of the forest school programme for the personal, social and emotional development through improved manners, self-restraint and in some cases delayed gratification.
Sunny days and sandy toes
July has been a whole new experience for me. Where in previous years I have been winding down for the year and preparing myself for six weeks holiday; this year I have found myself busier than ever and loving it!
July brought the learning team two big events; Latitude and Holywells Park fun day. My favourite thing about latitude was the opportunity to work with members of the team I have not had the opportunity to before, and observe their ways of working. The fun day was a very busy event with approximately 2000 people visiting the park in the four hours the event ran. For most of the afternoon I was making ‘fossil’ necklaces. This was definitely the busiest event I have experienced to date, a constant stream of children keen to engage and some shouting and literally poking and grabbing at me to get my attention – my hat goes off to all the primary teachers out there! I really enjoyed the day in the park, it holds lots of happy memories from my childhood and I hope that the activities on offer will become a part of the memories of all of the children who came to play with us, and has sparked an interest in wildlife.
Jenny and I have become a bit of a double act this month! We have worked out on the coast and in the town together on a number of occasions. Teen wild in the week saw us experimenting with a new location, Bridge wood; Shore search and beach art in the morning followed by an afternoon of bug hunting and hammock swinging in the afternoon. We even managed to get a smile and enthusiasm out of the self-professed hater of being outdoors! Much more recently we have worked together at large events and wild beach sessions. I have learned a lot about the beach so far and am keen to learn even more at upcoming events!
August is set to be another busy month filled with events in the parks, helping out at the beach and Folk East – where I have been promised that I’ll find out what a Jackalope is.
