Mini meadows, farm visits, a forest zone and ponds
The weather is warming up and the children at Strand Infant and Nursery school are taking every opportunity to learn outdoors.
Reception children love playing outside and have spent many hours developing their growing areas with annual flowers and vegetables in a garden that is fresh and interactive. The children also love the water area; mud kitchen, playing with sand and hunting for mini beasts.
‘Outdoor learning helps everybody learn and reflect, supporting good mental health and wellbeing. We all feel better when we have spent time outside’ said Headteacher Vanessa Townsend.
The school has developed different zones for learning outside.
The Forest zone is a long established wooded area where children work in small groups developing resilience and positive attitudes whilst working in nature in the ‘Forest Schools programme’. The children are also now exploring their new meadow zone (which they planted with wild native grasses and wildflowers).
Most exciting of all is the redeveloped pond zone that has just been reopened, where children can pond dip, discover pond plants and insects and learn about the frog life cycle.
Last month the school hosted a farm on the field area for two days, allowing the children to handle and care for a wide range of animals including rabbits, guinea pigs, lambs, goats and chickens.
Nursery children were very excited about watching chicks
hatch as part of their work on life cycle. They started the week with
10 eggs in an incubator and by mid-week they had 10 hatched chicks.
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May 23, 2019
