Session 2

The weather looked particularly bad for today but we decided to try to stay out for as long as we could. After a quick warm up game of hide and seek tag the children began to stake and add the tree protectors to the newly planted trees. It was funny how the children went back to the actual one they planted yesterday – Harlow had even given her tree a name!

The next job to be done was to decide on the location of the bug hotel. After a vote the children decided on the bark area close to the fence. The pallets were heavy to carry but working in 2s and 3s we managed to stack them in a position we were happy with. We then unstacked them and re stacked them as we weren’t happy at first.

The children could then choose what to do. Some collected up litter, some collected worms, some continued to dig and weed by the nursery fence and a large group took the tyres and planks onto the field to create a game. They loved balancing and jumping off at the end. A few children quickly learnt that the planks tip up when your foot is not completely on them!

We had to pause our fun and take cover in the outdoor classroom as the heavens opened and there was a huge hail storm. Even with our hoods up the hail stones still pinged our ears! Ouch!

Luckily we could see the clouds moving quickly through the sky and the storm soon passed. This gave the children the chance to go searching for pine cones which Mrs Wllington had secretly hidden earlier. When the children returned a pine cone to me they could swap it for a mini Easter egg – we all love chocolate after all! The children then all took a pine cone to hide for someone else to find. Karam spent ages looking for the perfect spot – in the end we had to turn our backs and count to 10, luckily he found the perfect place. All the children then went in search of the hidden pine cones in return for another egg (one Easter egg is never enough is it?)

The weather turned again but luckily we managed to pack up and come in without getting too wet. The children shared their ideas for future things to do which included den building, making fires and toasting marshmallows – we will see!

The “Acorns” came in sensibly and Romie told me that they are called acorn because I’m the oak tree and they are the acorns – I wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment or not!

See you after Easter for session 3.

J Perks