Visiting a
Nature Reserve
As we are
members of the RSPB, it is free for us to visit the reserves. We regularly go
to our local reserve, Coombes Valley for a day out. They often have events and
child-friendly activities happening too.
We packed
a picnic and went along last week. It rained (as usual). Actually it thundered
which was very exciting and it rained so much that my waterproof coat started
to become not-waterproof! Luckily, we had our wellies and waterproof coats so
we could embrace the weather.
We love
going to the nature reserve as there is lots of open space to run around in and
plenty of things to climb over (or up!) so that children can move around
freely, developing their gross motor skills. Coombes Valley has a tunnel that
the children can crawl through and climb over.
We enjoy
wandering through the trees listening to the sounds of the birds and the rain
dripping on the leaves. In Japan, they call this practice ‘shinrin-yoku’ which means forest bathing. Some studies have shown
that people that ‘forest bathe’ have lower levels of cortisol (the stress
hormone) and lower blood pressure. I know that I always feel much calmer when I
have been walking in the woods and I always find that my children sleep better
after a day at a nature reserve.
There is
so much to do at Coombes Valley – it will probably be mentioned regularly in my
blog. Last week, they had an activity day, ‘Wild Tuesday.’ The theme was
amphibians but there were lots of other things too. We saw dragon fly nymphs and
diving beetle nymphs. The children did some pond dipping and caught a newt.
There was a very knowledgeable guide who showed us tadpoles at different stages
of development. We also saw some moths and a sexton beetle which was very
smelly. There was a craft activity and a scavenger hunt.
On days
when there are no activities on, the scavenger hunt is something that you could
easily replicate yourself using things that you may have recently learned about
in order to embed learning. Or just go and let the children explore!
I took a
few photos of Betty and Louie splashing in puddles. When we got home, I showed
the pictures to both of them. I asked Louie to point to himself and Betty on
the pictures and I asked Betty to choose her favourite picture. Once she had
picked the one that she liked best, we printed it off on card, making it into a
post card. After Betty had decided who she would like to send the postcard to,
she told me what to write and then signed her name at the bottom. We walked to
the post office, got a stamp and sent it. She actually decided to send it to
herself and is excited at the prospect of receiving her postcard back through
the post, although the man in the post office thought that we were a little
odd!
Key
Vocabulary: outside, nature, trees, wet, dry, rain, thunder.
Opportunities
for Assessment:
PSED:
Making Relationships
PSED:
Self-Confidence and Self-Awareness
C&L:
Listening and Attention
C&L:
Speaking
PD: Moving
& Handling
PD: Health
& Self-Care
UW: The
World
L: Writing
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