Christmas Outdoor Activities

I’m amazed to discover that last year I didn’t blog about Christmas. Where did all my festive musings go? Advent is normally my opportunity to have a wee rant about consumerism and festive spirit being the dregs of a vodka bottle left at the office party.

So this time I’m beginning early. Schools and nurseries are already building up to the end of term. Rehearsals for the school concert, parties and the church service have all taken precedent and school staff have very little time to think about active learning experiences - let alone outdoor ones, to do with children at this time of year.

So here's a few simple outdoor activities to do that can be easily squeezed into the hectic schedules. The suggestions are mostly aimed at younger children:

Decorate a tree or bush outside as a bird feeding tree, e.g.
   - Smear pine cones in peanut butter and dip in bird seed
   - Make strings of popcorn
   - Make birdseed fatballs to hang up

      Enjoy watching quietly to see which birds come and visit. If you don't have a tree, buy a plastic one or put a branch in a large pot filled with stones or peat-free compost.

Look for Santa’s beard. Some lichen grows in hairy tufts. Have a hunt for some in your grounds or nearby greenspace. You will find lichen growing on rocks, old wall, gravestones, trees, roofs and fences. Give the children magnifying glasses to help see the lichen better. Lichen is very slow growing so it's best to let the children take photos rather than pick off lots of clumps.

Make a warm and funky den outdoors. Let children do this with an adult. Have lots of sleeping bags and fleece blankets inside. Use space blankets and shiny material to decorate the inside.  Provide torches, plastic mirrors and hang up a disco ball. If you have an iPhone or iTouch then down load the free glowstick and torch apps which give flashing lights and glowing colours. It can become a grotto for Santa too if that's what children want.

Set up an outdoor nativity scene for small world play. Once children have heard the Christmas story, make animals or use toy farm animals. Buy some allergy-free hay from a pet shop. Get children to think of substitute possibilities for any animals and people you don't have.  A large cardboard box turned on its side with flaps for the doors makes a simple stable which can be easily taken outside daily by children.

Sprinkle sequins into the outdoor sandpit. Provide sieves and colanders so that children can find and collect the sequins.

Use Christmas ribbon and shiny material to decorate the features of your outdoor area. Weave ribbon through fences, around hanging baskets and tubs. Just ensure the material won’t dissolve in the rain and wet weather. This could be part of the fun, deciding which materials will work best. If a child does chose materials that go soggy then, let them and observe what happens. Most children learn experientially. Hang plastic baubles on the fences and washing lines. Sorting, ordering and making patterns can arise through this sort of play.

Using guttering, roll plastic baubles down the guttering. See what happens when water is added. Use baubles of different shapes and sizes for comparison.

Follow that star. Set up a star trail around the school grounds. Children have to look for the laminated stars hung in different places and complete the activities written on each star, e.g.  

- Do 10 star jumps

- Touch the grounds six times

- Walk backward 5 paces, etc.

Wrap up a box in shiny waterproof gift paper. Take turns at hiding the box on different places outside for other children to find. Children can give clues such as “getting warmer” as a child gets closer to the box and “going cold” if a child moves further away or in the wrong direction.

Go for a Christmas walk. This is best in a residential area where children can look out for all the Christmas lights and other decorations. Look the variety of lights, indoors and out. Compare this with lights that are used all year round (a good reason for another walk in January).

If it snows, download the Winter Wonderland pack from the Creative STAR website. This is good for children aged 6-12 years.

Sing Chrismas carols outside. If you haven’t time to organize a visit to a community group, then pick songs to sing in different places, e.g

- Deck the Halls in the hall or a corridor

- The Holly and the Ivy beside a holly bush, if you have one in your grounds. If you don’t, find the thorniest bush instead or one with berries on it.

- Oh Christmas Tree!, near an evergreen tree, etc.

Children will pick up on the idea of this and will come up with different carols and Christmas songs to sing in different places.

Finally, have warm snacks outdoors. Soup, hot chocolate and warm mince pies seem to taste extra good outside.

Time Outside

I'm busy writing the notes for an Early Years Outdoor Maths course. Here's a wee extract form the time section. It's directly linked to the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Numeracy and Maths Experiences and Outcomes.

I am aware of how routines and events in my world link with times and seasons, and have explored ways to record and display these using clocks, calendars and other methods. MNU 0-10a

Vocabulary

long time, short time, season, date, day, month, year, hour, minute, second, now, then, soon, later, forever, never, quickly, fast, slow, slowly, almost, nearly, morning, afternoon, evening, night, midnight, midday, noon, etc.

Setting up the outdoor area

·      Have an outdoor weather station which enables children to record the date, time and season as part of the daily activities being outdoors. This can be made from laminated material and Velcro tabs. Magnetic boards and symbols are another alternative. Some commercial boards are entirely plastic and therefore suitable for being outside

·      Have a range of timers, stopwatches and clocks which can be used outside on a regular basis in all sorts of structured and free play activities. A clock facing outwards into the outdoor area can be helpful for staff and children! Sand timers are often portable, robust and waterproof. They are useful for turn taking outside

·      Use mobile phones and show children where to find and read the time when they ask how long they have before going home, etc.

·      Laminate the sheets of a calendar for hanging outdoors in the role play area

·      Adopt a tree or plant a tree in or near the outdoor area. Each week a child can take a photo of the tree. This can be put on display or added to a book so that the children can see the changes which happen through the year.

·      Create time lines and sequences of activities children are doing outside. This could be “Our morning” or “How to Plant a Seed”, etc. These make lovely pictorial records and the pictures can be used for sorting and ordering afterwards – either on the ground or by hanging on a line with pegs and moved about

·      Snow or ice melting can be timed – at any time of the year! (Freeze snow to bring out at other times of the year)

·      Monitor the length of time a bucket of sand passes through a sieve

·      Estimate then time how long it takes for a bottle of water to travel through guttering. Put on a stick or ping-pong ball to watch it float on the water

·      Spend time outside throughout the year undertaking seasonal activities and celebrations. There are many books which give ideas for seasonal activities outdoors. Plant seeds in spring to harvest in summer and autumn. Have snow festivals. Go for seasonal walks and look for signs of the different seasons

Specific Games and Activities

Hopscotch

Play hopscotch but write the days of the week or months of the year on grid instead of numbers

“What time is it Mr Wolf?”

One child is the wolf who stands at the opposite end of the playground to the rest of the group. The group chants, “What time is it Mr Wolf?”. The wolf turns around and says a time, e.g. 3 o’clock. The group takes three steps towards the wolf. The chant is repeated and the wolf turns around and calls out another time. When someone gets close to the wolf, the wolf can shout “Dinner Time” and chase the group back to the line. Then another child becomes the wolf and the game begins again.

Hoop Clocks

Each child or pair needs a hoop, chalk and two sticks (for the hour and minute hand). The hoop is put on the ground and the numbers drawn around the outside of the hoop. Numbered bean bags are helpful for children who prefer this to writing the numerals. The adult can then ask the children to make different times, e.g. 1 o’clock, 3 hours later, etc. The children use the sticks to make the time. Have a clock face ready to show children the time and allow children to correct their mistakes.

Human Clocks

Start by getting the children to rock from foot to foot and chanting slowly, “Tick, tock, tick, tock. I’m a ticking human clock. What time is it?” You call out a time, e.g. 5 o’clock. The children make the time with their hands. Remember it will look back-to-front if you are standing in front of the children. This also works as an activity undertaken in pairs with one child moving the hands of her partner to the correct place. Have a clock face on hand so that children can check and correct their answers. Repeat the chant before calling out each time.

Time Line Up

Put clock faces and/or digital clock times on laminated cards. Give one card to each child in the group and ask them to line up in order.

I'd be interested to know of other ideas and activities that are based around time outside. Please do share.

Feet have feelings

My step-dad Peter often used to state “where there’s no sense there’s no feeling”. At the weekend this saying was particularly apt. After a loving nine-year relationship with my walking boots, I dumped them. It was a hard decision made a little easier by my dog chewing up one boot. Duck tape and glue are only temporary fixes when there’s been an endless downpour of rain and soggy surfaces to tread.

And so I entered the outdoor shop. I was met by an enthusiast assistant with a shoe fetish. He wore specially imported Nike boots. For the first time since adolescence, my feet were measured and boots were put on my feet and correctly laced. I felt like a novice as I was shown how to get the perfect tightness whilst reducing the chances of the laces becoming undone. I was even given advice about how to walk up and down the ramp to test the boots!

Several pairs later, my feet were complaining. They didn’t like being crammed into a perfectly fitted space and my heels started rubbing me up the wrong way. I bought the most comfortable pair and took them home. Alas the pains continued as did my mourning for my old boots. When it was time to walk the dog, I grabbed my wellies.

My welly purchasing experience earlier this year could not have been more different. It was love at first sight in the gardening centre. I put on a pair of Hunter wellies and my feet sighed and went to heaven.

I ended up buying two pairs. One adult-sized light blue ones and then a pair of lime green children’s wellies. The children’s wellies are slightly shorter, have reflective tabs on them and are almost 66% cheaper. Both live up to the legendary claims of comfort and fit. Prior to this moment I had always been anti-expensive wellies in the mistaken belief that it was snobbery and status that made people wear them.

My Hunter wellies have withstood dog walks in all weathers and seasons. The sole is thicker, more insulated and orthopedically shaped for a better fit. It’s possible to walk for miles without getting a blister or other foot complaint.

So going back to my new relationship. I think it might just be a speed date. Tomorrow I’ll return the walking boots and reconsider my options. Perhaps I’m being a goody two shoes but I think I need to wait until the right pair comes along before committing myself to such a long term investment.

Squirrels and Birds

I really enjoy visiting my parents’ house. Every time I go, there is something different or new and the other week was no different. As I was munching my muesli and gazing out of the dining room window, my eyes were drawn towards my step-dad’s latest invention: a grey squirrel proof bird feeding station.

For those of you who don’t know much about UK wildlife politics, the grey squirrels are the Bad Guys. They do not belong here. They must go back to their native countries to find nuts and buckeyes and stop chasing the nice cute red squirrels out of their British woodlands. They are space invaders and must be stopped.

This is not my personal opinion, I hasten to add. There is a big project which is organised by Scottish Natural Heritage and backed up by voluntary groups all over Scotland all dedicated to the conservation of our declining red squirrel population. The UK Red Squirrel Group would thoroughly approve of my step-father’s actions. Their website states:

"The UKRSG does not recommend supplementary feeding for red squirrels as feeding station pose many possible risks. Grey squirrels may be attracted into the area; feeding stations act as a focal point to spread disease; they entice squirrels to cross exposed route and roads (putting them in the paths of cars and cats) and artificially boost the population.

An alternative would be to encourage the growth of their preferred food plants in your garden. The best foods to provide them are similar to those they might encounter foraging in the wild: 

Hazelnuts in their shells, 

Beechnuts 

Sweet chestnuts

Sunflower seeds, 

Pine nuts

Apples and carrots (other native fruit & vegetables)"

So, if you look closely at the photo you can see that the squirrel proof bird feeder is quite a simple contraption. The pole was made from an old washing line pole or something similar. A large empty paint tub has been turned upside down with a long bolt drilled through it and inserted into the pole, secured into a piece of wood. For some reason trying to climb up and over the paint tub defeats the squirrels and they can’t reach the nuts. Aha! It's been sited far enough away from trees or a hedge so that squirrels can't jump onto it.

If you aren't into DIY design and technology, then as usual, a commercial alternative exists. Just Google "squirrel proof bird feeders" and the choice is dazzling. But for me, once again, it's my step-dad's creativity and ingenuity that truly leaves me amazed and very proud. Nice work, Peter!

Death, decay and new life

With the clocks having gone back one week ago, suddenly I feel we’re heading into winter. Signs of death and decay are everywhere from a road killed fox and hedgehog to fallen leaves fluttering down the streets leaving a distinctly ghost town feel to being out and about.

There has been a huge amount of rain which is most unusual for the dry north-east. When I was walking by the local river there wasn’t another soul to be seen. Evidence of recent flooding was everywhere: flooded fields, flattened plants and paths wrecked or eroded by passing high water. Very sadly, only two of the six cygnets have survived on the River Dee near Inverurie.

It is strange that Autumn, the dying season, is so beautiful. The changing colours of leaves, even just on one tree or plant are quite remarkable. This year I managed to find a complete range of colours on local rosebay willow herb, Chamerion angustifolium, which can be seen in the photo.

This activity is easy to undertake with children. The leaves, seeds and shoots can be flattened and dried by pressing them for a few days. You don’t need a formal flower press. Separate the leaves and put them between two sheets of recycled kitchen roll. Place this in the middle of a large hardback book. Then stack more heavy books on top. Flowers can be pressed this way as well as leaves. Different varieties keep their colour better than others and part of the fun is experimenting to find out which dry well.

It's worth talking about the life cycle of plants and how the process of decomposition aids the growth of new plants in the spring. A finger puppet worm and a story-based approach can make this interesting even for young children. Having a good look at a compost bin can help too. It is possible to make mini composting systems in plastic bottle. In Sweden, at one outdoor nursery, an acetate panel had been added to allow children to view the breakdown of fruit and vegetables when every they wanted to.

There's also lots of super books which discuss death and it's role in giving life. Interestingly all of them reflect on aspects of nature. My favourites include:

• The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judit Viorst. When a boy's cat dies, he discovers that life continues as flowers grow up over the place where his cat was buried.
• Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails by Michael Kusugak. A book about an Inuit perspective on death. Beautifully written and illustrated.
• Waterbugs and Dragonflies by Doris Stickney. A very short, clever book which explains a Christian concept of heaven. Great for assembly, pond or minibeast projects.
• On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier. This was a present when my son was born. It celebrates the birth of a child through events in nature. Great illustrations and a simple text for young children.