Kids Measure in Miserable Weather

I am reluctant to force children outside to learn. I think it can breed resentment. Also in many schools in which I work, children do not often have the necessary clothing and footwear to stay warm and dry.

Several months ago I walked into a Primary 7 classroom to work with the children on outdoor maths. Typically, the weather outside was dreich. It was cold, wet, snowy, windy and most unpleasant. So, I had tweaked the activity to offer an indoor alternative.

At the moment I arrived, the class was voting on ideas to improve their learning. The class voted overwhelmingly in favour of "Getting outside more."

After I had explained the activity, the children were given a choice. Do the activity indoors. Do it outdoors. Do one part indoors and go outside for the other part. I also showed the children the cheap, plastic rain bags designed to be popped over jackets.  I think these rather appealed because the class voted 15 to 6 to do the WHOLE LESSON OUTSIDE!!!

The purpose of the lesson was to explore and compare different ways of measuring using standard and non-standard units. 

In groups, the children had to measure the width of the basket ball court using a trundle wheel, measuring tape and a ruler. The aim is to look for margins of error.

The next task was to measure the basket ball court as a group. This involved a couple of activities. The first part involved lining up in order of armspan, from largest to smallest. The person who had the median armspan became the unit of measurement for the group. So if this is Fred, then the group is working in "Freds".

Once the median arm span is known, it is possible for the group to make a line of people to cross the basket ball court all with their arms stretched out. The number of people it takes to span the court is the number of "Freds". Fred's arm span can be measured . This multiplied by the number of "Freds" and you have a measurement. (Thanks to Julie Mountain from Learning through Landscapes for suggesting this approach many years ago on a training course).

To measure the perimeter of boundary such as a basket ball court, a group can have fun by doing this as a group. The children hold hands to create a circle. The circle then walks in a clockwise direction from on corner "rolling" around the perimeter of the court.  It's a bit like a huge human trundle wheel. The trick is to remember how many people are being used. The answer can be multiplied by "Fred's" arm span to find the perimeter of the court. 

The weather was so awful that no group spent too long outside. It was a run to get back into the warm, cosy classroom and enjoy the heat. 

Oh yes - this is just a post I had forgotten I wrote. The weather has been pretty bad up here, but not this bad!

The Squelch Factor: Mud

Wednesday 29th June is World Mud Day. It's about getting out and playing in mud. It's a great theme and I know children, parents and educators will do the day justice.

For me, the matter of mud runs deep and gooey through my veins. It's stuff that symbolises the joy and fun of being alive. More than that, it's about finding meaning and purpose. It's a metaphor for so many people who want to give children a childhood with lots of outdoor adventures.

As a child I was fascinated by puddles that lay in wet mud. I loved mud that stuck to my welly boots and the sound of squelch. Many years ago, Toronto Outdoor Education Schools (TOES) - the collective group of outdoor centres within Toronto District School Board decided that it's motto was to be "Mud Between the Toes." That's the Squelch Factor. The toe-curling, boot-stomping mud squelch.

And the person who was involved in choosing that tagline is Mark Whitcombe. He continues the mud. From him I learned about the poem Two Tramps in Mud Time which sums up what happens when passion becomes work and work becomes play. The last verse states:

          But yield who will to their separation

          My object in living is to unite

          My avocation and my vocation

          As my two eyes make one in sight.

          Only where love and needs are one,

          And the work is play for mortal stakes,

          Is the deed ever really done

          For Heaven and the future's sakes

With mud comes memories. As well as childhood ones, I have adult reminiscences too! I've a little pot made from mud clay. It was gathered from the riverbank in Achnasheen where I taught in a tiny school of around 6-14 children ten years ago. For me, this object is a pot of memories. Mud gone hard that has stored a moment in time to symbolise a place where the children played frequently in and near the river.

Long may the rivers, mountains, hills and whole world ring to the sound of children laughing as they play. In mud, water, woods, on beaches and any other place that connects people to the land. Mud sticks. Mud makes memories.

The photos for this post from from a Mud Pies woodland session. Many thanks to Mandy Tulloch who runs Mud Pies, a company that provides outdoor nature sessions for pre-school children and their families. 

Original Playground Markings

Almost every Scottish school likes to have a few playground markings adorning their acres of tarmac. Most schools fundraise and buy standard markings from a company who specialises using in thermoplastic tough material.

There is also the DIY option. At Fraserburgh North Primary School, the janitor has been on a painting frenzy this term. "Our janitor did most of the work in his own time, before and after school and at weekends. He is incredibly dedicated to our school and the children." said the Head Teacher, Alison Rosie.

The staff spent a lot of time discussing their ideas and gaining the thoughts of the children. They wanted open-ended markings that could be used in multiple ways. Here's the results...

Firstly take a look at the brightly-coloured goals. This means there will be less arguments about where a goal has been scored and perhaps less accidental rebounding of the balls off the fences when the children kick off target.

The coloured lines below are where the children line up when the bell rings. Each colour is for a different class. It's also the place where classes can practice maths activities. For example, numbers can be chalked or placed in each square for children to practice place value work, multiplication tables, etc. The children can invent jumping and running games during their intervals.

These 10 x 10 coloured circles are divine! They have infinite potential for all sorts of activities including navigation, position and movement challenges, grid work and team problem solving. I can imagine the children using them in many different ways during playtimes too.

This traditional hopscotch has become a rocket ship heading towards Earth. Scotland is clearly marked on the map!

A mystery animal has been visiting the school. It must be huge, judging by the size of the paw prints!

The cement on the walls has been highlighted with white masonry paint. The flowers have been added by one class of children and simply look pretty, especially when seen en masse from a distance. 

Having a gathering place outside is really helpful in terms of establishing routines around learning in the school grounds. The staff wanted a circle that had multiple-purposes. The children use the maze at break time which is made of concentric coloured rings. The outer circle is thicker and the strips of colour allow for team games and quick groups to be formed. For example, if you are standing on a red part of the circle you are in the red team. I think the additional footprints around the outside add novelty too.

The disadvantage of DIY markings is that they do not last as long as thermoplastic ones. However, this can be useful too in that if a marking is put in the wrong place or is found to be not as useful as originally thought, then it's easier to make a correction.

Before you ask your janitor to do this, do get the children to experiment with the best places for markings to go. Chalk is useful and indoor paint can also be used for temporary markings too.

An outdoor clock

This is a short and sweet activity to help children learn about analogue time. Children can work alone or in pairs. The first job is to create the clock. Here's what it needs to look like:

If you don't have chalk or are working on grass then stones with painted numbers on them work well too. 

Ideally the sticks should be slightly different sizes to represent the minute and hour hands. In the photo above I asked the children to colour the hour hand with the chalk to make it different.

I tend to tell a story and every time I mention the time, the children change the hands on the clock. For example, "It was Monday morning and Tom had to go to school that day. What time do you think he woke up at?" Then the children tell me their ideas and make the time on their clock. By doing this, time is put into a more real context. It can also be linked to any project or event that's happening.

Operation Bearings: Top Secret

This post is written by Jamie Mundie, a Primary 7 teacher who designed this simple project-linked outdoors maths activity. Thanks for sharing, Jamie.

This lesson was designed to tie in bearings and angles works that a maths group were currently working on, alongside the World War 2 topic the class had been working on for a few weeks.

Pupils from the aforementioned maths group had previously drawn their own compass rose in the playground and had been given different instructions to assess knowledge and understanding on directions and angles. For example, “Turn 45˚ clockwise from SE.”

The class were introduced to the lesson through being welcomed as the WWII training recruits to hopefully become Intelligence Operatives (Spies!).

I prompted the class about the need for map reading skills and how it was useful in modern society as well as in a WWII context. We then discussed the word “bearings” and what it meant.

I then split the class into groups of 3 or 4, with a member of the maths group acting as squadron leader. As a class I showed them a compass and we all got the bearing of North. Each group was given the task of drawing their own compass rose, ensuring each “cadet” was contributing to the rose.

We came back as a class and discussed angles. Using one rose, I demonstrated 3 simple turns, asking the class to follow my lead.

Each squadron leader put their group through their paces with a series of commands, but they were told only to use 45˚, 90˚ and 180˚ turns at this point.

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We went back into class and using a compass image on the whiteboard I explained about 3-figure bearings. As a class we labelled each direction with the associated bearings. I emphasised the point about always taking the bearings from North.

I congratulated the cadets on passing the first stage of their training and then explained about the mission they were about to undertake. The success criteria were made clear at this point…to come back from this dangerous mission safely and with the mission accomplished. 

The extended activity was for the pupils to make up their own missions using their own bearings.

A rope trail for everyone

Today I was working in a school that wanted me to do quick outdoor challenges with all its classes as part of its activity week. This gave me an opportunity to try out an idea that many play workers frequently give me on courses: a rope trail. This is not something I would set up for just one class as it does take time. However I felt it would suit all ages and abilities and thus be worth the time and effort.

I've blogged about using ropes before. An old climbing rope is a wonderful resource and here it was used to good effect. I put various obstacles up along the way including...

A balloon tied at height.

A big floaty piece of material which some children enjoyed wrapping themselves up inside it!

An old Christmas hat - some children just had to try it on!

A hoop to climb through - although some preferred not to give this a go!

This plastic piping is a tube you swing round your head to make a singing noise. But it made an interesting surface to grip

Yes - an animal tube made it into the circuit too. I let this one move about rather than fix it to the rope!

This guttering attachment was also freely attached to make it move too.

I dressed this tree in an old emergency blanket - again for a different sensation

The rubber chicken was a bit of a surprise in that it squeaks when squeezed.

The big cone was a very popular object - you can see how I attached most items with a simple knot

The rope moved from high to low - here the children had to crawl behind the seat and under the blue tarp

This was a highlight of the rope trail for many children!

The nursery children were given a choice as to whether they wanted to wear blindfolds or simply keep their eyes open. Almost all of them chose the latter option which allowed them to look at anything they wanted and stopped them worrying about not being able to see anything.

However, one child kept her fleece scarf on the whole time. She completed all of the course completely without seeing where she was going.

The most moving part of the day was watching one 5-year old child complete the course almost entirely unaided. She wasn't wearing a blindfold. She didn't need to. From birth she has been completely blind and lives in a world where she has never known light or colour. Watching her slowly, delicately feel every object with the greatest care was like seeing a classical pianist perform. Her fingers told her every detail that other children in their rush had missed. Her explorations gave everyone who saw her an insight into her life. The blindfolds provided a comparative equality that had been missing. 

The adults who work with this girl are building on the experience and are planning to use this as a potential method for the girl moving into primary school as a way of giving her more freedom and independence. Sometimes, it's the simplest of activities that provide the spark that can help us meet all children's needs.

Portable seats for outdoor learning

Outdoor learning is here to stay in Scotland. This means that schools are having to adapt what they are doing to ensure children and young people have frequent, regular and progressive opportunities to learn outdoors all year round.

One helpful resource is comfy seating outside. There are lots of types available on the market. I'm a fan of seats that are portable and can be easily carried by each child during off-site trips. These are usually cheap to make or buy compared to bigger, bulkier chairs and seats. It means that they can be dried and stored more easily too.

Here's a selection that are designed to fold up

Over the years, I've tried and tested quite a few versions and blogged about my thoughts. My favourite portable seats are homemade felt ones. The downside is that they make great insulation but water will seep through so better used as a second layer if children aren't wearing waterproof over trousers.

These are a great outdoor art project. Made even better if you can source suitable local wool

Some portable seats have a habit of blowing away if you don't sit on them or weight them down. So if your school or centre is in a windy place, then look for robust versions.

Some foam seats silently tell children to pick them apart. It's a fun thing for fidgety fingers. 

"Go on... pick me to pieces. You know it's fun!"

The heavier, more robust versions do cost more but will last for many years and stay put a little longer. Try approaching local shops and ask for a discount for bulk purchases.

This version is the most highly rated in a portable seat test carried out by a group of 9 year olds.

I mostly have these "space mats". They are lightweight and because I am constantly visiting and working in so many places, I have a habit of losing seats. So I need a cheap option. 

A lot of people reckon carpet tiles make great outdoor seats. I'm not a big fan of them as they are too heavy to be portable and take a long time to dry out. In a wet climate like Scotland this does not bode well. But do persuade me otherwise...

Outdoor Maths: Using sticks to understand fractions

A very simple outdoor challenge for children to try, is to find a thin stick, break it into a number of pieces, e.g. four and put it back together correctly. This is a nature jigsaw. It's much harder than it sounds. A similar activity can happen with leaves.

Recently, I saw this challenge taken a step further. The teacher decided her class needed more practice and understanding about how fractions are part of a whole. The children had to work in groups to create a fraction wall.

This turned into quite a problem solving activity. Firstly, sticks had to be found of similar lengths. Otherwise the fractions were not equal on every line...

The next tricky bit was remembering to put the sticks close together rather than spread them out as in the above photo. There had to be one whole stick, two half sticks, a stick broken into thirds, then a stick in quarters, etc.

The groups tended to work as a team, with one or two members finding and fetching sticks and others working on the structure of the fraction wall.

The end result looked good for many groups...

So the moral of this activity is, if you are stuck on your fractions, try using sticks to consolidate the knowledge and understanding! Yet another use for this wonderful natural resource.

The Longest Play Day in the World

Hello there! I've just received this email from Play Scotland....

Play Scotland is a member of a national steering group which coordinates Playday across the UK every year.  Playday has traditionally been held on the first Wednesday of August each year.   It is the annual celebration of the Child’s right to Play (UNCRC Article 31) and a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile and the importance of play for children and young people .... and adults!!

This year, we want everyone to be able to celebrate Playday in Scotland, so would like to invite everyone to celebrate Playday on 21 June - the Longest Day!  This date was chosen within the Scottish term calendar to allow more staffed Play provision, including schools and nurseries to celebrate and take part.

In the past a theme has been set for Playday, but this year the theme is just ‘Play’...... says it all!!!

You can get a copy of the free ‘Planning Your Playday in Scotland’ guide.

Balloons will be given to everyone who registers their Play on the Longest day event with Play Scotland.  More information is given by clicking on the weblink above.

We hope you can join us to for Play on the Longest day and celebrate Playday in Scotland. We look forward to hearing from you about your Playday stories and photos from your events!

“85% of children in Scotland say they do not spend enough time engaged in ‘free play’”

By chance I will be facilitating a course about "Natural Play" on behalf of Grounds for Learning. I will make sure we all get extra play time during this event!

Please share this information with anyone you know who lives in Scotland.