Session 22 Signs of Spring

Today was our first session after the Easter break, so we began the session by exploring the site to see how the changing season had affected the native flora.

Next the children collected items that interested them because of their texture, colour, smell and so forth. We used the items to play a grouping and sorting game. The children took it in turns to sort the items according to their own criteria whilst the rest of the group attempted to guess how they had selected their groupings. Can you guess what groups these items have been sorted in to?

The cleavers provoked a discussion about how plants protect themselves and reproduce. SS explained to the rest of the group how the hooked hairs on the cleavers plant help it to stick to passing animals and be transported to other places. She told the group that this is how the plant can reproduce.

The children were originally planning to use their log books to record signs of spring, however they ended up being happily diverted. JA and NK chose to stick photos of previous sessions in their log books and write about what they had done so far.
SS asked if she could create a sculpture from her collected materials and then draw it, but first she wanted to show SL the spot where she had seen a mushroom growing. On their way to the spot, SL and SS found a large piece of bark that had become detached from the tree trunks in our fire circle. They brought it to show me. SS was intrigued by the reddy orange colour of the Scot's pine bark.  Between them, SL and SS came to the conclusion that the piece of bark would make a great boat. They asked if they could use the bark to make a boat sculpture. I encouraged them to explore this idea. They added a stick to act as a mast.

SL looked at how the log stepping stones could be incorporated into their design. As their ideas were developing in different directions, they amicably agreed to work on to separate designs. SL used one of the fire circle trunks and some of the stepping stones to create a Mario Kart inspired car (drawing on work we done on steampunk vehicles in literacy).

SS experimented with several ideas for boat and car structures. Her bark frame collapsed under the weight of the logs. She said she would like to revisit the activity so that she would have a chance to resolve the problems she had encountered.