”One of my students told me that every time she learns the name of a plant, she feels as if she is meeting someone new. Giving a name to something is a way of knowing it” - Richard Louv . Names are important. It’s an integral part of identity, but also essential in cultivating connection.Continue reading "The Importance of Names"
Beach School meets Montessori
“Let the children be free; encourage them, let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and; when the grass of the meadow is damp with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet” - Maria Montessori At firstContinue reading "Beach School meets Montessori"
Beach Schooled: Sand Play
We don’t have a lot of sand on the beaches we use for Beach School here in East Kent. But when it appears with the ebbing tide it is always a huge draw for our participants. And rightly so - sand is an absolutely glorious learning material. No preparation required, just get stuck in. PlayingContinue reading "Beach Schooled: Sand Play"
August at the Beach School
August is the month that most people in the UK associate with going to the beach. Peak summer holiday season - sandcastles, picnics, chips in paper. I love it all. However, at our August sessions of Family Beach Explorers, I wanted to people to experience a different side to the coast - to really connectContinue reading "August at the Beach School"
Celebrating September – Seas and Seeds
I truly love September. Maybe it's because I am a perpetual academic, but it feels like a real new year - a fresh page and full of promise. It's also a time of warmth, energy, abundance, growth and fruitfulness. It's a really wonderful time on our coast. Here's what we'll be celebrating this month atContinue reading "Celebrating September – Seas and Seeds"
Making an Everyday Difference
I was very honoured to have been invited by East Kent-based Creative Business Coach, Ruth Poundwhite, to join a group of creative entrepreneurs to talk about how they are intentionally making a difference with their businesses - to the world around them and also to themselves. I make no secret about starting the Beach SchoolContinue reading "Making an Everyday Difference"
Creatures of the Deep: Training to be a Marine Mammal Surveyor
The first place I saw a seal was here, off Deal Pier. The Channel's Grey Seals, with their proud long noses are often mistaken for swimming dogs, just ask my sea-swimming husband, who was once asked why he had left his Labrador in the water. However, this was no land mammal. No dog could swimContinue reading "Creatures of the Deep: Training to be a Marine Mammal Surveyor"
Wonderful things to do in February
February is often thought of as a cold and dark month, but it actually marks the awakening the first signs of Spring - crocuses and snowdrops are sprouting and trees are budding. The daylight is returning too, with mornings and evenings getting gradually lighter, and by the end of the month the day will be twoContinue reading "Wonderful things to do in February"
Why the beach? The importance of the nature on your doorstep
Why the focus on the beach and not a woodland for your forest school? I get asked this a lot. Firstly, I must say I love the woods and I love working in them - they provide an incredible learning environment. Home to such depth and diversity - the opportunities for learning are endless. TheyContinue reading "Why the beach? The importance of the nature on your doorstep"
Beach Schooled: I’m not the Teacher
What's the first thing you think of when I say 'learning' to you? Books? Classrooms? Pupils and teachers? Probably not playing on the beach. At Little Gulls, our approach to learning is inspired by the Forest School ethos. We're not a traditional learning establishment, we don't deliver education in the traditional manner. But we doContinue reading "Beach Schooled: I’m not the Teacher"
Holdfast Beach and Forest School - East Kent, UK 