Have you ever cooked seaweed? Not the kind you get from many takeaways (which is usually cabbage) but actual seaweed? Well you are in luck, the British and Irish coasts are abundant with edible seaweeds (just check the sea water quality!) so it’s all a matter of taste. In fact, until very recently, cooking andContinue reading “The One Where We Cooked Seaweed”
Category Archives: Early Childhood Education
Wild Paper Making
The Beach Schoolers latest adventure in to sustainable crafts has been making their own paper. We have been taking advantage of the dry and sunny weather here in East Kent and making recycled paper. I prepared some pulp, made from used brown packing paper (soaked for several hours and then blended using a hand blender!)Continue reading “Wild Paper Making”
Clay Work
The Beach Schoolers and Kirsty @throughthehedge spent some time this week exploring natural clay. Clay is often overlooked in early years and schools for being a bit messy and unpredictable but it actually has the most incredible soft responsive sensory qualities. Clay lends itself to open ended creativity because children often need lots of time working withContinue reading “Clay Work”
The Power of Playgroups
Playgroups have fallen out of favour in the UK in recent decades – they no longer appear to be seen as a valued place for early education for a number of reasons – the ‘schoolification’ of early childhood education has led to a rapid devaluation in the power of play. In the UK, the diversionContinue reading “The Power of Playgroups”
Embracing Animal Allies: Nurturing Nature Connection in Children
Going bird watching is a classic outdoor learning activity. An easy lesson in local species and diversity, it plays a role in citizen science, often with a bit of maths thrown in to boot. However, wild birds (apart from our ubiquitous herring gulls) can be quite an illusive bunch, especially when they’re faced with aContinue reading “Embracing Animal Allies: Nurturing Nature Connection in Children”
The Magic of Loose Parts – How to incorporate Loose Parts play in to everyday learning
Ever got frustrated that your child was more interested in the box than the Christmas present that was contained inside it? It’s because children have the most amazing unhindered imaginations. They are creative people that are able to make that simple box in to absolutely anything and everything. This is what we mean when weContinue reading “The Magic of Loose Parts – How to incorporate Loose Parts play in to everyday learning”
Holdfast Beach and Forest School - East Kent, UK 