There was only one session of Beach School this September as I headed off to West Wales to have my own personal coastal adventure. However, we fully embraced our time on the beach with rockpooling, printing, kite making, homemade ‘telescopes’ and endless rounds of salt dough pizza. Enjoy the slideshow of our September adventures:
Category Archives: Outdoor Learning
Celebrating October – The Mighty Conker
Goodness me, I love a conker. I love their glowing colour, their shiny skin. I love it when they have half of their casing still attached, wearing it proudly like a spiky helmet. I love to gather them and then, mindfully roll one around my palm, grateful for the beauty of the Autumn. And IContinueContinue reading “Celebrating October – The Mighty Conker”
Social & Emotional Learning at Beach School
When I was a home-educator*, the most frequently asked question was about how my child would socialise. It felt like a bit of a preoccupation with any form of slightly alternative education. A holistic school or nursery setting can provide many social opportunities for children. However, it is really not the only way children can learnContinueContinue reading “Social & Emotional Learning at Beach School”
The Importance of Names
”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.ContinueContinue 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 firstContinueContinue 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. PlayingContinueContinue 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 connectContinueContinue 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 atContinueContinue 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 SchoolContinueContinue 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 swimContinueContinue reading “Creatures of the Deep: Training to be a Marine Mammal Surveyor”
Holdfast Beach and Forest School - East Kent, UK 