Therapeutic Horticulture

Having moved sideways from therapeutic horticulture to therapeutic naturework I have found myself moving back again this week with around half my pupils choosing to sow seeds or plant bulbs.

Some pupils planted everything really close together.

Some chose the easiest pot to weed...

...whilst others took the more difficult route...

Some just played with the compost; with several really enjoying the experience of being given permission to get dirty...

We shared a lot of useful conversations, quite a lot centering on whose responsibility the plants are, with a number of pupils naming everybody but themselves.

I think this will be a theme we're working on for a while!!



Non directive Woodland Sessions

Well a few weeks in and the pupils are really enjoying the sessions, not without trial and tribulation, but all keen to continue and asking for longer.

The younger class have been really independently creative; fairy wands, fishing rods, a washing line and some environmental art...

There was lots of requests for help to tie the knots required but with only a little encouragement they all managed to tie their own. Cue a discussion amongst staff about the old tie a shoelace boards and books with the teacher thinking of making one for her classroom.

The older class have taken longer to feel settled, maybe struggling with looser boundaries than they are used to, maybe struggling with lack of direction, we've certainly had a couple of "I'm bored!" in that group. We've also had more segregation of the sexes, with one staff member wondering if it was due to the fact that the school is a feeder for single sex secondary schools and the pupils are starting to unconsciously disconnect from their opposite sex peers. It will be interesting to see if that continues. These signs are to warn the girls to keep out...

We've also had a lot of digging, which I've blogged about before, again it was instigated by boys and certainly they were the ones who were showing great excitement when  the shout of "Treasure!!" went up. Of course if you don't find any treasure maybe you can add some of your own to your hole...

But there were also real sparks of creativity, this beautiful bark bracelet...

...and this "awesome" ladder...



There has also been some great conversation amongst staff, who are finding it unsettling, and difficult, to be non directive. But the great thing is they really want to try and they are already appreciating the benefits for their pupils, and themselves. I have had times of great uncertainty and anxiety about whether this would work, and I'm still not sure whether the school will feel the benefits to their pupils is enough to warrant the time out of a busy curriculum. But with amazing experiences after only a few weeks I'm determined to keep trying...

Non directive Woodland Session-Part 1

So, we started seated around the log circle...

...and we talked about how to keep ourselves safe in the woods. The teacher asked if anybody had any ideas what they might like to do and the talk turned to den building. Several of the boys wanted to build a den for all their male friends so two of the pupils counted how many boys there were, and then of course we had to count how many girls there were so we knew how big their den would need to be!

But during the counting movement began to occur, which got a little confusing, however it was the cue that everybody needed and suddenly they were all up and away. Nobody seemed uncertain or unsure, they were off to explore...

There were some crude weapons;

and creativity;



and hanging out with friends;

and experimenting;





The only complaint: it didn't last for long enough!

The only request so far: string!!

Whole Class Non Directive Woodland Sessions

One of the key principles with my sessions is that they are child led and as non directive as possible, apart from keeping ourselves safe. That's manageable when I'm on a 1:1 or 1:2 but how about a whole class?

I met at teacher at an IOL conference last year who had taken her EYFS class into the woods for non directive sessions but I stupidly didn't get her name or number. Does anybody have any experience of a totally non directed session, in a wood, for a whole class of KS1 pupils?

I'm hoping the only discussion prior to the session would be some safety rules agreed by the class and then we would move to the woodland and see what happens. The staff to pupil ratio should be quite high, maybe 1:4.

A very experienced forest schools trainer suggested I start with a directed activity which then naturally progresses to a more independent exploration and experience. I am struggling with this because I see the benefits of being self led within sessions, am I naive to think I can recreate this in a whole class setting?

Any thoughts or comments welcome...

Start of a new term, new jobs, a new era...

Well, after 6 weeks of playing with the children,

finding fossils(this is a diplodocus bone apparently!),

and getting cold and wet

its time to reenter the world of work.

And the start of this new term is a new start for me in lots of ways;

although I love horticulture and am passionate about its value as a therapeutic medium, for me, personally, I've found I have to be too directive within sessions when the pupils I work with are growing plants.

Yes plants want to grow, and will do everything in their power to do so, but if you want a plant to grow well there are so many things to consider-time of year, light, heat, compost type, watering, the list goes on. And there are so many pests and diseases that might cause sickness or even death it can be fraught getting a plant to reach its potential(the parallels to raising children are not lost on me here!!)

I've found with my pupils that to avoid regular disappointment required me to offer my opinion too often for me to feel comfortable. My work is always about process not product but I've found it too difficult to repeatedly allow my charges to plant seeds at the wrong time or in the wrong place, knowing that those plants wouldn't succeed.

So this year I am concentrating entirely on nature as a therapeutic medium.

Last year I trialled this approach with 11 pupils, they could choose to do whatever they wished within the school grounds, which included some horticulture. We also:

made art with items we found

built dens

and watched wildlife

I can't wait to see what the coming years sessions bring.

I'm looking forward to being in the here and now, whilst wondering where I will find myself in twelve months time...

 

Endless holidays....

It feels like a summer holiday should, warm and sunny(well mostly) and with seemingly endless time to spend together, mainly outdoors, enjoying whatever experiences come our way. So far this summer we have...

...walked amongst thousands of tiny frogs, trying not to step on them or harm them with our 3 and 4 year old boundless enthusiasm!!

We worked together to create a den, so involved in the building we only had a few minutes to play inside...

Then we visited Cannock chase and found a whole village of dens that somebody had made, but somehow they didn't have the same attraction as our self built home!

We've flown kites at the seaside...

...and rescued a bee that got caught in our conservatory overnight and needed a honey reviver, watching fascinated as it drank through its proboscis.

We've spent hours playing pooh sticks...

...and several more sliding down this bank, until most of it ended up in our shorts!!!

But most of all we've spent time with people we love, enjoying life...

...gaining memories to treasure forever.

Time together

Its been a busy few weeks, finishing with some schools and pupils and making a start with others but we managed to grab some time to head out as a family and do some exploring at the newly opened Brockholes Nature Reserve http://www.brockholes.org/about.

Amongst our finds were a giant foxglove...

A piece of wood that looked like it could have been a weapon but was actually used to film the local wildlife, look out Charlie Hamilton James!!!

We completed the spring nature trail...

...and finally found a woodlouse which led to great excitement for at least one of the party!

Sadly the last minibeast on the list, the shield bug, eluded us, so watch out...we'll be back!

Only 6 sleeps til the end of term and lots of time to explore together, but maybe not as together as this...

International Mud(Compost) Day!

In honour of International Mud Day I'm posting some photos of the compost creations some of my charges have created over the years...

Never made a sandcastle?-Compost will do the job too...

...mark making...

...a self portrait...

...patterns using pots.

But sometimes its about a lot more than fun...

These two young people hated the outdoors at the beginning of their sessions, they started to conquer their fears by a nice bit of squelching in some very sticky mud.

Whilst these two pupils had just been told their sessions were unexpectedly being cancelled (funding had been pulled), so not surprisingly they didn't want to use the compost they had mixed to plant anything new, so they spent their session throwing the mud and venting their anger at the abrupt ending by creating this piece of modern art. They gave it the title "Lifes a B..%*!"

I don't usually get modern art, but this one is a very different story...here's to Mud!!!!!

Planting for the future...

Personally I'm a winter girl but professionally I love this time of year.

Most of the children I work with will have been having sessions for nearly twelve months. We will have spent weeks weeding, preparing the soil and  mulling things over during the colder months and then in some cases, but not all, started to make plans for the future; thinking of practical or beautiful things that they want to bring into their lives.

Then we will have spent time sowing seeds or planting tubers and cared for their plants over the unusually early hot and dry spell. Later watching in amazement as their seedlings have enjoyed the recent rain and really started to get their roots down into the warmer soil.

And now those children are starting to see how they can change their worlds:

We've had things to eat:

 

And beautiful flowers that "Are really cool!"

Sometimes that one achievement is enough but for others they've tasted success and it leads to a whole new session of planting for the future...



Holidays and Loose Play

Sat inside watching thunderous clouds roll across the sky and rain stream down the window. Supposed to be putting together a talk to help one of my schools develop their grounds and the experiential and educational opportunities. Became distracted looking at photos to use whilst going through old holiday snaps...

It seems to me that once again my children have taught me whats important, and what I need to share this afternoon...

...time, space and the natural world for inspiration leads to many wonderful opportunities and creations.