It all comes full circle in 2026
The start of this year saw my career come full circle as I took P7 to an outdoor residential, as a teacher, this time. Outdoor education is where my career began as an environmental tutor on Residential Outdoor Environmental Education (ROEE) and then the manger.of the programme.. It was interesting to see it from the other side. I was also invited to step in and add to sessions by the young staff who identified I had quite a lot of experience. It was satisfying to pass on knowledge to the next generation regarding how to expand shelter building sessions to cover more curriculum and improved methods to get the Kelly kettles to work. Of course, I also helped putting on kit, redirecting wayward practice at the archery range and tips on skiing/snowboarding, problem solving /team building.
Back in school we were exploring some maths, language, science, social science, and music,.
P1/2 re-enacted some classic fairy tales outside with a focus on the three little pigs making straw, stick and brick houses. They also worked on their counting in groups and number skills.
Music in the Woods is a new Scottish Forestry resource (https://owlscotland.org/resources/music-in-the-woods/ ) on which I have been delivering training sessions to adults over the winter. .P2/3 enjoyed making some of the musical instruments highlighted in this document, making their own beaters and jingle bells with the added skill of common whipping a wool handle for their beaters.
When delivering full day training for this we also explored Sound Maps, Sound Fists, Sit Spots, use of Garage Band with children and made all the instruments in the pack. For more information contact me using the website form.
P3/4 were exploring directions and positional language in Maths and studying water for Science. We therefore used compasses and played some positional language games. We tried to filter dirty water using natural materials to make really ‘filthy’ water ‘cleanish’.
P4/5 were looking into the Egyptians. We compared their building techniques with our own traditional techniques in the UK. Alongside making our own mini pyramids and ageing our hieroglyphic scripts.
