Let’s take this outside...

Outdoor learning is something we do a lot, it’s our go to when indoor home school isn’t working, when we need a break or just when we’re out on a walk anywhere and an opportunity presents itself. One of the most common questions I’m asked is ‘how do we take home learning outside?’ Here are a few of my thoughts on that.

Stories round the camp fire. 

This could be a real camp fire or a pretend one like the one Honey made at our local nature reserve recently.

The stories could be ones you make up on the spot, you could take a favourite/outdoor themed book with you, or you could bring a story they’ve written as part of their home learning. As you read, stop and ask questions about the story and relate it to what you can see or hear around you. Which trees are wide enough for Max to hide behind? Can you spot anywhere that would be perfect for the wild things to take shelter if it rains? Stories are amazing, they can take you in so many different directions after you’ve finished reading them. Next you could...

Build a den

There are some super science links surrounding which materials to use, asking children to think about how they could make their den waterproof or give it a more comfortable floor for the wild things to lie on. 

You could also discuss different types of home at this point, do they know what flats are, what makes a bungalow special? Do they know that some people live in homes that can move, like caravans or narrow boats? From here they could...

Make a nature picture

Ask the children to use whatever they can find in the woods/on your walk, to make a picture of their home or themselves. Talk about the size and shape of the materials that could be used for each section. Do they need to find sticks that are longer than the ones they have? Can they find sticks of an equal length to make a house roof? Can they find a nut or stone that’s a sphere shape to make their eyes? While they’re thinking about themselves, why not...

Have fun with some role play

Perhaps you’ve got a wannabe vet in the family, or a little person who aspires to be a mechanic. Their den could become a surgery or garage. Little ones usually come up with amazing ideas for role play, much better than my ideas, but you could suggest that they find things in the woods that will help them do their job (this usually involves a great big collection of sticks, which can act as tools/instruments). Ace’s favourite is when we draw a racetrack on the woodland floor (move leaves out of the way with your wellies) and then commentate as he races around the track, zooming under bridges (tree branches) and making pit stops for more fuel or spare tyres. 

He even has a leaf podium for when he wins a race (spoiler alert, he always wins). If they’re ready for something a little calmer after all that racing about, I suggest... 

Secret English and secret maths

Use sticks and stones as a substitute for base ten and practise counting in tens or make up addition and subtraction stories together (eg I had 3 sweets and Mummy gave me 2 more, how many do I have now?)

Find sticks that look like different letters and name the sounds or build words using them. If there aren’t any conveniently shapes sticks around, lay stones or smaller pieces of twig on the ground to form the letters you want.

Use your senses to think about what you can see, hear, feel, smell (maybe not taste, unless you have snacks or your a fungi expert). Describe where you are and talk about synonyms for the words you come up with (eg That tree is tall, could become, that tree is gigantic, massive, towering etc). Finally remember...

It’s ok not to know all the answers

What’s this flower called Mummy? Is that a beech tree Daddy? Being outside in nature invites A LOT of questions and as much as I love being outdoors, I have no idea what things are most of the time! We now keep a set of I spy books in our adventure bag, so we can look up trees, plants and cloud formations where ever we are. There’s also a wealth of spotting sheets and outdoor resources on The Wildlife Trusts website and the RSPB site too. Lots of their resources are printable, so you take take them with you, or just take a screenshot with your phone if you don’t fancy carrying bits of paper around with you. Failing all of that, ask them to take a photo or draw a sketch so you can look it up (or Facetime Grandad) when you get home!

With the countdown on for the children to be back in the classroom, we will be taking every opportunity we can to explore the world around us and watch the seasons change. If you’re lucky enough to have a toddler or preschooler, all of these activities can be adapted to their level and used any time you’re out and about.

Have fun and please tag me on Instagram (@stephloveshoney) if you try any of these ideas! 

6 of our most used phonics resources...

Disclosure: I have kindly been gifted a year's subscription to the Time for Phonics website, in exchange for mentions in my blog and on social media. All other resources have been paid for myself. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I used to be scared of reception children... yes really! I LOVED working in Key Stage 1, but my only experience teaching in reception was one incredibly exhausting half term covering for a teacher who had been seconded to another school. I just didn't 'get' reception. Fast forward 7 years, I became a Mum and just like that, it all made sense. I saw why it was so tiring and I saw why it was absolutely, 100% worth it! One of the most amazing things about the early years and key stage 1, in my opinion, is phonics. Watching them unlock the magic of reading is like nothing else. I've rounded up a few of my favourite phonics resources that are perfect for home schooling and that you can carry on using in fun and engaging ways once the children are back at school...

1. Phonics Dice

This Cheltenham based, small business is still fairly new, but they're doing great things already. They started with dice and moved on to discs, puzzles and they even have a board game out now! We have the phase 2-5 dice and we use them to introduce new sounds, as well as to revise those Ace has already learnt. There are lots of games you can play with the dice. Ace likes using them for I spy, but we also use them to initiate scavenger hunts (find something beginning with /sh/, bring me something that has the /oo/ sound in it) and play phonics Jenga! 

2. Play Makes Sense Phonics Activity Cards

The activities on these cards have been buying me time recently! I tend to set one up in the living room and then when Ace has finished his main home learning jobs, he can go off and occupy himself while revising previously learnt sounds. This leaves me free to help Honey if she needs me. Each card has an activity idea, a short list of what you will need, easy to follow instructions and a word bank. A little bird tells me that phase 4 cards are coming soon, which we are very excited about! 

3. Time for Phonics

Time for Phonics is a new website offering fun phonics games, it's the sister site of well established educational blog and website Mrs Mactivity. The games have been designed by a teacher, who found that her daughter didn't want to engage with some other phonics games on the market. 

Ace loves the fun settings and characters and really enjoys playing the games. Once he had been on the website a couple of times, he found it easy to select the correct phase and pick a set of sounds to work on. You can access the site on a mobile, tablet or computer, we have tried all three and haven't had any isses. Currently, you can sign up for a 30 day free trial and it's £10 per year after that. 

4. Ruth Miskin Cards 

I've used these ever since I started teaching and have recently bought a pack to use at home with Ace. He responds so much more enthusiastically to 'real' phonics lessons, compared with watching videos (although Mr Thorne and Geraldine do give me a run for my money). The cards have a grapheme on one side, eg /aw/ and a short, easy to remember rhyme (eg /aw/, yawn at dawn) on the other side. They can be used for speed sound practise, putting sounds in groups, introducing new sounds and we also use them in conjunction with our phonics dice and magnetic letters to build words and captions.

5. Blackboard or Mega Sketcher 

Our blackboard is in the garden, so the kids get a bonus shot of fresh air whenever they use it! Using chalk is great for building fine motor skills too. It's fun for children to practise their writing in a range of ways, especially when the stakes are low and they can easily rub out or change what they have written.

6. Magnetic letters

These are great for letter recognition, understanding the difference between upper and lower case and matching upper and lower case pairs. You could ask your child to point to a letter and say the sound it makes, build a word or sentence, create a caption or practise their spellings. Children love that these letters are portable, they can build words on the radiator or fridge and don't have to be chained to the home school table (metaphorically speaking of course)!

So if you're looking to sneak some extra phonics into your play or your home school day, hopefully this list has given you some food for thought!

Ace wears.. pyjamas from Next.